Designer Dauan Jacari, alongside creative director Ryan Cardoso, presented SSN II, The Royal Court, during London Fashion Week at the Chelsea Theatre, 7 World’s End Place. An avant-garde show of everything natural around us and questions whose world are we even in?

With a deep-rooted background in dance and clothing design, it is no wonder how his designs go beyond what is considered a fashion boundary. His ideas, carefully sculpted, inspire a deep investigation into how silhouettes influence our thoughts as individuals.

SSN II was structured as an engaging and immersive workshop for actors, conducted over two acts. The voices, characters, and freedom of the models are emphasized through this distinctive format, turning them from mere figures into narratives within the stories crafted by Dauan Jacari and playwrights Aicha “AK” Keita and Bryce Edwards.

Dauan Jacari questions what it truly means to be honorable. His questions expose honesty. To be honorable, a person must act with integrity, but then again, what does that mean and for whom? He stands with the people; the people who work, walk, exist, heels hitting the sidewalk, those who dream and work for the life they desire.

This philosophical and anthropological investigation is shown through transforming jeans and a t-shirt into art that brings questions; not questionable but causes a look inward. With distorted fundamentals of a button-down and transforming the construction of pants into a pre-styled garment, the self is deconstructed with it and built back up.

In the newest act, SSN II, Dauan Jacari delves into their interpretation of these wardrobe essentials into a dramatic composition. The presentation shows us that clothing is never completely finished but is always in a state of development and evolution, influenced by the individual who dons them.

“We invite you to bear witness to a tale as old as time. In my presence, this stage becomes a rehearsal of life and all in attendance have become a part—we are all one, as sisters, brothers, queens and kings.”

Through The Royal Court, SSNII continues Dauan Jacari’s vision in reshaping and redefining fashion as a performance and conversation on what it means to belong.

Article by Seana Watson, Associate Fashion Editor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
*All images courtesy of Dauan Jacari

Dauan Jacari Honors Authenticity at London Fashion Week