Luke Raineyâs SS27 collection shows the unfiltered, stripped-back reality of Northern Irelandâs youth
After Dagger entered Berlin Fashion Week with an outstanding debut show in January, founder and creative director Luke Rainey continues to captivate his audience through genuine storytelling that hits a soft spot in everybody whose teenage years were marked by the dream of something bigger.
Dagger’s second show takes place at Kronprinzenpalais, joining Reference Studioâs Intervention once again. Set against an opulent Prussian hall, loud punk music and bratty teenage vibes clash with the expectations you might have when entering such a building.
- Backstage Photography:
- Harry Miller
Luke Rainey doesnât just create clothesâhe creates characters. Throughout the show, models are spotted with beat-up faces, some are covered in lipstick smears, and some have their clothes ripped up. Some looks are accessorized with pageant sashes that say âMiss Spent Youthâ or âMiss Understood.â Some characters are wearing headphones, dissociating from the spectacle around them, while others pull out their phones and start filming the crowd right back. The styling is raw, youthful, and imaginative, and every character feels like they have a story to tell. It feels deeply personal, like youâve met them before or heard about them. The prom queen, the troublemaker, the shy kidâall gathering together, yet all in their own world. Watching them makes you inevitably wonder where theyâve been, what theyâve been doing, or where theyâre going next. Itâs like re-reading a diary from your teenage years.Though melancholic at times, the collection feels carelessly euphoric, mixing bright colors with loud patterns and prints distinctive to the streetwear brand. Dagger stays true to its visual language rooted in streetwear and skate culture, but shows once again that they deserve their spot on the runway.
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- Runway Photography :
- Finnegan Koichi Godenschweger
After the finale, the designer himself comes out, sporting a T-shirt that has âEMPLOY WORKING CLASS KIDSâ sprayed on it, inserting himself into the show as a part of it, making sure the crowd uncompromisingly understands what this is about: youth, hope, and chances.
We meet Luke Rainey backstage right after the show, where heâs already cornered by a crowd of journalists. As the last ones in line, we wait quite a bit until we finally get to talk, and staying true to the brand, he asks for a cigarette and a drink first.
After your successful debut last season, did you feel pressured to create a similar momentum, or even upstage yourself?
Luke: No one was more surprised than me that the first show turned out so successful. Honestly, I thought it was good, but compared to the standards in this industry, we didnât expect it to turn out as well as it did. The first time, I was just terrified from start to finish, whereas this time I enjoyed it a lot more. Thatâs what the collection is about anyway.
What was the starting point of this collection?
Luke: The whole brand is based on my teenage years. I grew up in a little town in the North of Ireland. Itâs a pretty rough place to grow up, but I think those areas spark a lot of creativity. You start imagining something better than your surroundings to escape them, at least in your head. It’s a seaside town, and in summer the arcades open up, beaches open up, and tourists come in. Teenagers get their first jobs, flipping burgers, making ice cream, or working the fairground rides, whatever it may be. That little money they make gives them a first sense of freedom. They can finally meet new people and go places. So we thought about them having a party at the beach at night and walking home in the morning, thinking about everything that had happened at that partyâfirst kisses, first drinks, and first whatevers. They are reminiscing about who they could become past where they are right now. So optimism and hope are the base of the show.
Sounds like you see a lot of your younger self in the characters you’re creating?
Luke: It’s funny, I base these characters on my teenage years, but actually those years were horrendous. They were awfulâthe worst time of my life. So it’s weird that that’s where I’m taking the inspiration from. I think itâs therapeutic and healing for me to imagine something better, more beautiful than what it actually was. In the same way, when you’re there, you have to create something better in your head to cope with the environment.
How did the music play into accentuating the characters?
Luke: Music is incredibly important for Dagger. Today we played “Set You Free” by N-Trance, which is the number one teenage song to me. Maybe not everywhere, but where I come from, itâs the first song you hear when you start high school. It’s got so much hope and romance in it, and we tried to show that romance in the collection as well. We used a lot of lighter and softer fabrics this season compared to our normal harsh graphics and rough fabrics like denim and canvas. I’m actually a very soft person, and I wanted to show this other side of me in the collection in order for the brand to feel authentic.
Did your approach to design change since you started doing shows?
Luke: Oh, yes. My God, massively. We started as a T-shirt and hoodie brand, but I always felt that there was more story in Dagger to be told, and it got to a point where it felt too limiting. After I did the first show and got such positive feedback, I started to understand what Dagger actually could be or what it is, and I’ve really trusted that this season. Thatâs why itâs so bright, with all these loud, clashing prints, graphics, and colors. We’re not trying to be a neutral brand; we’re not trying to refine ourselves into something that conforms to the fashion industry. We are who we are, and you can like it or not.
What do you want the guests to take away from the show?
Luke: I want them to know that it doesn’t matter where you come from or where you start. Your background doesn’t dictate who you are or what you can do. Of course, it still does to some degree; thatâs why I want to encourage people to actively give people with working-class backgrounds a chance. If you want to enter the fashion industry with a background like this, you have to work several jobs in order to do a single internship. Itâs too difficult for most people. I think there arenât enough people from that environment in the industry, and I believe in letting working-class people tell their stories. So that’s the main message that I want to convey today. I mean, I wrote it on my chest, so I really hope it got across.