Natasha Zinko's SS27 Show Explores Surveillance and Stardom
Ukrainian designer Natasha Zinko staged her SS27 London Fashion Week show inside a panopticon, featuring guest appearances from Katie Price and Drea de
Rumors swirled for days about who would walk Natasha Zinko's SS27 catwalk. The Ukrainian-born, London-based designer, who had viral success with Spice Girl Mel B last season, staged her latest show inside the brutalist Collins Music Hall in Islington.
Once inside, guests handled dusty corridors to find a huge atrium. The space, with square openings on each mezzanine floor, was chosen for its resemblance to a panopticon. This is a prison design where inmates can be observed from a central point without knowing when they are being watched. Zinko placed the audience in the center, casting her models as the imprisoned.
The Celebrity Cast
The show, titled 'Pay Per View', burst to life with models appearing in each illuminated opening. British glamour model and television personality Katie Price appeared in a tight black waistcoat and matching shorts. The Sopranos star Drea de Matteo was next, pictured puffing on a cigarette. Kelly Osbourne also appeared, wearing a sleek black bob and carrying a bat pendant as a tribute to her late father.
Alongside these celebrities, the panopticon frames held a chaotic array of characters. The lineup included cowboys, cleaning ladies, indie rockers, opera singers, footballers, and sailors.
The Concept of Surveillance
Show notes revealed Zinko had been reading Foucault and thinking about modern surveillance. She described a world where "any one of us may be under numerous kinds of surveillance anytime, whether that be from the state or some schmo with a camera." The designer explained the collection was about those who thrive in an "attention-based economy" by establishing monetisable public personas.
This concept led to a collaboration with the platform OnlyFans. Items like shorts and 'Pay for View' pants appeared on the runway, directly referencing the theme.
The Claustrophobic Finale
For the show's close, the models broke free from their cells and descended into the audience. They weaved through the crowd in a symbolic bid for freedom. Guests had noted the black stools on the ground floor were placed extremely close together, leaving barely a discernible runway.
When Price, Osbourne, and the others walked through, the effect was one of uncomfortable closeness. This echoed the claustrophobia of the surveillance state Zinko aimed to explore. The show concluded with the models' escape, leaving the audience in the central watchtower of the designer's constructed world.
