Following a two year runway hiatus, Craig Green returned to London with something we all needed – joy and experimentation. Showing in a vast and spacious warehouse in the depths of East London – his studio neighbourhood – instead of traditional seating, guests sat on a gigantic, inflatable pool noodle.

Starting as he meant to go on, Green made plenty of allusions to the great outdoors in mossy-twin sets covered in excessive silver zipping and knitted foliage, or baggy trousers and back-pack life vests in dusky burnt oranges akin to the sandy surfaces of planet Mars. A soundtrack produced by French composer, Frédéric Sanchez, fitted the occasion out with a classical oeuvre, juxtaposed against lobster-red versions of the designer’s signature puffy sculptures that would later flank the runway. 

Mashed and blown up proportions created colossal sloping ponchos and their technicolour wool trims alongside nautical neck-scarves of enlarged squids and memory-foam travel pillows. Footwear was also puffed-out, covered in a layer of airy fabric with udder-like pump-valves dangling off either side – while a brilliant Adidas collaboration saw Green encase Stan Smiths in rubber, bolted and sealed. One all-white look even made an accessory out of the underbelly of a pregnant animal, styled out with matching a mohair vest and balaclava set. These were “mobile monuments to personal journeys” – a juxtaposition of textures, sensations, meanings and dimensions: the world has changed, and so have we.  

The British designer balanced out these conceptual offerings, which also included plenty of frilled pocket linings and an inflatable chaise-lounge-turned gown, with tactile versions of his signature quilted workwear and dramatic trenchcoats unfurling with excess drip from bulky collars and tentacle-sucker pockets. It was about absurdity and strength coalescing with ease, the natural and artificial making room for one another – Green’s travellers are warped with the times, but stronger than ever.