Review of Fashion East Fall 2023 Fashion Show
For Fashion’s Future Look no Further than the East
By Angela Baidoo
Acting as London’s emerging designer cheat sheet for more than two decades, Lulu Kennedy continues to prove she has the Midas touch when it comes to seeking out new talent to nurture.
Securing the city’s reputation as fertile ground for directional design for another season, for autumn winter 2023 the incubator showcased the collections of Karoline Vitto (a standout who garnered much industry buzz for her show featuring an inclusive fuller figured cast), Standing Ground (who have gone from presentation last season, to their first runway show in one effortless leap), and Johanna Parv (the Estonian native who turned cycling gear into chic ensembles).
With everyday a reason to celebrate since the pandemic, many emerging designers have latched onto the idea of dressing up and have made it their calling card, think sexed-up glamour, clever cut-outs, and grown-up gowns, these brands are as far from debutante dressing as you can get.
Standing Ground
As the trend for mass casualisation has infiltrated all categories over the last decade, there are those who are taking to reinventing the very antithesis of this, and breathing new life into the occasion and evening wear market. With everyday a reason to celebrate since the pandemic, many emerging designers have latched onto the idea of dressing up and have made it their calling card, think sexed-up glamour, clever cut-outs, and grown-up gowns, these brands are as far from debutante dressing as you can get. And in tackling the modernisation of ‘going out’ London designers are offering up edgy alternatives that are enticing a new generation of customer.
Michael Stewart’s first runway show for Standing Ground benefitted immensely from motion – a simple consideration, which can be understood when compared with viewing his designs relatively stationary last season. For only his second outing, Stewart seems to have mastered the art of imbuing even the simplest of forms with a fluidity that encouragingly considers the comfort of the wearer, even if they were to be attending the most formal of events. Strapless gowns were subtly abstracted with padding along the bustline and the hips, adhering to the designers “rigorous fusion of form and fit” which disguised a “deceptive minimalism shrouding a complex construction” according to the show notes. Separates were a smart addition as an acknowledgement of the way in which dressing for an occasion is evolving, a silk jersey skirt may be paired with a leather biker jacket, or an asymmetric A-line top with vintage denim. The use of hip pads and padded tubes that flowed organically around the models bodies across the slinky jersey dresses and structured tailored gave us an exciting glimpse into what the future will hold for the designer when he graduates to a solo show.
Johanna Parv
Sometimes a designer doesn’t have to be everything to everybody, but instead they can build a strong offering by picking a lane and cater to a specific, sometimes neglected customer. Johanna Parv’s Lane just so happens to be the ‘Cycle Lane’, as the designer first took to developing the perfect solution for the city biker who also had to navigate the complexities of transporting bags and other belongings from place to place. In her Fashion East debut Parv sought out to show how women could be safeguarded from the city streets around them in streamlined technical silhouettes made with sustainable materials such as Econyl Regenerated Nylon Lycra. Parv’s collection, although suited to the runway format, could have also done with an added performance element, as a quick review of the designers social media reveals the way in which her pieces have truly embedded solutions for the real world, think convertible shorts, modular dresses, cut-outs to keep hair in place, and detachable sleeves for climate control, that would have benefited from a live demonstration to hone-in on the versatility of her designs.
Despite her collection facing into the modern commuter who has adopted two wheels (or legs) as their preferred mode of transport, her autumn winter 2023 collection also owes a debt to the late 1990s/early 2000s era for making technical utility wear office appropriate – see Prada’s spring summer 1999 show for reference. Could Parv have stumbled on the y2k revival we have all been waiting for?
Karoline Vitto
Making waves for her casting choices which celebrated the female form in all its curvaceous glory, Karoline Vitto has been a name-to-know by fashion insiders for a while now, and in her autumn winter 2023 collection she has swiftly broadened the brands focus. A necessary move in today’s unrelenting industry which demands even brand signatures get an update each season. Recognising the need to sell (without of course selling out) is an important lesson, which it is evident the team over at Fashion East are teaching early, in the careers of the creatives they showcase and support.
This season Vitto’s ‘signature’ strapping, and fandom of the flesh opened up into new horizons and gave her customer a balanced wardrobe of tailored separates, sensual jersey tops, and dresses and skirts toughened up with minimalist hardware. Taking inspiration form the power dressing of the 1980s, Vitto explained “I want my women to look powerful. Maybe even a bit daunting”, but her boxy shapes – which were synonymous of the decade – were lightened with an origami-like folded construction, which is another technique the designer is employing to continue to enhance and draw attention to soft curves. Evening looks dared to bare as a floor-length gown seductively concealed, yet revealed all from bust to hip, and asymmetric tops highlighted the chest with her curved metal accents.
Managing the task of incorporating not one but two important causes into her collection, over 80% of the collection was made with repurposed fabric and her casting remained true to her commitment of shifting the industry’s beauty ideals.
This season Karoline Vitto’s ‘signature’ strapping, and fandom of the flesh opened up into new horizons and gave her customer a balanced wardrobe of tailored separates, sensual jersey tops, and dresses and skirts toughened up with minimalist hardware.
