D U S K

A Safari (: /səˈfɑːɹ.i/, from Swahili ‘journey’) is an overland expedition to observe wild animals. Unlike a zoo, a safari is an experience that allows studying animalistic rites and species interacting in a purer form, integrating the human spectator into the wildlife habitat. It is a spectacle with different actors, where the observed might become the observer, the environment shapes the roles to play, and the animal/human separation loses its existential meaning in a ‘wild’ habitat that requires everyone to adapt and create suitable strategies to survive.

Different species may vie for being the most exotic, to generate the most attention, to attract most followers. A safari can also be seen as a show with various characters slily competing among themselves, a game to be the top dog, to look the best, perform the best, and become a celebrity in their own right. The city of London equally hosts such a habitat allowing exotic species to bloom and to decay. POAN creates a safari in an urban context, offering an arsenal of looks to attract, and camouflage to blend in innocuously when required.

Dramatic red dresses, embellished with dense layers of tulle, pleated panels, and balloon sleeves deliver those eye-catchers made to turn heads around. They deliver on the premise to maximise attraction in the show game. Subtler statements come in warm, gold-shaded jacquard dresses and lurex-threaded shirts with corresponding dinner jackets. A butterfly dress sits on a bondage base, the same structural skeleton that also shapes a paillette leopard print bikini. Patterns act both as a distinctive feature, making an individualistic statement that identifies a certain species, and as camouflage that offers protection from potential aggressors.

At times, physical contact might be unavoidable and a fight leaves behind some scars. As a fashion statement, close encounters with powerful beasts are expressed in highly distressed denim pieces that come as roomy trousers and belted overcoats. Cut-outs reveal layers beneath such as metallic green cardigans, which confirm POAN’s position as a knitwear powerhouse. It is due to the brand’s close collaboration with small Italian manufacturers that allows pushing the boundaries in that space continuously, stylistically, while guaranteeing sustainable production principles.