Haider Ackermann makes his FILA show in Manchester

Announced in September, the highly anticipated FILA by Haider Ackermann collection was unveiled a few days ago in Manchester, an iconic city for English sports and music, underground art and a hotbed of social protest in the past.

After a two-year break from the catwalk, the Colombian-born French designer, whose name is known mostly to fashion insiders, is back in the spotlight by choosing this surprising partnership, to say the least, because of his need for “electricity.”

“I needed some energy and speed after a little bit of silence. So, I was happy to be back on track and to stand straight and to go for it,” he told WWD.

It was in the concrete interior of the Depot Mayfield, a former train station closed in the 1960s and now a mecca of Manchester nightlife that the two partners chose to present their collection in front of a star-studded audience from around the world: Chloe Grace Moretz, Andrew Garfield, Cody Fern of American Horror Story, Emma Darcy of House of the Dragon, Rios of Elite but also Mahmood, Delfina Delettrez Fendi, and Korean star Wooseok Byeon.

On the all-white runway, mixed looks inspired by different sports practices (running, swimming, tennis) with very sharp colors. First with a flurry of white shades, before exploding in bright pinks, soft blues, greens and hallucinogenic yellows. The graphics are not left out: checkerboards, large checks, black and white stripes, or logos that multiply boldly on the sleeves and legs. As for the technical materials, they draw the silhouettes, enveloping the body – sometimes like a second skin – for a futuristic look.

“For me, it was a new approach. With FILA, I wanted to find a form of electric energy, whereas my usual work is much more wandering, romantic and distant. Here I wanted to be really grounded in life,” Haider Ackermann expressed.