Unique Women-Led Brands at Fashion Week 2023
As fashion steadily evolves into more than just clothes, designers in recent years have meticulously crafted their runway shows to deliver a message. These messages vary: from Brandon Maxwell’s “Age is Just a Number” to Chromat’s “One Size Does Not Fit All,” even Alexander McQueen put on a show with holograms in 2006. But one thing remains the same – Runway shows need to be attention-catching. As the Fall/Winter season of Fashion Week 2023 continues, designers across the world have been debuting their lines with fully immersive shows.
In New York, Fashion House Collina Strada, led by Hillary Taymour, opened with animal themed line, “Please Don’t Eat My Friends.” This line showcases animal print, upcycled materials and furry screened textures, with one tank even featuring a photo of Taymour’s own dog, Powie. Powie, himself, was featured in the show when the same model that donned his face carried him down the runway. Other models wore prosthetics of lizards, dolphins, goats, dogs and even capybaras– and actress Tommy Dorfman sported a rabbit-look in a silk wedding gown.
The clothes weren’t the only things wild; models walked, hopped and crawled the runway behaving like their animal counterparts. Taking place in the new House of Cannabis in SoHo, the fully immersive runway had models interacting with guests through sniffs, barks and scratches. Hillary Taymour is no stranger to anamorphism and has been entangling her designs with it for years now. Taymour’s originality has helped shape Collina Strada into a brand known for its environmental conscientiousness.
In Milan, Beate Karlsson of AVAVAV debuted “Fake it till you break it,” a line that commented on the “superficiality of fashion.” In typical AVAVAV fashion, the line combined streetwear with business and sent models down the runway with varying silhouettes. The clothes being worn would tear off, or break, as the model walked, effectively catching many audience members off guard. The patterns featured included houndstooth, plaid and even text saying “not rich” with fitted, blocky and cut out silhouettes.
Footwear has always been a huge aspect of AVAVAV’s style. Previously going viral for their oversized monster boots, the gaudy footwear proved to be a staple for Fall/Winter 2023. Monster shoes, both anatomical looking and gigantic furry ones, were purposefully breaking mid-walk. Beyond footwear, broken accessories acted as precursors for entire articles of clothing being torn off. Pieces were ripped from the models’ torsos to reveal an altered version of the look underneath. The catastrophe gradually became larger as the audience was let in on the joke. This stylistic choice was not only commentary on the poor quality of fast fashion but questions the originality of luxury brands too. As Karlsson closed the show with a bow, a piece of the set fell around her, ending the playful runway with a bang.
In London, Dilara Findikoglu’s line told the story of her “journey to physical and spiritual freedom.” This line explored Findikoglu’s experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and a return to her birthplace in Istanbul. This line had pieces representing Findikoglu from girlhood to adolescence to adulthood and ends by remembering her past. Pieces were skintight with revealing cutouts, representing the deconstruction of modesty that many feminine-identifying people deal with when embracing themselves.
Throughout her career as a designer, Findikoglu has often commented on femininity. This line is no exception to that– with delicate textiles like lace and mesh, and strong boning, Findikoglu presents a powerful and sexy picture of womanhood. Having previously worked with household objects in 2018, Findikoglu incorporated small found objects into the models’ styles in this runway, as well. The small trinkets would make chiming noises as the model walked while the room was otherwise silent. The runway itself was a rundown hotel, complete with antiques and unfinished decor.
Beyond these three designers, countless artists around the world continue to make Fashion Week special. Trends are being born before us as designs debut: Christian Siriano is pioneering a no-pants look, Brandon Maxwell wants to bring back peplums and Tory Burch is channeling her inner 90s teen. Being a designer is about constantly reinventing the world of fashion, and the Fall/Winter runway season of 2023 has proven to stand up to the test.
Sophia Marzi — March 6th, 2022
