Adam Frost.
No one says what they mean and means what they say quite like Adam Frost. He’s uninhibited and explicit, and he’s got a point to prove which, for his debut art show, meant overcoming failure. A self-confessed queer working class visual artist, fashion designer, performance artist and musician, Frost’s narrative is a turbulent one, suspended from his studies at the Royal College of Art for his financial situation. Following this, he felt overworked and got shingles, a visual prompt her transfused into his inaugural show, with painted flecks and scribbles on the walls, enclosing a company of models donning his collection, ‘Aciclovir.’
Named after the remedy used to medicate his condition, Frost refers to this progressive collection as an overdramatic and enigmatic ensemble of leopard print, perspex and sequins. “It’s aspirational,” he motions. “It’s about coming from a working class council house background and trying to break into the art world while having no money.”
Think Grace Jones and Björk, the eccentric intersection boasts cinched perspex dresses, metallic thigh high boots and fuschia corsets. Ruching and drapery takes precedence, distorting and accentuating the body, a jibe towards Frost’s longing to create a more supportive surrounding body dysmorphia. “I think there’s a lot of that in the queer community, which needs to be addressed more and that's why diverse sizing is important to me.”
While the best art for Frost often comes from sadness, writing poems on the tube and documenting his thoughts while intoxicated, at present, he feels fabulous. “The best art comes from failing again, again, again and again until you find your language and things click, and being working class really puts a fire under my ass.”
Articulating his emotional headway, Frost relies on his silhouettes to navigate the psychological journey he’s embodied. Sporting what he refers to as his ‘Black Hole Dress,’ a metaphor for a darker time in his life, Princess Julia sports a capricious sequin dress. “I was running in the park to Chromatica and I hurt my foot badly and became really down, but Princess Julia came round and helped me.”
Through Frost’s strife, collaboration has remained at the forefront, turning to his neighbours and friends to conjure the sparkling spectacle into fruition. With the likes of Brooke Candy and Ru Paul’s Tayce show their enamoured support donning his looks, Frost’s valiance and determination serves as a reminder that even in the darkest and hardest of times, and with the present recklessness of the world around us, the fashion industry will always offer both refuge and rebellion in the face of anarchy.
Writer Scarlett Baker.
CREDIT: Imogen Cleverley
