KEVAN HALL : TRADING POST

One of my last reviews of a collection, pre-pandemic was the incredible emerging designers, and the wonderful founders of The Black Design Collective. So it only seems fitting that the first collection review I do, as we begin to see light at the end of this arduous two-year stretch is to review Kevan Hall’s beautiful collection. One of the founders of The Black Design Collective and a career that spans over an incredible 38 years, Hall has dressed everyone from Jacqueline Kennedy, Michelle Obama to Charlize Theron.
 
Kevan Hall’s collection is what many of us have been dreaming about from the beginning of 2020, wondering whether PC (Post Covid) life and the way we dress would look the same as it did before? Would we still be dressing up? Or would athleisurewear be the way forward? Thankfully, Hall has given us all the best kind of hope with his Fall / Winter 2022 collection. Much like the fashion post prohibition we are ready and longing to dress us up and travel once more. And Hall has given us just what we need with his collection, Trading Post. Inspired by days gone by. Back to a time when travelers would trade their goods, mythology and handcrafted textiles from Morocco to Mali, to the fabled Tarshish. 
 
Hall has used regional fabrics mixed with gold and copper metallics, and in doing so has given us a reconceptualized dazzling transportation back to the era of maritime trade and luxurious beauty. 
 

Hall’s second collection back on the runway after a twenty-year hiatus from showing has done nothing to dim the light on his show nor collections. Always retaining a modern take on timeless pieces, he has once again excelled himself. Plentiful in luxe pieces with the use of rich jacquards, matelassé and brocades, Hall completes his storytelling of this historical yet modernized journey through these fabrics, bringing us to an extraordinary juncture and much longed-for unanimity from far and remote locations.  
 

Setting the scene for our journey, both traditional and contemporary Moroccan as well as Middle Eastern furniture and antiques were used in a warehouse setting. Feminine day dresses with abstract and animal prints billowed their way through the exquisite backdrop as the show begins. Moving into the mid-section of Hall’s storytelling, gives us the rich tale of abundant beauty told through tailored pieces in luxe materials including brocade. Ending the mythical journey with spectacular eveningwear so synonymous with the designer. 
 

With the use of metallic florals, and rich drapery the result was a stunning flow of graceful fluidity and movement. The final showstoppers of this transportive tale through time was created by Hall’s use of black and gold sequins on the gowns and suits, and the Arabesque influenced metallic and matelassé used on the outerwear. The suits were sexy but worn with such ease, a sign of tailoring to perfection. The jacquard mandarin cut blazer belted to cinch in the waist was another hero piece as it encapsulates his entire collection, luxe fabric, stunning tailoring, and modern yet timeless in its silhouette. Whilst the final dress with its cutout sides and matching gold embellished weighted coat was a complete showstopper.  
 ​
This dream of a journey was what we have all needed after a two year pause on glamour, fantasy and event dressing, but Hall has certainly brought us back with a bang. 

KEVAN HALL FALL/WINTER 2022 NYFW

Photo credit: Evan Hall.