The absurd procession could easily be dismissed as mockery, but that would miss the point. This performance targets high-end brands devoid of creativity and a fashion industry stuck in endless cycles of copying. Rottingdean Bazaar is based in Rottingdean, a coastal village 48 miles from central London. From this distance—neither too close nor too far—the two designers observe the fashion world.
The SS19 collection is titled 'From an Observer's Perspective.' In practice, they examine the industry's contradictions from outside the fashion capital. £26 rental costumes stand alongside collections worth thousands of pounds on the runway. It's a declaration that ideas, not price tags, determine a garment's value.
Rottingdean Bazaar's approach is sharp and incisive. True avant-garde thinking may be born at the margins, not the center. An observer's eye sees more than a participant's. Do you see this performance as mockery, or as insight?
FAQ
What kind of garments appeared in Rottingdean Bazaar's SS19 collection?
Rottingdean Bazaar's SS19 runway featured no designer-made clothing. Instead, they showcased costumes rented from Script to Screen, a UK-wide costume shop. Models wore Christmas tree, Van Gogh, Earth, and carrot outfits while holding 'FOR RENT' signs listing the rental locations—Cardiff and Worcester branches.
Where is Rottingdean Bazaar located?
Rottingdean Bazaar is based in Rottingdean, a coastal town forty-eight miles from central East London. From this deliberate distance from fashion's epicenter, the two designers observe the industry with an outsider's perspective.
What was the intention behind Rottingdean Bazaar's SS19 collection?
SS19 was an ironic performance critiquing creatively bankrupt high-end brands and fashion's copycat cycle. By sending twenty-six-pound rental costumes down the runway, they declared that ideas, not price tags, determine a garment's value—a genuinely avant-garde approach born from their observer's vantage point.
