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Evie is wearing a wool sweater with Keith Haring artwork by Coach 1941. Jeans by Diesel

Six Ways to Wear Cartoon Characters for the Summer Season

Ben Toms and Katie Shillingford channel S/S18’s graphic mood

Lead ImageEvie is wearing a wool sweater with Keith Haring artwork by Coach 1941. Jeans by Diesel

“I found it inspiring that with a pencil in your hand, you can tell your life,” said Miuccia Prada of the comic book prints, each created by a female artist and spanning 1930s to present, which decorated a necessarily combative S/S18 collection. (“Wonder Woman, no; Angela Davis, yes,” she would tell AnOther’s Susannah Frankel.) 

And leave it to Mrs Prada to distill the mood for the season. Comic and cartoon motifs were memorable signifiers of designers’ S/S18 collections – from New York to Paris, pooling on good taste and bad: at Coach 1941, Stuart Vevers evoked the transformative powers of Keith Haring’s pop art squiggles, while Jeremy Scott’s rainbow-striped tracksuits at Moschino were drawn from the deliriously coloured stylings of My Little Pony.

Here, for AnOther Magazine S/S18, Ben Toms and Katie Shillingford explore the season’s fearless graphic mood, in six looks. 

1. Sequins (above)

A knitted jumper may not be typical evening attire, but this Keith Haring-emblazoned sweater, from Coach 1941, channels the expressive spirit of 1980s-era New York City nightlife with abandon.

2. Portrait

Being two-faced needn’t be a bad thing, nor a personality flaw: a second face, worn across your chest, à la this intarsia knit vest by Missoni, will more than satisfy your inner Janus.

3. Cartoon

Two unlikely new muses for the season in the form of gross-out provocateurs – and, of course, wholly fictional cartoon characters – Ren and Stimpy, whose comic book likenesses pattern this cut-out jersey dress by Jeremy Scott. 

4. Comic

There are few sartorial pleasures quite like top-to-sock Prada. Entirely clothe yourself in the comic strip artwork of female cartoonists Stella Leuna and Brigid Elva to embrace the season’s graphic mood – and channel Mrs Prada’s militant spirit in the process. 

5. Rainbow

An overdue case for the adoption of My Little Pony’s deliriously toned palette in one’s day-to-day wardrobe – prevent saccharine connotations by choosing accessories wisely: anarchist-symbol badges, cowboy boots and a Suzuki motorcyle will do the job nicely. 

6. Fairytale

No longer is a taffeta ballgown necessary to channel your inner Disney princess. Has consuming poisonous substances ever looked so appealing? 

Hair: Mari Ohashi at LGA Management using Davines. Make-up: Lucy Bridge at Streeters using Chanel Neapolis: New City and Chanel Blue Serum Eye. Models: Akiima at IMG London, Xie Chaoyu at Premier, Kiera Fox and Ellen Freed from New Noveta, Lorna Florence at W Model Management, Amy Gwatkin, Hannah Motler at Premier, Ninouk at Wilhelmina London, Evie Stein at IMM Agency and Vivienne at Ugly Models. Casting: Noah Shelley at AM Casting. Set design: Polly Philp at The Magnet Agency. Manicure: Adam Slee at Streeters using Rimmel. Digital tech: Lee Whittaker. Photographic assistants: Jack Symes, Mike Merkenschlager, Samuel Hearn, and Tim Mahoney. Styling assistants: Jessica Gerardi and Molly Shillingford. Hair assistant: Tommy Taylor. Make-up assistants: Bernadette Krejci and Mattie White. Set-design assistant: Nina George.

This story originally featured in the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of AnOther Magazine, which is on sale now.