Sienna Bentley

It feels surreal to be able to say we have sat front row at a London Fashion Week show. But cut to Monday night at the Vauxhall arches, and that’s where you would’ve found us. We were lucky enough to experience a show that brought such a vital message to the fashion industry and echoes what we, at bite mag, are all about.

The Genaro Rivas collection, Beautiful James, was an amalgamation of multi-jurisdictional flavours, using Peruvian materials like alpaca to mix the essence of Peruvian fashion with that of east London. The modern silhouettes possessed an elegance that shone through in the long lines and classic shapes.

As the first Peruvian designer to hold a show on the official schedule at London Fashion Week, Rivas described his experience of making the move over to London and grabbing, with both hands, any and all opportunities to be creative and expressive.

It was against this backdrop that Rivas underscored the message of the show. He emphasised the importance of being creative while also providing others with similar opportunities – to work and build local communities that can authentically express themselves. Fashion should be collaborative and bring a purpose to as many people as possible, he said.

Fashion is a means of showing the world who you are, giving you the freedom to choose how you want to present yourself. In new settings and uncertain environments, it allows us to fit in by standing out. Ultimately, it is my view that all artistic fields are a creative’s way of seeking connection, and for fashion, this is perhaps the most true.

This is only enhanced by the fact that the industry is, at its heart, a truly collaborative realm and should be harnessed to create more opportunities for local communities and also for those who may feel lost or unable to express themselves in the way that they wish to.