by Michaela Piontková
Every fashion week season, social media presents us with reports of the shows from the biggest fashion brands making it easy to seem like only prestigious fashion houses with a long legacy get to join in.
In reality, fashion weeks, especially in London, are a great opportunity for young emerging designers to introduce themselves to the industry.
Sinéad O’Dwyer
If you’re a fan of the office siren trend we’ve been seeing a lot this year, you’ll love Sinéad O’Dwyer’s
AW24 Collection, Supervisor.
With shirts being the main focus, they presented us with many different designs and tailoring styles. From oversized button-downs featuring piped bust constructions and internal support bands, to fitted shirts in stretch poplin featuring an internal leotard construction for guaranteed security, each were created with every detail in mind.
Another significant item were their wide-leg tailored trousers with voluminous side pleats, floor-swishing maxi-culottes, wide-leg jeans, and maxi skirts with raw waistbands and long side zips.
Most of the bottoms were low-waisted which is often a tricky cut to style, especially with the mostly oversized tops in the collections, but O’Dwyer created a capsule where every piece can be easily styled with another.
An oversized shirt styled with wide-leg trousers in the same colour makes the perfect “I’m comfortable but also utterly stylish” look, while low-waist folded jeans styled with a white denim overcoat create that “model off duty” vibe.
Mithridate
An individual existence and diverse forms of coexistence between humans and nature were the
inspiration behind Mithridate’s collection, Vita Aeterna.
Divided into three parts: Time, Identity, and Fate, Mithridate used black paired with golden-orange, light green, marine blue tones, and the occasional pop of bright red, creating an angelic colour palette.
Starting with Time, we were presented with thick velvets, metallic coatings, bejewelled embroidery, and 3D florals. Following was Identity, where we saw this soft and feminine mood merge into a more passionate, maybe even a little aggressive, vibe with the use of leather combined with crimson, coral pink, and detailed with rose gold, hand-cut flowers, chain hardware, and rhinestone embellishments. For the final part, Fate, we see much more cool tones like deep purple, black, navy blue, and silver - again using the 3D floral elements.
Mark Fast
Mark Fast is known to be inspired by architecture, which is often reflected in his collections bold silhouettes. This season he presented us with Galaxy Beyond, where fashion merges with urban city buildings and combines space-inspired charm.
Although this description sounds like typical contemporary fashion featuring unpractical and often unwearable garments, this was actually one of the most ready-to-wear collections we saw this season.
The galactic vibe came from the mix of square silhouettes, broad shoulders, greys and blues, black leather skirts, and velvet body-con dresses.
The eponymous designer stated that “Galaxy Beyond showcases a blend of innovation and style designed for those who desire a touch of cosmic elegance while staying attuned to the beat of urban life” - which is exactly what this collection achieved.
Dreaming Eli
If Tim Burton's Corpse Bride was a fashion show, then it would be Dreaming Eli’s The Dead Woman Talks Back.
Holding a mirror to empowered women, it celebrated taking control of a narrative that traditionally painted women as weak and powerless. The fashion industry is often criticised for controlling female bodies and souls - from corsetry to feelings of sexual desire - and this show reclaimed the clothing.
The way London-based Italian designer, Elisa Trombatore, disturbed traditionally modest fashion elements embodied this goal.
Corset dresses turned into mini dresses, maxi dresses had cut-outs along the seams, and corsets were styled with jeans, all in ecru, light pink, and black colours.
Using velvet, silk, cotton, and upcycled denim as the baseline materials with a lot of distressed silk chiffon elements, created a sexy yet not vulgar collection with a deeper message.
Having debuted at London Fashion Week in 2021, supported by Discovery Lab, Dreaming Eli has since showcased two collections annually.
JU-NNA
Japanese-British womenswear brands, JU-NNA, takes inspiration from Japanese street photography that documents drunk and exhausted workers sprawled across Tokyo’s streets. Tones of grey, white, and black refer to both office wear and the landscape of Tokyo as a concrete jungle.
The brand is known for re-contextualising traditional craft, and this collection wasn’t an exception. Fabrics range from Shibori-dyed silk jerseys to traditional wool coats, mixing modernity and tradition. Blazers with padded shoulders evoke the essence of workwear, paired with white shirts hanging on one button as you’d expect to see during post-shift drinks.
This collection was a nice blend of showing the issues of professionalism and exhaustion whilst also referring to the city infamous for its unhealthy work ethic. A well-executed collection with a deeper message.
Edited by Emily Duff