Emerging designers to watch from Spring 2023 fashion month

It’s one of the busiest fashion months yet, with designers making many comebacks. But aside from household names, under-the-radar designers are making their mark and often getting just as much attention as mainstream giants. New York Fashion Week alone will see over 100 different designers presenting new collections. Here, we’ll be listing new names to look out for as well as established but still under-the-radar brands to watch for the Spring 2023 season.

New York

melee

Just a year ago, Luchen made his runway debut in outfits that straddled the line between theatrics and the surreal, with puffy pink shirt coats, floor-length white button-downs and stark blues and bright blacks. Also particularly ingenious was the quilt-like dress, which swirled across the runway. The unfinished edges and technical construction paid homage to Martin Margiela and Ann Demeulemeester. Designer Lu Chen is a recent Parsons graduate and is already creating her own unique design identity. She opened fashion week on Wednesday, September 8, with a show that made an equally strong statement.

Elena Velez

Another new name on the scene is Elena Velez, who draws inspiration from her Wisconsin roots to create fashion that fuses Midwest industrialism and apocalyptic chic. Steel corsets, PVC harnesses and sheer layers combine for something that feels truly new in the crowded New York fashion space. Her brand is only a few years old, but already Kali Uchis, Grimes, Charli XCX, Arca, Kim Petras, Tinashe, Rico Nasty and Caroline Polachek have worn her work. Last season’s show was intimate and atmospheric, though this season, which took place on Saturday, September 10, acknowledged Velez’s growing profile: Julia Fox appeared in the show wearing Velez’s clothes.

My outfit

My outfit is already known for its psychedelic tapestry jackets and metallic thread pleats that combine a luxurious craftsmanship approach with a slightly bohemian twist. Her pieces are colorful crafts, with a hint of chaos inspired by thirst. After a season off, Vesper is returning to the schedule with a presentation on Sunday, September 11 and, if past collections are any indication, there will be plenty of lush recycled textiles in unexpected shapes, and perhaps a croc-textured corset or a folded metal tip or two. Fans of the brand include Beyoncé and Pete Davidson.

Dolls & Dolls

The last two seasons, Dolls and Dolls has been the name everyone is talking about at fashion week – but even more so with the brand’s expansion into stores like Bergdorf Goodman. Carly Mark takes the approach of an artist, integrating esoteric references left and right. Dolls and Dolls piece de resistance? A black leather bag with a living resin cookie. Expect the show on September 11 to include a performance and fashion element that makes you laugh (in a good way) in her runway show. “My biggest inspiration is always film,” explains Mark. “I love horror, I love science fiction, I love weirdness.” She describes her work as “romantic and humorous, left-of-center, young and also modern, with a bit of dark humor as well.”

underwear

Founded in 2020 by Jack Miner and Lily Miesmer, the designer duo behind underwear are inspired by raw emotion and put exactly that into their pieces that stand as reinterpreted versions of everyday wear. For example, a floor-length seamed turtleneck dress, or an open-knit seafoam sweater, or even a blue and white cashmere sweater with red stitching front and center—all of these are part of the inner world, which places a focus on making a statement in the everyday. This season, the brand will present a runway show for the first time on Monday, September 12, further introducing the brand to New York’s beautiful girl sky.

Wiederhoeft

Jackson Wiederhoeft founded his namesake line just three years ago, and it’s already one of the most exciting. labels to see: think Alice in Wonderland silhouette with a twist of prep. Before launching his own brand, Wiederhoeft designed for Thom Browne, and it shows in demi-couture techniques and surrealist brushstrokes. Wiederhoeft describes his work as “Modern Nostalgia. The old and the new. Familiar and strange. Something you might have seen as a child, or was it in a dream? I poke my finger in a spinning wheel of drama levels.” Lately he’s been looking at everything from the subjective nature of memory and passionate desire to Miss Trunchbull (yes, the evil headmistress from Roald Dahl’s Matilda) and cast treasure chests as inspiration, and will present a runway show on Wednesday, September 14. “I want to create an experience, a vision, that inspires others to create,” he says. “My wish is for people to see the work and be so moved that they feel a burning desire to create something themselves. There are so many stories within all of us – stories that deserve to be heard and appreciated. If I can encourage someone to express a story, or create a world, then this collection will be successful in my eyes.”

Willy Chavarria

Of course, Willy Chavarria isn’t a new designer—he’s worked in the industry for decades at Ralph Lauren and now at Calvin Klein—but his eponymous brand, founded in 2015 and running since 2018, has recently received attention that deserves and increasingly in the space of women’s clothing. Chavarria, who is showing on Wednesday, September 14, takes inspiration from his upbringing in the Chicano community, bringing together large silhouettes and recontextualizing them, combining haute couture shapes in pieces worn by fashion designers. to street-wearing men who feel truly directed in a sea of ​​trashy clothing. “Human connection is the key,” he says of the greater purpose of his work. “Business only works when there is a connection between you, your work and the people you touch.” Beyond his upcoming show, he’s also launching an NFT project, The Big Willy Love Club. “I find inspiration in the truth. Reality that is not tainted by social media,” he adds.