A Favourite Fashion Brand

Marine Serre won the 2017 LVMH Prize in 2017 at only 26 years old and released her first men’s collection in 2019 where her work has been popularised by many influencers and celebrities since. The main highlight of Marine Serre is its eco-futurist ideology in fashion, where half of its collection is composed of recycled materials, and the other half is working with innovative and sustainable fibers, such as biodegradable yarns and recycled fibers. As a result, Marine Serre quickly became my favourite fashion brand due to its ethics, along with its iconic crescent moon pattern, celebrities such as A$AP Rocky, BLACKPINK and recently Beyonce have represented the fashion brand too. I have personally had the pleasure to talk to the people who worked there, and they are all very caring people with unique personalities who are very enthusiastic about the brand and what they do. I own the crescent moon turtleneck, which is also one of my favourite clothing items that I wear.

“The moon for us is like an icon, an emblem, an image, a representation, a flag, a language, a metaphor, an object of what we believe in: crossing boundaries, hybridity and freedom” – Marine Serre

Mowalola showcases the battle of upholding individualism and poise in a society where technology has covertly weaved into our lives. While referencing the interconnectedness between machinery and fashion, she finds a way to input intricate elements of Afro-futurism into her collections. This is evident through her application of 90/00s black streetwear into Darkweb AW23. Through Mowalola, you witness the bridging of old and new concepts which are neatly tied together with parts of our culture, Nigerian culture, to make it authentically her.

Darkweb AW23

Mowalola plays around with concepts such as rebellion; embodying what it means to deviate from socially constructed ideas. You see this when she deviates from the definition of and traditional use of clothing, previously thought as items meant to cover or categorize humans into man or woman. This extends beyond the clothing she creates and includes the models who although, all look different racially and often androgynous, draw the look together by enclosing what it means to physically rebel. One way she deviates is by rewriting what it means to “clothe oneself”, by using it to clothe fans and onlookers in an idea, rather than clothing to cover up “taboo” ideas or parts of the body i.e. Burglarwear SS23

Linking back to the prompt, I enjoy Mowalola as this brand takes back the idea of ‘the self’, the most defining part of humanity, from technology by pioneering and creating in a way that cannot be mimicked or parodied by machinery. Her brand captures parts of her ‘self’: her proximity to Nigerian culture, her British nationality, her position in the industry, and what it means to exist in a society approaching imminent transformation.

Her creations and ideas evoke emotion that can only be generated by human cognition which is the most defining part of the brand for me.

Dilara Findikoglu

Dilara Findikoglu, founded by Turkish-British designer Dilara Findikoglu after she had graduated from CSM in womenswear. Dilara is bold and in dire need of creating a statement through her garments whilst mixing statement- making fashion with her own deeply personal journey. Using her experiences and influences from gothic romance and feminist politics, Dilara has been able to rewrite and create her own narrative on femininity and sexual desires – away from the male gaze and the male-led narrative. The reoccurring theme of entrapment within the physicality of the clothing, specifically the Dilara Findikoglu AW23 ‘No Man’s Territory’ show, emphasizes her reclaiming control over her body and women as a collective. The title itself also suggest a duality to this collection, with connotations of both war/conflict and ‘territory’ exclusively for women, which is likely referencing the body explaining the use of lingerie and corsetry throughout her collection. Her carefully constructed shows and garments allow Dilara to play with her audience’s heartstrings by creating an intense but solemn atmosphere allowing her work to speak for itself and taking us along for the ride through her pain, frustration and sensuality. Overall Dilara’s artist-level construction and her heavy use of lingerie brings me into awe of her work as her perspective of femininity is a breath of fresh air from the over-sexualized, unrealistic image force fed to us by the media and patriarchy. We can see how many resonate with the brand and Dilara’s political statements as her rise to success has been quite sudden but well deserved as she is   now one of the most sought-after designers during LFW and has gained a committed celebrity fanbase boosting her popularity within recent years.

My favourite fashion brand is probably Prada. Most fashion brands I’m not a fan of their logo, and when they design items with the logos plastered over it I think it looks bad, or even tacky. However, I love Prada’s triangular logo, I think it’s very chic and never looks cheap on their clothing/accessories. The images above are from Miuccia Prada’s Fall/Winter show in 1988. Prior to the show Prada was producing strictly leather goods, however in this show she created pieces inspired from her own wardrobe and emerged into the fashion scene. One of my favourite shows is the Spring/Summer 2012, Miuccia put the two things Italian men love most together, women and cars. The clothes are mainly bandeau tops and leather pencil skirts with car imagery. Prada has roots in the Italian Royal Family and was established an air of aristocracy in their design. Prada is a symbol of ‘immense growth and authority’. It’s a luxurious brand in my opinion and doesn’t stick to ‘trends’ which I admire.

ADER error is a fashion brand based on South Korea since 2014. The brand slogan ‘but near missed things’ implies the philosophy that they focus on the expression of any things that people miss in everyday. They re-edit pictures, videos, space, design, art and objects in the way to suggest a new cultural experience. They usually do experimental exhibitions and collections which I believe is more than just a normal fashion brand and makes them unique. I have visited one of their exhibition in South Korea called ‘2.0 ADER space’ flagships store and their unconventional displays caught my attention. 

My favourite fashion brand is Miu Miu, which was founded in 1992 by Miuccia Prada and is the sister brand to Prada. The brand shares the same style of elegance and classic looks as Prada, yet I believe it to be more unique, establishing a more attractive and lively style. Miu Miu focuses more on a youthful audience through the greater use of cropped clothing and miniskirts, but it still upholds a mix of minimalism and inventiveness. In my opinion, Miu Miu is a brand that allows Muiccia Prada to be more expressive and imaginative in her work. 

If I was to choose a singular brand as my my number one favourite I’d have to go with Mugler. Thierry is a renowned visionary who made major strides within the 80s era of ‘power dressing’. This wildly contrasts the more conservative and covered up looks prevalent within high fashion. He achieved this through the use of plastic/latex-like fabric in his sculpted clothing. Furthermore, I like the fact that he created clothing that resembled wild ideas of eroticism whilst also retaining a look that empowers both men and women who wear his clothing. I believe that we should have autonomy over being able to wear what we want and reveal the parts of our bodies and selves which may push people’s buttons. Through his designs, Thierry was able to normalize this by creating outlandish clothing and performance-like catwalks during his shows. Overall, Mugler to me, represents a future where humans are empowered and free to wear and be the way they want to be regardless of what people might say.