One of my favorite brands right now is Kiko Kostadinov.
The designer graduated at Saint Martins and originally created menswear but now is venturing into womenswear as well. One of the factors I appreciate his work for is unique footwear that does a great job at connecting delicate, more stereotypically feminine elements like bows and lace-up details with gym tech-inspired design, as well as bold colors.
I really loved the hair and makeup in the spring ready-to-wear collection from 2023 and how extravagant they felt, also the choice of the show venue for that collection in Paris- resembling an old-school gym really caught my attention.
All the elements the brand uses feel both refreshing yet familiar and reminiscent of a childhood in the 2000s.
My favourite fashion brand is Christian Dior. Besides the shoes, clothes and bags, the history of the brand and how established it is in society, adds on to the elegance of the brand. Dior produces a bag with a variety of designs. For example, the Dior Saddle Bag has changed from vintage to contemporary styles, throughout time, same with the shoes. It seems like Dior sticks to one design, but changes it so much, according to the trends, that it never gets boring. There is always something old, but new to expect from Christian Dior.
My favourite fashion house is Bottega Veneta, Since Matthieu Blazy became creative director he shifted the brand designs and overall aesthetic to something that matches my taste, the effortlessly chic looks and innovative trompe-loeil effects showcase the mix of design and craftsmanship while still being fun and fresh. Bottega’s lack of use of logos makes the brand a lot more refreshing and instead uses small repetitive details that you aren’t used to seeing such as their sardine bag, even the marketing captures models having fun which emits the vibe of the brand. The styling each season is perfect and the mix match of silhouettes creates a more natural feel as it showcases that it really comes down to the individual’s personal style and how they wear it not having to buy the whole look from the runway. The bags are great and the whole aesthetic of the brand is cool, this is why I love it.
My favourite fashion brand is Prada, because I personally like how they vary between classy and modern casual looks. I also like the brand because is on the way to convert their clothing lines to recycled materials, which I think is something really important especially for the world that now live. Something else that captivated me is how they always sticked to neutral colours in their clothing lines but also accessories.
Ultimately after careful consideration, my favourite brand would be Chanel. French fashion designer and business women, Gabrielle Bonheur Coco Chanel, is one person in particular who inspires me due to her radical and revolutionary designs, ideas, intelligence, creativity and elegance. After buying numerous pieces from Chanel, each has been unique and beautifully made. Coco Chanel was recognised for her costume jewellery, which are one of my favourite pieces to buy.
My personal favourite brand at the moment is Simone Rocha, an Irish designer fashion brand. I find the brand’s designs are unlike any other and tend to be beautifully detailed with colours and materials not conventionally used- for example, the brand’s iconic pearl clasp handbags. Additionally, the brand’s garments are all unlike any I have been able to find elsewhere- such as their pearl- adorned platform trainers, which utilise the contrasting aesthetics of ballet flats and chunky platform shoes to create a distinctive and recognisable look. These shoes are visible in the selected image, along with the brand’s typical feminine silhouette and use of lace and tulle fabrics. I find the beauty of Rocha’s designs captivating and truly eye- catching.
Adorned (formerly known as Adorned Duo) is a sustainable fashion brand run by a mother-daughter duo specialising in ‘hippie-wear’. The mother, Margarita, began their journey selling handmade jewellery in the early 2000s, and the brand evolved from there. The daughter, Sarah, finished university and decided to give the business her full attention, starting to trade under the name ‘Adorned’ in 2014.
This brand is my favourite due to its humble roots and ethos; they source all their fabrics sustainably and prioritise quality over mass production. I have had the pleasure of speaking with them, and they are both lovely people who genuinely love the brand and their customer base.
My favourite fashion brand is Germanier. The brand is a front footer in the fashion industry for its key aims of sustainability and ethics. They strive to show intricate and well constructed garments in there collections vast in colour and opulence. Designer Kevin Germanier has dressed the likes of celebrities such as lady gaga, Taylor swift and Kristen Stuart, this is a key element for me as to why I favour this brand, choosing to design for and dressing LGBT+ advocates is crucial in the society we are living in now, which demonises anyone who is different from the societal norm. The label’s collection is full of glitter-embellished dresses, sharp-cut skirts and sculptural jackets, proving that even the most statement piece of clothing can be sustainable. This brand sets the bar for the industry as we see more and more people seeing the vision of up cycled glamour.
One of my favourite brands at the moment has to be Acne Studios, due to the designer, Jonny Jahanssons’ great attention to detail and use of incredibly textured materials and bold colours.
As a member of the FWF, Acne Studios has an annual ”Brand Performance Check”, which asses the purchasing decisions as well as the factory conditions tracking the strengths and weaknesses of the company. From this, the company has been founded to, when working with new suppliers, ensure that the Code of Labour Practicesis signed (Figure. 1). This allows the company to become sustainable and aware of the people who are creating their products. I appreciate this because a lot of companies lack to see the ethical importance of fairness in factories and usually only focus on how much it’ll cost them. Furthermore, Acne also goes to the extent of having wage checks within their production locations, further checking that every person is paid correctly.
As well as the materials used being recyclable, Acne have also worked with dead-stock materials themselves and created a capsule titled “Repurposed”, which featured a “Scandinavian minimalist style tweed and denim”. This featured a skirt (Figure. 2) , shirt (Figure. 3) and jacket (Figure. 4) made out of a combination of different eye catching materials.
Overall, the brand is sustainably ethical which is important to me. Their pieces motivate me to wear more colour and I am fascinated by every new item I see by them.
Talon, K. (2021, Jan). Acne Studiospresents the new capsule made with dead-stock fabrics. Dolce & Gabbana. https://www.nssgclub.com/en/fashion/24786/acne-studios-repurposed-capsule
My favourite fashion brand is Schiaparelli, as each garment from different collections is distinctive and eye catching. The use of unique materials and the detail of the embellishments create a powerful look on the vogue runway. Schiaparelli’s garments accommodate for most situations, whether it be Kylie Jenner’s’ dress for ‘Paris Fashion Week’, or Beyoncé’s black feather embellished dress for her ‘Renaissance World Tour’, or even just day to day wear that’s unique with various embellishments. The more casual look is sophisticated and classy with rich colours, combining gold with white, black, red and different tones of blue. The runway pieces are bold, and ‘structural’, making it a powerful look that has a memorable impact on the viewer.
