“There are elements of it looking like an old Italian tailoring ad from the 80s that had somehow become twisted and gone into a darker more sadistic place,” designer Daniel W. Fletcher tells us, explaining the concept behind his new SS19 campaign imagery. “The collection had a lot of references to American Psycho, there was the idea of this businessman going off the rails and I wanted it to have that same feeling.”

Photographed by HERO editor-in-chief Fabien Kruszelnicki and styled by Ben Schofield, here we exclusively reveal the imagery while Fletcher talks us through the keys ideas behind the campaign and collection.

On selecting the pieces for the campaign imagery:

“I worked with my long term stylist Ben Schofield on selecting the pieces for the images. For me, the campaign is not so much about what specific pieces are in it, it’s more about what captures the essence of that collection and creating the most beautiful image. I like the contrast between the two images where the first is quite done up and formal with the cotton shirt and leather mac and the second is this very stripped back halter neck; it helps to create this story of the rogue businessman – how did he get from that very formal, masculine look to the complete opposite?”

On collaborating with Caitlin Keogh for the collection:

“I first saw one of Caitlin’s paintings at the White Cube and fell in love with it. I printed it out and put it on my studio wall and as I was designing this collection I kept looking at it and thinking how much it related to my own feelings towards running a business and what I was imagining for the collection. I reached out then went to visit her studio in New York and we came up with the idea of using her paintings on my silk shirts and placing the female torsos within the body of the wearer. The ropes and chains which wrap themselves around the body in Caitlin’s paintings create a sense of restraint which I wanted to convey with this collection.”

On the campaign inspiration:

“The collection had a lot of references to American Psycho. I like the contrast between the two images where the first is quite done up and formal with the cotton shirt and leather mac and the second is this very stripped back halter neck; it helps to create this story of the businessman going a bit off the rails, how did he get from that very formal, masculine look to the complete opposite.”

On the collection’s main takeaway:

“I was thinking a lot about expectations of masculinity, especially in the business world, I also wanted it to challenge gender stereotypes. I think a lot of people can relate to the feeling of societal pressure, whether that be in work or how they dress, or how they spend their time, so I wanted to use this collection to challenge those pressures and to break free from the constraints of 2019.”