It’s a funny but common thing, matching your outfit to the designer whose runway show you’re attending. It would be something like wearing a sweeping black robe and icy white makeup for The Phantom of the Opera, or a corset to Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights. However, at a fashion show, look around the room while the chatter quiets and you’ll realize the attendees can often be a pretty good indicator of what you’re about to see come down the catwalk. Such was the case at the Esse Studios show today, held at the freshly minted show space at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney—that is, upturned collars, Olsen tucks, breezy silks, and a calming sense of sophisticated charm.
You could almost seamlessly swap those sporting Esse Studios in the audience with the models on the runway, but that’s all part of founder Charlotte Hicks’s vision. “The DNA behind Esse is very much about what I call additions,” Hicks said following the show. “The additions are more about how your wardrobe should be. Our wardrobe is evolving and ever-changing, and it’s about procuring these pieces that work with what you’ve already got.” So, those satin pants and crepe knit tank you acquired a year ago? Still very much work in the current season, especially if you want to tack on a leather-collar beige coat—as Hicks was, during our chat.
This seasonless interchangeability was most readily apparent in the collection’s modular styling. Statement pieces that could be considered more done-up—like a mock-neck lace top or a fringed belt—were paired with a simple pair of swooshy black shorts and a relaxed-cut suit shown with no shirt, respectively. If Hicks could sum it all up, it might best be explained through her light-touch but impactful use of fringe: “It sort of has that element of ornament,” she said. “But it’s very sensual, cool, and minimal at the same time.”
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