MOWALOLA SS23 SHOW PARIS - BURGLAR WEAR

Wherever you go, you are surrounded by thieves. The person next to you; across from you; even the one in the mirror, too. After all, what it takes to take from someone else has little to do with a certain personality type or chosen – rather, it’s a matter of accessing a state of mind that dwells within us all. For Burglarwear, the brand’s defiant return to the runway after a three-year hiatus, Mowalola presents a study of what it truly takes to steal – money, jewellery, data, power, hearts. Unexpected common ground is unearthed between characters you’d otherwise keep firmly apart. Through Mowalola’s eyes, white‑coloured bankers, pastors, Yahoo boys – Lagos’ ostentatiously dressed internet scammers — are all unified by a lack of remorse in their actions; a confident pride, even, in their conviction in taking what they believe is rightfully theirs. Here, typologies of robbers are appropriated and passed through the prism of the brazen raunch that has characterised the brand since its founding day. A black leather ecclesiastical dress has a crucifix cut‑out at the chest, flaunting the nipples and navel. City‑boy tailoring is reimagined with sensuous hipbone cut‑outs, and jewellery‑heist balaclavas are joined to low‑rise trousers by slashed swathes of suiting fabric. The slick cobalt blues, blood reds and acid yellows of cropped jackets and tees, gimp‑ish bodysuits, and butt‑swaddling miniskirts nod to the hues of comic book supervillains. As much as this is a collection that interrogates notions of what it means to steal, it is also one that explores what it means to be stolen, too. A long‑sleeved hooded minidress and a knitted column gown with laced fronts are constructed in a way that intentionally restricted arms, evoking associations of submissive fetish and kidnapping. With Mowalola’s return to the runway comes a notable partnership with New Balance, resulting in a brand‑new collaborative shoe. Riffing on the label’s emblematic 00s running shoe silhouette, the New Balance x Mowalola 90/60 exaggerates its keystone features, with its inflated midsole and poppy colourways. Designed with memories of sweat‑hazed dancefloors in mind, it offers the ideal support for busy nights out – or days on the run.