British Fashion designers VIN + OMI have exclusively announced to the Huffington Post UK (blog), that they are to showcase their AW14 collection at London Fashion Week next month.
Entitled 'Conceptual', the invite only event will unveil the duo's ready-to-wear collection and also give a nod to their new diffusion line, VO, which fuses the highly energised mix of underground music and fashion culture into a clubwear range - the line debuts this Summer.
Their fashion week appearance officially marks the pair's return to the city where their creative journey began, and also heralds the beginning of a new partnership for the duo, who have just signed with the Fashion Innovation Agency. Regarded as one of London's premier organisations for nurturing design talent, the agency houses a stable of names including Agi & Sam, Fyodor Golan, Marques' Almeida and Jean-Pierre Braganza - its alumini also boasts Meadham Kirchhoff, Sibling, Louise Gray, Mary Katrantzou and Simone Rocha.
Citing a myriad of creative influences spinning out across many tangents - the AW14 collection features deconstructed graphic and print elements, and has been produced with a couture design sensibility. Elements of androgyny and homoeroticism merge into artist references such as Salvador Dali's 1937 surrealist painting "The Burning Giraffe", and the extraordinary 1972 film, "Fellini's Roma".
"We have approached this collection very differently from our past three collections" the pair explained. "Changing gears is something we have to do to keep us interested in what we do. To have too distinctive a signature can sometimes mean you have to sacrifice on the longevity of one's career. People get bored. We do. We will always change and evolve."
And is there a particular message they want to communicate with this collection I ask?
"It has a very personal element to it, all will be revealed on the day!" they reply.
Having attracted a stellar line-up of celebrity fans from Michelle Obama and Debbie Harry to musician Chrysta Bell and actress Pamela Anderson, the design duo are renowned for pushing the boundaries - a signature born from their passion for exploring different subcultures and a crossover of genres, and ultimately from creating their own unique hybrid fabrics and translating the material into wearable high-end fashion. The results have earned them a loyal style tribe of followers.
"The response we are having has been incredible" they both delightedly say. "We are very happy that people have stuck with us and grown with us over the years, and gaining a new following has also been very encouraging."
Vin + Omi are undoubtedly innovative visual pioneers, unafraid to experiment and create their own unique design codes, opting out of the currency of hype surrounding industry trends.
"We have purposely avoided going down the traditional fashion week route" they explain. "We want to sit outside the fashion machine and do our own thing; it works for us."
Vin + Omi 'Conceptual' takes place on Saturday February 15th, during London Fashion Week which runs from 14 -18 February.