Finally, Wales Bonner's Womenswear Gets the Spotlight It Deserves
It’s felt like Grace Wales Bonner has been working up to this moment. Across over a decade of pioneering, critically acclaimed menswear, the designer has been quietly sprinkling more womenswear looks into her collections.
In fact, at the time of writing, the Wales Bonner website has an equal split between womenswear and menswear items available to shop (79 items in each category). Some of it is the softly elevated sportswear her label is synonymous with, designed to sit across the gender spectrum, other bits, like a floral calypso dress, read as more stereotypical styles of womenswear.
But up until now, with the unveiling of her Autumn/Winter 2025 collection, there hasn’t been a standalone womenswear presentation from the brand.
Sharing its name with a menswear presentation from earlier this year, Selah is a collection that picks up where the menswear left off.
The designer continues her relationship with The Black Image Corporation, this time through imagery from Moneta Sleet Jr.’s renowned photographic collection, and fringe dresses are inspired by archival images from Ebony and Jet magazine, which were featured in the menswear selection.
Collaborations are also carried over between the two collections, British heritage brand Crombie Ltd. working on a classic wool grate coat while Savile Row tailors Anderson and Sheppard reimagine a cavalry uniform through satin contrasts and embossed gold buttons.
There’s no word on a new adidas collaboration, however.
A careful balance is at play here, one where a utilitarian fireman-clasp jacket, a satin skirt, and dressy heeled loafers interact in a single look: “Tropes of masculinity and femininity are made hybrid in pure clothing; silhouettes between utility and elegance celebrate an eclectic and introspective style,” says a statement from the brand.
From the early days, Wales Bonner has had a well-documented womenswear audience gravitate to its menswear collections. And though the brand now creates two separate collections, it's still cleverly operating in a gray area between gendered dress codes.
