Brian De Carvalho AW Couture 2025
Fashion / Catwalk Show
Pages Walk, London, UK
June 2025
Creative Director: Brian De Carvalho
Lighting Designer & Technician: Sheron Luo
Associate Lighting Designer: Lydia Liu
Brian De Carvalho’s A Famine of Beauty, Honey… couture show unfolded in an abandoned East London warehouse, transformed into the ghost of a hospital. The collection was darkly theatrical — razor-blade gowns, shredded muslin, metallic armour — garments that carried stories of survival and transformation. My task was to build a lighting world that matched this haunting vision.
Design Concept & Execution
With a very limited budget and a difficult venue, I had to rethink how to light the runway. Instead of a traditional catwalk rig, we used portable tube LEDs to remake the space into an eerie hospital ward, their sterile glow echoing medical strip lights. A handful of fresnels on stands sculpted the models, highlighting both the strength of couture silhouettes and the fragility of distressed fabrics.
​Problem-Solving & Collaboration
The venue brought practical challenges. The building was old, and power was limited. With the whole team drawing electricity for makeup and fittings, I often had no supply left for the runway itself. Solving cabling and wiring under pressure became part of the job — rerouting power, improvising circuits, and setting up the rig as quickly as possible.
In the end, the restrictions pushed us toward creative solutions. The minimal, portable system gave us freedom to adapt and flexibility to build atmosphere with very little.
​
Outcome & Reflection
Despite the challenges, the result was striking. Reviewers described the models as spectres, moving through ruin and radiance. The combination of space, garments, and light created a visual that felt both raw and poetic.
For me, the project was proof that even in fashion, light doesn’t need abundance — it needs clarity and imagination. Working with my associate, solving problems on the fly, and carving beauty out of decay reminded me how much joy there is in making things work under pressure. In the end, the eerie glow of our lights did exactly what we hoped: it let the clothes haunt the space, and the space haunt the audience.
​
(Most photos were taken by Christine De Oliveira.)
