So, you probably thought you were off the hook when it came to new fashion collections, but surprise! We’re bringing you more! Though you may have collection fatigue at this point, the work you’re about to see is well worth shaking the sleep from your eyes for. Why? Well, because these collections are from some of the most exciting independent designers working today – the sort that often get overlooked amid the fashion week hubbub of the Saint Laurents, Loewes and Miu Mius of the world, but that, in our eyes, deserve just as much attention as them. From plucky, fresh-out-of-uni newcomers to top contenders in this year’s LVMH prize, here are the latest offerings from some of the most impressive young labels to know.
Paolina Russo
For the latest chapter in the brand’s grunge-tinged tale of suburban nostalgia, London-based label Paolina Russo transposed their Zelda-redolent heroine from the city’s quiet backstreets right into its beating heart. Offering a uniform that simultaneously conveys daydream-y escapism and urban practicality, City Picnic sees the brand’s signature illusion knit return across patchworked skirts in smoggy technicolour – petrol-streaked, almost – alongside second-skin thermals and swim-ready lycra layers bearing bright, eccentric prints. Dressed for any eventuality, as any big-city dweller should be! That sense of sporty ease carries into roomy crepe dresses, printed with chintzy florals and romantic postcard cityscapes, while the brand’s increasingly acclaimed sense of handcraft – that is, after all, what has landed them spots in this year’s editions of both the LVMH Prize and the International Woolmark Prize – makes itself known in a striking version of their signature Möbius crop-top and hip cut-out maxi-skirt in rainbow gradient merino yarn. Not to mention a cropped leather two-piece that features an embossed translation of the collection’s patchwork illusion knit motifs. Must haves for the city-slicker warrior princesses among you.
Aaron Esh
Another emerging menswear name you must have on your radar is, of course, Aaron Esh, the CSM MA graduate who, this year, was announced as one of the 20 finalists of this year’s LVMH Prize. The collection he showed last week to a coterie of industry bigwigs – spanning everyone from Jonathan Anderson to Anna Wintour – was by far his most accomplished body of work to date. A hazily romantic yet elevated meditation of glammed-up nights spent at friends’ houses, it draws inspiration from that sartorial twilight zone that so many young urbanites enter in their late 20s and early 30s – a curious space between the all-out, glam costumery of a night out in your early 20s, and the consciously cosy dinner-and-bed-by-midnight outfits that await you the second you hit the big 4-0. An exercise in meticulous compromise, the casual fit of straight-legged jeans is counterposed by the subtle frou-frou of a bubble-hemmed skirt that hangs from their waistband. Starched-poplin-white jersey hoodies feature elegant ties about the body, while panelled leather and satin-sashed tailored wool are constructed with ballooning pleats, tempering their formality with both a casualness and subtle sense of humour. Even a peak-lapelled dinner jacket – a paragon of formalwear – was slouchily wrapped, imbuing it with a louche, after-party chic rather than stiff dinner-table properness. Indeed, these are clothes for boys who want to get dolled up without feeling overdressed.
VeniceW
Through her admittedly eccentric practice, Venice Wanakornkul has given new meaning to the notion of fashion as a form of storytelling, creating entire worlds of her own through her brand VeniceW – literally. Where previous collections have seen the designer ponder how the clothes she creates might live in a parallel fashion fantasy world called, well, VeniceW, this season sees the designer consider what might happen to them when they pass on to a realm beyond. Dwelling on notions of afterlife, preservation and immortalisation, familiar hoodies, tiered skirts and bubble-panelled trousers figure in varying shades of stone-y grey, as if they’d calcified into statues commemorating a garment that once was. This sense of clothes being considered as relics lifted from bygone times also translates to faintly Victoriana bonnets and ruffles, as well as prints depicting sketches of houses as they might have appeared in 17th-century London. Ultimately, they were clothes that had the air of having stood the test of time, and will hopefully continue to do so for a considerable amount of time to come.
Olly Shinder
Though he only graduated from Central Saint Martins prestigious BA course less than year ago, Olly Shinder has, since then, become one of the most buzzed-about names in British menswear — so much so that he was snapped up by Adrien Joffe’s alt talent incubator, Dover Street Market Paris, on the merit of his graduate collection alone. For his sophomore collection, the young designer decided to develop on the nascent signatures he first started to trace in his first offering, building out his universe of poetically-suffused performancewear. Trousers in heather-y ripstop and a snow camouflage developed by the German Wehrmacht in the 90s feature advanced iterations of the tri-zip motif that debuted last season; while shirts that nodded to army-issue garments are constructed with windows of lingerie-redolent devoré, allowing glimpses of flesh to interrupt the look’s uniform-y timbre. Cordura nylon parkas feature snap-on spines, and compression knit tanks and knee-high socks come ribbed and veined, suggesting both a playful surreality that brings a sense of levity into the mix, and a more bodily – libidinal, even – tone.
Fidan Novruzova
Since graduating from the Central Saint Martins BA a few years back, Fidan Novruzova has built a cult reputation for her swampy-hued, bulbous square-toed heeled boots and mules, so much so that they’re basically considered the IYKYK fashion girlies’ answer to Margiela Tabis. Increasingly, though, the fashion world started to wise up to the Moldovan designer’s ready-to-wear collections, with her latest offering for AW23 proving the breadth of her talent. Exploring the notion of modern nostalgia, this season sees her look to the sartorial canons of the 1920s and 1960s, collaging motifs to create a distinct, directional wardrobe that feels rigorously tailored and intriguingly uncanny, with sprinkle of twee for good measure. Boulder-shouldered shift dresses are cut from strips of tawny faux-fur, resulting in riffs on a Cardin-era minidress, while grey denim jackets with angled sleeves feature ammonite appliqués at the shoulders. Elsewhere, necklines of cropped jackets lurch up in capuche hoods, bringing a spirit of camp theatricality that’s tempered by the cutesiness of bow-like drapes seen on garments throughout.
Hodakova
As anyone who’s seen the Swedish designer’s recent Gucci Continuum collaboration – comprising shoulder bags and itsy-bitsy tube dresses and skirts fashioned from the brand’s iconic logo belts – will know, Hodakova is, without doubt, one of the chicest upcyclers working today. With a material repertoire that spans everything from surplus sportswear to cutlery, her practice follows in the tradition of renegade designers like Miguel Adrover and Martin Margiela, who saw upcycling not just as a means to an end, but rather as a subject worthy of study and celebration. Drawing inspiration from a Swedish folktale about making soup from a nail — an allegory for the possibility to create greatness from nothing — this season saw her develop her fused belt signature into dresses and pencil skirts, while poplin shirts are warped into bubble-hemmed dresses, peppered with jagged woollen spikes. Elsewhere spoons were bent into bralettes, and appliquéd onto the finale gown, a jangling column of cutlery – given the craftsmanship it exhibited, we can imagine that you’ll probably need to have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth to own it.