Art Comes First AW17 ‘Billism’ Collection

A new Art Comes First drop is always a moment of sartorial frisson and this one’s no exception. For AW17, the league-of-their-own design pair Sam Lambert and Shaka Maidoh have released a covetable collection steeped in the mood and history of the mid-century Kinshasa youth subculture of The Bills. The collection’s called ‘Billism’ (Tropical Cowboy) and is available from today.

The Bills based their look on the ‘Buffalo Bill’ cowboy imagery of the era and used their outfits as visible markers of political dissent and anti-colonial viewpoints. They eschewed turning to the prevalent figures of white priests to be their idol, opting instead to convey a message of strength and victory through the uniform of Hollywood cowboys. Art Comes First is here to remind us yet again of a little-known part of African youth culture and its rich heritage of original style that is often overlooked.

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The lookbook reveals an intriguing new add-on to the Art Comes First universe, reliably sharp-cut and traditionally elegant but with that signature hard-worn, ultra-modern polish. Modelled by Danish twins Noel and Samuel Aiwerioghene of Akins Collective, the new season brings us pieces like a smooth perfecto with fringed sleeves, high-quality indigo double denim, two-tone creeper dress shoes, boots, belted overcoats, ‘Leader of the Pack’ 3D embossed accessories, long coat bomber hybrids and hoodies – all styled, tailored and accessorised to trademark ACF perfection.