Craig Green returns to runway for spring 25 with pre-fashion week show

Craig Green made a runway comeback on Wednesday morning in his packed-but-intimate East London space with the designer blending utilitarian elements with fluid fabrics some quirky motifs and an understated-but-unmissable colour palette for Spring 2025.

And boy, was it big on detail. Not that any of this was a surprise as Green is known for his interesting approach to silhouette and pattern as well as for embracing powerful details.

So plenty for established Green fans to get their teeth into then. 

Think a multicolour pieced and whipstitched biker jacket that’s more Mad Max than Isle of Man TT Races; a double-layered mini ‘poncho’ with childlike fire engine motif (one of several pieces along those lines); or a mesh top with floor-length chunky fringing.

There were casual jackets and shirts that play with traditional checks; fringe mesh caftans; Fred Perry shirts rendered something more striking wrapped with multiple waist-cinching belts; or layered pyjama-style suiting blending transparency with details like button trims and edge binding.  

Unlike some ‘statement’ collections in the designer menswear category, much of it was surprisingly wearable and the wealth of detail can be easily adapted for in-real-life shelf appeal rather than just being a headline-grabbing runway manifesto.

And Green knows a thing or two about being commercial as his ongoing collaborations with Adidas prove.

So what was it all supposed to mean? Perhaps that’s best left to Green to explain: “The outlines of who we’re supposed to be, and the imprints we leave behind, walk side by side. The rough grip of inherited codes, and the rhythmic appeal of successive, repetitive forms, admired and followed.

“Stoically familiar figures reveal intricate and delicate constructions on closer gaze. Like a young boy exploring an engine, components are carefully taken apart. Separating hard and soft, rigid forms multiply and interlock, while lightweight drapery steadily dissolves.

“Hazy photographic impressions wash over the body and hang in the air beyond. Finally fading, a sudden return to the tangible renders everyday images sharper and more beautiful than before.”

Unlike some runway show notes. That summed it up rather well.