‘It’s About Fluidity in the Most Nongendered Way’: Aaron Esh on His Electrifying Debut Spring Collection – VOGUE
Thu 21 Sep
ALEX KESSLER
To cap off a jam-packed London Fashion Week, British talent Aaron Esh, one of this year’s LVMH finalists and a graduate from Central Saint Martins’s MA course, provided a riveting spectacle for his first standalone show. The designer delivered an exacting level of refinement combined with a new-era-club-kid mood. “It’s sleek minimalism through a London-centric lens,” he said of his aesthetic after the show. “All of the looks are characters you’d see at the same party—perhaps a CSM gathering in the late hours.”
“I wanted to build a wardrobe that centers around a modern way of dressing, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a man or woman that’s wearing the pieces.”
Aaron Esh
While the garments were shown on men and women, each piece felt like it came from the same distinct wardrobe—one that’s fluid in its cuts and silhouettes. There were exquisitely crafted silk bombers, halter-neck vest tops, and louche, wide-leg trousers that felt particularly androgynous. Even a bouclé jacket and balloon-hem miniskirt set, as well as effortlessly draped jersey dresses (some of which were held together by a single seam), could be seen on any stylish individual in East London on a Friday night. But according to Esh, notions of gender were not deliberately at play here. “There’s been misconceptions about the brand and gender—it’s about fluidity in the most nongendered way,” he said. “I wanted to build a wardrobe that centers around a modern way of dressing, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a man or woman that’s wearing the pieces.”