BEAUTY: Clothing--Bobby Abley

For London Collections: Men, infantilized designer Bobby Abley showed a Spring-Summer '16 collection based, as usual, on pop culture images of childhood. But instead of his usual darkly sinister take on Disney (previously part of The Man Show, here and here), he looked to another staple of little boys' fantasies: the "Star Wars" franchise. And it seems to be perfect timing since the newest chapter in the saga will be released in December, 2015.

Abley's collections feature lighthearted silhouettes that are reminiscent of pajamas or playwear but usually feature some kind of subverted motif that implies there is danger and darkness lurking for every child. And if that is not literal, then it is meant to imply that there is an adulthood waiting to destroy every child. But this Star Wars collection seems to be missing that element. Maybe Abley was a true Star Wars fan as a child. And this feels good for him. Whatever it is, it feels good all around. After he sent his iconic Teddy Bear into space on the first few pieces, the cast of characters showed up: Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Boba Fett, C3PO. It's just cute...especially the "Chewy" sweater in brown fur (notice though that it is written in Disney font!--The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.5 billion in 2012, and Abley must be part of the merchandising and marketing machine, otherwise how would he be able to get away with using copyrighted images and characters in this way?).

http://www.bobbyabley.com/