September 17, 2022 |
Chopova Lowena’s explosive debut show was the neo-punk style revolution we didn’t even know we needed. No, we don’t mean neon-dyed mohawks and leather on leather. We’re talking heavy-metal whimsicality. Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena-Irons sent 35 models pulled from their London community stomping down the runway donning black aprons that unbuckled from plaid skirts with safety pins and chains, kitschy hand-drawn cartoon artwork on second-skin long-sleeve tops and decorated denim looks. In a lot of ways, it felt like an antidote to Y2K, channelling 1970s and ‘90s subcultures instead.
The girls were inspired by Bulgaria’s central Rose Valley, where every summer the young women of the village of Kazanlak dress up in delicate pink, red, yellow and white tartan and floral dresses to select their Rose Queen. And who is she? She is the winning glamour girl and as interpreted by the design duo, she is a symbol of the strangeness of pageantry and the tackiness of tradition.
“When you see a rose, you smell a rose,” says Chopova, “and the ideas we use in the collection give the same kind of signal.” And so: through an amalgamation of heritage and modernity, rosey satin skirts and swollen gowns stamped with sanguine roses appeared. The floral prints echoed the Bulgarian national tradition and the folksy elements did too. White deadstock lace prairie-like wedding dresses and skirts and vests that buttoned up over silken shirts with neckties blossomed. In a completely different context, tinsel boots, kitten heels and sweater vests felt festive in a somewhat Christmas-y kind of way. Plus, the pair of designers also gave their garms a lacrosse-like twist, offering mad tinsel renderings of college pinnie vests with acronymous CL logos. Chopova Lowena is a game-changer.
Photography courtesy of Chopova Lowena.
