After dark, when the street lights glisten and the crisp September air of London hits, the half hour intermission after Flair Fashion’s IGNITE showcase held a feeling you couldn’t quite put your finger on. The ecommerce-first platform aims to bridge the new era of online shopping with emerging designers at the forefront of innovation in design, sustainability, and technology. For their UNFOLD Collective Runway showcase at One Great George Street on September 19, Flair Fashion united seven designers with distinct outlooks on the feminine experience. Proving that fashion is indeed everywhere, each designer navigates modern femininity through silhouette, fabrication, and construction.
Bagno Di Diana: Belsize25
Made to last and linger for a moment, Belsize25 leaned into the fashion lens, creating a wardrobe that belongs in a jazz house atelier. Titled “Diana’s Bath,” Belsize25’s SS27 collection draws its inspiration from the Bagno Di Diana within Rome’s Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. The ethereal private bathroom was commissioned by Prince Filippo Andrea Doria Pamphilj for his English bride — think fresco, water, and feathers. Silk chiffon dresses in sculpted curves and cascading layers are covered in crystal beadwork. Feeling like light and movement with ease, meticulous draping is considered to a tee. “More than half of this collection was created by draping fabric directly onto the body, allowing the fabric and the body to shape each other,” Belsize25’s creative director Aria Tong Hua noted to EnVi via email.
Speaking of modern femininity, Aria Tong Hua added, “I see femininity as something fluid — through fabric, the same body can become different characters and tell different stories.” Silhouettes in “Diana’s Bath” are soft and feminine, too. Fresco blue reflections are established by their maxi length and flattering bodices, whether it’s a halter, strapless, or sexy spaghetti strap style. Day gives way to night through fluid, nude-tone satin that suggests luminous skin beneath the water’s surface. Shimmering details echo droplets left behind after bathing.
A Moment for Juliene Couture
*Editor’s Note: This section discusses sexual violence.
Kosovian couture brand Juliene Couture poured heartfelt vulnerability into their SS27 collection, “20,000 Stories, One Memory.” The collection responds to the conflict-related sexual violence endured by women and girls during the 1998-1999 Kosovo War. From extended floor length sleeves, haunting mesh veils, and teardrop details, Juliene Couture uses fashion as a way to voice the hardships and trauma of violence against women — emphasizing that fashion will always have a political stance. Concealed forms are established by draped fabric and bondage with monochrome black dresses accentuated by long chains, tulle, silk, rubberised lycra, and crystal fragments.
Juliene Couture reenvisions traditional couture silhouettes with themes of memory, not only creating striking and emotionally evoking couture, but giving new meaning to it. The mother-and-daughter founder duo Luljeta and Ylberine Lushtaku view couture as an outlet of craftsmanship. “Couture gives you the freedom to create something truly personal and distinctive, rather than simply following what is already available in the market,” they explained to EnVi via email. “The beauty of couture lies in transforming an idea into something personal, timeless, and made with purpose.”
Figure Hugging Silhouettes at Nesse’s Aure
Kosovan brand Nesse’s Aure took to the UNFOLD runway with “Regrounded,” an intimate reflection of the forced migration of the Kosovan people during the war. The collection explores displacement, migration, and the emotional connection to home through strong, feminine, and expressive pieces for the modern woman. Across the six looks, the duality between home and departure is evident in the contrasting materials, such as a form fitting strapless satin top connected by a frayed muslin high slit skirt. Feeling textural and structural at the same time, details of luggage, old letters, keys stamps, torn fabric, and footprints scatter from look to look. Most notably, the runway saw a rich brown leather bodysuit paired with an airy cape tied by a key at the neckline.
The female silhouette grounds the nuance behind the collection, using leather to accentuate corsetry and a soft ballerina pink color palette to underscore a sense of origins and innocence. Seeking to define femininity as a slow and powerful force, Nesse’s Aure wrote to EnVi, “The Nesse’s Aure woman is a woman who knows herself and is not afraid to show her personality. She is feminine, confident and independent, but also has a softer side to her.” Holding power and sensuality at the same time, “Her aura is confident and feminine, with a quiet strength that you can feel through the way she carries herself.”
Hayal Couture on Kosovan Heritage
Intending to “reinterpret traditional Kosovan aesthetics rather than reproducing them literally,” contemporary couture house Hayal Couture blended heritage and modernity for their SS27 collection. It draws inspiration from the cobblestone streets of Albania to the rain-soaked streets of London. Titled “Unseen Heritage,” the collection utilizes color and fabric to create a fashion story, with an eclectic color palette of electric blue and purple set against leather, lace, fringing, and metal eyelets. Lace black shawls are delicate yet bold, with figure hugging skirts and their thigh-high slits.
