PBY - Adam Jones Celebrates British Working-Class Heritage in his LFW Collection

Adam Jones gives new dignity to the British working-class by re-interpreting its symbols, attitudes and subcultures in a stunning London Fashion Week show.

New Skin for the Old Ceremony - a quote from American poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen is what could take to sum-up Adam Jones’ conceptual work behind his latest collection.

Relying on the scarce deadstock and thrifted materials the young London designer could get hold of during lockdown, his S/S 21 collection is an ode to succeeding despite the limited access to resources; a leitmotiv that well captures the British working-class, its pride and identity.

Expanding on his already cult beer mat grandad tank tops, Adam Jones draws full hands from staples of British pop culture like football bar scarves, illustrated tea towels and Arthur Sarnoff prints; all patterns and objects carrying with them connotations of dusty, provincial tackiness that 40 or 30 years on from their production acquire new post-modern, nostalgic and romantic meanings. The Dogs Playing Pool patterns from Sarnoff - one of the staples and statements of the collection - seem to become the fashion adaptation of what Crepuscular poet Guido Gozzano celebrated as “small things of awful taste”. The outdated and the familiar turned into an artistic statement through the use of a new perspective, that’s what Adam Jones succeeds in doing with his new collection.

The Covid-19 pandemic didn’t only affect the dynamics in which the collection was born, but it symbolically inspired it as the garments took shape. As explained by Adam himself: “After feeling rather ashamed and disappointed in my country post Brexit, the Corona pandemic brought about an unexpected optimism for me. I began feeling proud of my country again when hearing stories in the news of courage and selflessness from workers on the front line, the story of Captain Tom, we clapped for our carers. It was the first time since Brexit we felt united again as a country rather than divided, so I wanted to make use of my flags, the British flag and the Welsh flag.”

Welsh flags are turned into headscarves partially nodding to Gucci’s babushkas but mostly to the style of British working-class housewives, like the character of Flo in Reg Smythe’s Andy Capp comic strips. The Union Jack in pink brings back memories of the buzz and cheekyness of early 2000s Camden Town market, when the cultural impact of the Spice Girls and Cool Britannia was still strong and Brexit was nothing but a mirage unlikely to happen.

Styles with tie-dyed straight denim cuts - rescued during the pandemic from a shop that was closing down - Union Jack tank tops introduce us to a renovated ‘82 Skinhead, whose gender becomes fluid and their subcultural identity stands out as an affirmation of British cultural unity rather than acquiring any political connotations.

A similar treatment is reserved to the traditionally overtly-masculine football culture, with scarves turned into jumpers which fall off the shoulder and reveal skin across the shoulders and down the back. Classic British characters - like that of the Pearly King. the Boot/Bovver Boy, or the Punk - and environments - like pubs and working men’s clubs - acquire a playful dimension in the capable hands of Adam Jones, however they are never treated with disrespect as often happens with phenomena of cultural appropriations. On the contrary, Jones excels in operating between post-modern references and realism, giving to the British working-class the dignity it deserves.

“I think my work is also very ‘kitchen sink’, as in characterized by great realism in the depiction of drab or sordid subjects which used working-class domestic settings; think [play]Abigail’s Party, The Royal Family and Only Fools and Horses, those every day references are re-visited and presented to you again years later in this collection,” explains Adam.

The ‘Broke in Britain’ motto embroidered on the school boy character’s shirt is the emblematic manifesto of a generation who came of age witnessing an epochal socio-political change of Britain and that it is now trying to finds its voice mediating between rejection and celebration of a country and its icons. If Adam Jones’ new collection doesn’t provide an answer to this dilemma, it surely offers the tools to the interpret Post-Brexit Britain’s cultural and artistic zeitgeist.

All photographs courtesy of Adam Jones Mens Womens

Photography: Verity Smiley Jones-@veritysmileyjones 

Styling: Katharina Uhe-@katharina_uhe 

Creative Direction: Verity Smiley Jones & Katharina Uhe

Hair: Sol Harding-@s0l_05

MUA: Alice Dodds-@alicedoddsmakeup 

Shoes: Donnant Donnant-@donnantdonnant_official

Hats: Benny Andallo-@bennyandallo 

Models: Contact Agency, Crumb Agency