A digital-only London Fashion Week, which did away with gendered seasons, proved to be the perfect place for local designer Bianca Saunders and New York photographer Joshua Woods to launch their zine, ‘We Are One of the Same’.

When we interviewed Saunders last year for Issue 2 of Nataal magazine, she spoke of who she would like to work with in the future. Mentioning Woods, whose documentary style she is drawn to, she said: “I've met him a few times and he seems really cool. He has his own vision of what he wants to do and how he wants to collaborate.”

The connection grew and the result is beautiful piece of work which explores togetherness, belonging and gender. These are ideas that are never far from the mind of a designer who, although officially working in menswear, describes her work as “an open door”. Through clever fabric manipulation and a focus on research to drive her designs, Saunders presents her men as sensitive and vulnerable and balancing feminine and masculine ideals on a gleaming knife edge. The Royal College of Art MA graduate’s talent was recognised by the NewGen sponsorship scheme and this year she was included in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.

Staring twins Faheem and Mecca Allah, We Are One Of The Same was shot last year in an old NYC convent, with Saunders taking just one suitcase of garments to work with. She and Woods employed the androgynous aesthetic of stylist Matt Holmes who ensured that the pieces – drawn from her SS19 collection ‘Gestures’ and her AW19 collection ‘Nearness’ – suited each models’ different frames. During the Showstudio panel talk that launched the zine during LFW, Saunders said: “We wanted to make the twins look similar in the clothes and ensure that the clothes worked equally well on both – the idea of clothes looking like they’re comfortable, they fit you and belong to you are all really important.”

Words for 'We Are One of the Same' came courtesy of Goldsmiths-graduated writer and model Jess Cole. Working without a defined end goal, this truly collaborative work evolved organically. “We established a common ground through our shared realities of blackness, whilst drawing out the distinct difference in our lived experiences as black peoples in the UK and US,” Cole said. “This zine is an art-come-poetry-come-fashion piece. The imagery of the written word frames the visual language of photography, capturing the craft of tailoring contoured by the shapes of styling. We are of the same fluidity, nothing is fixed forever, everything changes constantly. We are one of the same moment, yet it is only through our difference in perspective, that we can keep this moment moving forward.”

Buy the Zine here

Words Miriam Bouteba

Visit Bianca Saunders
Visit Joshua Woods
Visit Matt Holmes
Visit Jess Cole

Published on 26/06/2020