With an “aim to create a strong feminine silhouette that carries its roots while expressing its own identity and looking toward the future,” the looks featured form fitting silhouettes that came together in unexpected material combinations. The styling captivated the UNFOLD runway, too, from haunting cobwebbed lace exposing skin to eyelet trimmed coat lapels. At the heart of the collection is Oya, a delicate handmade craft passed down through generations. Hayal Couture shared with EnVi, “I draw inspiration from our cultural heritage, traditional details and craftsmanship, translating them into contemporary designs through corsetry, strong silhouettes, precise pattern cutting and construction, tailoring, leather, and a variety of fabrics and textures.”
SSLB’s “Nature In Time”
This season, Seven Spot Ladybird (SSLB) continues their journey of preserving the art of embroidery through “Nature in Time,” a reflection of nature’s quiet rhythms. The collection focuses on the craft of the hand through delicacy and construction. Jewelry designers Melody Jiang and Baoqiao Wu behind the brand believe “that beauty exists not only in full bloom, but throughout the process of change,” not only reflecting the process of transformation in nature, but in the craft of embroidery itself. They added, “embroidery is shaped by time and patience, with every stitch carrying the trace of the hand and each piece gradually taking form through the making process.”
Rich color, symmetry as well as plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum motifs come to life in intricate drop earrings and delicate statement necklaces. Other accessories make an appearance, with hair pins and waist chains to match — feeling intentional and intimate. Known for blending heritage techniques with modern design, SSLB uses the graceful Chinese style of Feitan embroidery to capture movement, freedom, and ethereal beauty. The shapes are striking yet sensual, with intricate beadwork and pearls connecting them from edge to end.
Return of the Pill Box Hat at For Poem
A timeless wardrobe is wearable, feminine, and elegant. London based brand For Poem ticks all of those boxes. Founded by Chinese designers Leah Fu and Pan, For Poem means “Poetry” or “Beautiful Things.” For the duo, clothing is more than coverage; it’s an expression of attitude, designed for the modern, independent woman through minimalist silhouettes and considered detail. For Poem’s SS27 collection “Interbloom” embraces their Chinese heritage. The looks seem fitting for the colder days, on an afternoon stroll when the breeze is light and airy–feather trimmed lapels, crochet flower fringes, and delicate fabrication. Inspired by Japanese graphic artist Hidetoshi Mito and traditional Chinese ink paintings, each look is constructed like a brushstroke across textured washi paper. Poncho overcoats are clean cut and sharply tailored, whereas soft cardigans come with feather cuffs and pearl appliqué.
For Poem views fashion through an intuitive lens, with a brand mantra of “Style is a kind of instinct, intuition in the first place.” Beyond the pill box hats, floral decor, and frog clasp fireman jackets, intuition centers design. “Instinct could be a cultural awareness,” Leah Fu and Pan explained via email. “In this season, we combine the traditional Chinese culture with our design. You can find lots of traditional Chinese details, like Chinese knot buttons. We think it’s a kind of intuition from our backgrounds.”
A World Full of Tulle: GG Chenn
Taking on a craft passed down can be a lot of pressure, but emerging designer Gigi Chenn does it with ease. The designer’s eponymous label GG CHENN’s London Fashion Week debut takes the form of “Embodied Memory,” a conversation about femininity as an inheritance passed from Grandmother to Mother to Daughter. Catching up with Gigi Chenn backstage, the designer opened up about which look felt most personal to her. “I think Look 12 feels the most personal to me. The black frame actually comes from my grandmother’s clutch bag, so for me it represents something inherited from the previous generation. But instead of completely breaking the frame, I distorted it.”
Chenn’s designs hold an artisanal flair to them, where formation is at the foundation — a silk organza cape paired with a tailored wool jacket and silk chiffon trousers, clad in black might we add. Yet tulle is the main character, making appearances across the entire collection. The styles are voluminous, bold, and intentional, where long shawls are made of mesh and draped ruched skirts show skin, followed by giant sleeves that come in a grayish blue color.
Flair Fashion will launch their permanent showroom at Oxford Street in London on November 16. Stay up to date on all things Flair Fashion on their Instagram!
Credit:
Platform: @flair.fashionofficial
Photography: @rosslynphotography
Stylist: @laurenncroftt
Key MUA: @charliaverymakeup
Key Hair Stylist: @doris_designs_
PR: @dyelogpr
Want more Flair Fashion? Check out EnVi’s exclusive interview on Flair Fashion’s Ignite Collective Runway!
