February 19, 2024 |
Following his London Fashion Week debut in September, Aaron Esh brought the fash pack to the Sarabande Foundation in Haggerston – which offers studio spaces to emerging talent, like Esh, at subsidised rates – for his intimate sophomore show. There’s a lot of excitement around the rising star, whose elegant designs feel on par with the craftsmanship shown on the runways of Milan and Paris. But Esh is a born and bred London boy, and the glow of the city informs his practice entirely. In creating the collection, he was thinking about beauty in banality; the flickers of inner-city glamour you see day-to-day. Like the girl walking home from the club down Kingsland Road at 5am in floor-length frock. Or the fashion darling who will save up to buy an Alaïa coat on Vestiaire Collective, but will throw it over a basic hoodie to nip down the offie for a pouch of baccy.
As The Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now?” bathed the salon-style showspace, out came a glorious procession of bias cut, chiffon frocks, buttery, plum coloured trench coats cut like capes and cocooning coats, scooped at the back, that borrowed techniques from Parisian couture houses. Throughout, Esh danced between grit and glamour. Cummerbunds were worn over glittery skinny jeans (brilliantly, Kate Moss for Topshop was on Esh’s moodboard alongside mid-century couturiers), while architectural faux fur jackets came paired with Esh’s brilliantly bonkers comma-shaped shoes. Backstage, Esh said the collection marked a turning point for the label, as he sets his sights on becoming the next great British brand. In producing fantastic collections like the one we just saw, it’s only a matter of time until such ambitions morph into reality.
Photography courtesy of Aaron Esh
