Aaron Esh is designing with his mates in mind – Culted
Wed 24 Apr
Text Ollie Cox | Photography Mitchell O’Neil
With his collections stocked on SSENSE, a limited-edition scarf in collaboration with 1664 Blanc sold in Selfridges, and Kim Jones wearing his baseball caps, Aaron Esh has gone from Central Saint Martins standout to London Fashion Week highlight in two years.
'Each collection I’ve done has really just been informed by the period of life I’m in.'
Aaron Esh
A graduate of CSM’s MA Menswear course, it was his subtle subversions of gendered dressing and viral Comma Derby shoes that first got people talking. Aaron Esh’s Fall/Winter 2022 graduate collection saw short-sleeved hooded tops and technical jackets finished with ruched collars and bubble hems. In FW23, halterneck waistcoats and bubble skirts were thrown into the mix, laying the foundations for his menswear manifesto and demonstrating a technicality that would later extend into his womenswear offering.
When we catch up, Esh is switching off for the first time in two years, applying the brakes to his burgeoning brand and the successes that come with it. Despite being in the middle of nowhere with no reception, he’s still thinking of what’s next. “I’m looking forward to getting back in the studio and starting SS25,” he shares. Esh, who has only shown on the London Fashion Week schedule twice, has had fashion editors and buyers eager to experience his label and the world around it, thanks to his energetic and real-life approach.
In September 2023, he made his London Fashion Week debut. With the backing and support of the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN initiative for emerging designers, women’s looks were woven into his offering. What unfolded was a seamless presentation of the Aaron Esh world, where free-flowing tailoring intersected with bootleg jeans and bomber jackets in a London-tinged exploration of adolescence and early adulthood. “Each collection I’ve done has really just been informed by the period of life I’m in,” he tells us. Elegant evening wear collided head-on with everyday utilitarianism, reflecting the coming-of-age experience of being in your twenties. This is the kid who wants to go clubbing but has to pay council tax at the end of the month.
'Aaron Esh is the embodiment of everything great about London’s fashion community.'
Ollie Cox, Culted Writer
AARON ESH SS23