Chapter 5: Sunset on Tutorial Island
The ImPossible Family Reunion in RPG Space is a narrative of hope and belonging — a product of Afrofuturism.
Each look embodies a limitless version of my family members, shaped by the fantasy worlds I grew up with. Their story unfolds season by season. In our last chapter, they navigated the delicate balance between painful pasts and a hopeful vision for the future, honing their skills and gathering resources in preparation to confront the physical embodiments of their past.
Yaku
With AW25, we enter the next chapter. Today’s presentation captures the family’s final day before stepping into the unknown. They have mastered their crafts, each playing a crucial role in maintaining the group’s balance. Yet uncertainty lingers — some carry quiet confidence, while others radiate tension at what lies ahead.
Designing past collections inspired by my family while working with a team had previously been a challenge, as few had met the real people behind the characters. For our fifth chapter, we redefined them, transforming mythical figures into fully realised personas with distinct goals, motivations, and skills. Their world became a meticulously mapped island, with diverse biomes, unique climates, vegetation, and creatures. Each character’s role, rooted in their real-life counterpart, determined their archetype, duties, and skills.
Mum, Ricky, and Lorrelle have spent their time in a forest-like Gathering biome, deeply attuned to nature. Lorrelle, my eldest sister, is the Protector, anxiously guarding the children and managing the group’s camouflage. Her husband Ricky, the Provider, hunts and fishes in animal pelts, passing down his skills to my niece, Beau. Mum, a real-life shapeshifter, takes on the most fantastical form — morphing between a beetlelike exoskeleton, reptilian scales, and fur as necessary support the group. The rest of the family has also transformed. Grandad became the Mischievous Tinkerer, Karis the Mediator, Stephanie the Animal Whisperer, Amir the Attacker, Nathaniel the Defender. Dad split into two — Old Dad, weathered and gaunt, and New Dad, freshly synthesised and muscular. These identities are woven into every aspect of the collection — from textiles and prints to dyeing techniques and pattern cutting. These archetypes are more than just a narrative thread; they shape the very fabric of the design.
Building this lore took weeks, so it had to extend beyond the garments, allowing audiences to engage directly. The family’s island, a fully realised 3D world, is viewable in AR and on-stage animation. Grandad’s Workshop, within the presentation box, holds character profiles, diaries, first-person audios, development sketches, holograms, and dye samples, revealing the intricate process of weaving the story into garments. Mum’s backstory, tracing her journey to gaining her powers, plays as an animation within the Gathering Nook. Visitors can too step into this world, receiving a Yaku passport, answering self-reflective questions to determine their biome, and receiving a biome-specific passport photo and badge of belonging.
With the collection so deeply rooted in character individuality, working with actors again felt natural. Continuing our collaboration with theatre director Dermot Daly, Sunset on Tutorial Island presents a full day, from sunrise to nightfall, before the characters leave on their journey. It marks their final moments of uncertainty and excitement before stepping into the unknown. They don’t yet know what lies ahead, but they move forward — some with quiet confidence, others with hesitation.
Their feelings mirror our own, an ever-shifting balance of pain and hope, avoidance and fantasy, the fear of the unknown, and the decision to keep going. With each season, our character’s story deepens, as does our exploration of what fashion can be — a portal, a narrative, a medium for self-reflection and connection.
Thank You
To the British Fashion Council, for providing us with a platform to share our creations. To the Paul Smith Foundation, Projekt, the Mayor of London, and Martha Mosse, for giving us a space to create.To Laura Vaughan and Blonstein Productions, for the on-the-ground support that makes it possible to turn fantasy into reality. To Dermot Daly—we want to be you when we grow up. To our amazing actors, for shining so brightly, each in your own special way. To Michelle Dacillo and Richard Phillipart, for helping our actors feel their most confident selves. To Jordan Fox, for once again building the perfect score for our characters’ journey. To Madison Hahn & Nike London, for your continued support—we wouldn’t want anything but the swoosh on our characters’ feet. To Olya Kuryshchuk, for being a true supporter and always just a phone call away. To Baile Ali, Jordan Core and Oscar Finnie, for capturing the moment. To Vega Textiles, for always coming through with the perfect canvas for us to create on, and to Beker Studio, for providing a place where we could bring that canvas to life. To Beata Kubala & Lucy, Ibrahim & Guney Guvec, and Abdul Malik, for helping us transfer our work from the studio into the hands of the people.
And most of all, thank you to my fantastic studio team and everyone who helped bring this project together: Anastasiya Kuzmich, Charlie Arnott, Charlize Pfister, Harvey Bigg, Lottie Blankstone, Mathis Oliver, Marmarie Zaloom, Meda Mosiejute, Noah Clark, Rachel Hall, Rory O’Sullivan, Sookyung Kim, Syd Yen, Taymar Robinson, Tytus Tułecki, Woody Castang and Yijune Kang.
Performance Director: Dermot Daly
Score: Jordan Fox
Make Up: Michelle Dacillo
Hair: Richard Phillipart
Production: Laura Vaughan & Blonstein Productions
Set Fabric Partner: Vega Textiles
“Gathering” Animation: Camrhon Mitchell
3D & Island Animation: Sookyung Kim
##
