LONDON, United Kingdom — Matthew Miller might be the most interesting menswear designer in London. At the very least, he's the most uncompromising. He's always taken an aggressively political stance, something to the left of Socialist, which, in Britain's current climate, slots tidily into the fierce debate that is sorely trying the Labour Party. But, for his new collection, Miller adopted a different, equally provocative stance.

He reconceptualised the notion of nouveau riche as people who were draining not financial capital but the cultural capital that is the feel-good foundation of Western civilisation. And Miller did this by commissioning a copy of the Caravaggio canvas David and Goliath — which he then had cut into items of clothing, particularly impressive as raw-hemmed coats. If this was supposed to be an ironic act of cultural vandalism, it was a failure. The pieces looked too good. Besides, Miller has a thing for Caravaggio, the Renaissance's favourite bad boy, so he was quite aware that the artist himself would probably have been perfectly happy to do something similar if the money was right.

Caravaggio’s wildness made a stark contrast with the ordered monochrome precision that is Miller’s usual signature. There was complete, confident control in the way he layered a shearling biker over a leather coat over trousers, all in the same winning shade of dove grey. The same control shaped the egalitarian elegance of the oatmeal-coloured suit that was worn by a girl with a skinhead crop. But the standout in the collection was Miller’s use of uncut velvet, which created a lush, Miyake-ish texture for tailored jackets and pants.

Instead of waistcoats there were scarves that wrapped shoulders and were belted at waists.  Drape an impressive overcoat on top and you had the very picture of an oligarchical piggy. If the military subtext that is already everywhere in London this season has always been part of Miller’s aesthetic, the inability to distinguish between ruler and rebel added to the impact of his latest collection. This time, he insisted his hand-painted canvas armbands could be those of the Republican militia in the Spanish Civil War. Where else in fashion would you be able to court such a reference? Bliss! Even more so to learn the armbands were cut from those Caravaggio canvasses Miller commissioned. Again, the artist himself would probably have been thrilled.