FASHION Magazine

Thomas Wakeford is a womens-wear duo based out of London, designed by Thomas Wakeford and Toronto-native Raphael Castelmezzano. The boys come from different kinds of fashion backgrounds—Wakeford has from a design-based Central Saint Martin’s MA and does much of the designing while Castelmezzano, whose focus was editorial assisting and stylist, does all the styling—but the two come together in a way that challenges traditional notions of what looks good.

Working with simplistic silhouettes, the duo pairs fabrics that aren’t usually seen together—we’re talking about leather, lambskin, denim, lamé, rubber, silk, matte cotton, and more—and come out with clothes that are unexpected and very refreshing, or as Wakeford and Castelmezzano like to call them, “crude and contrasting.” They use cringe-inducing styles that have gone out of fashion, like handkerchief hems and patchwork denim, and are still able to make clothes that are utterly likable. Case in point: The frayed hems and the undone look of the garments have been described as “so wrong they’re right,” and the colour pairings are intentionally jarring. The Spring 2012 collection is bright and fun with easy-on-the-eyes colourful stripes that are almost Beetlejuice-esque. This young pairing keep getting better with each season, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with next.