I Have My Eyes On Louther.
Disclaimer: Olympia Schiele, the founder of Louther, invited me to Fashion East. I tried asking for tickets myself, but in vain. However, my personal view on her outstanding collection has nothing to do with her extending the invite. Let’s make this clear.
View Fashion East FW25 collection here
A few days before the Fashion East show, I was trying to familiarize myself with this season’s lineup, as this is the first time in recent years that the FW25 lineup will remain the same as SS25. I have not seen any of their work, and aside from hearing the name Olly Shinder, I know nothing about the three designers, nor do I have any preconceived excitement of wanting to see any one designer’s work more than the others. I was eager to see their collections, but I was more excited by my first ever experience at the famed Fashion East show, where Martine Rose showed that fateful one look back in SS15.
Arriving at the venue, it’s a cliché red-lit space, a tarp hanging from ceiling to floor on one end, and a Cîroc-sponsored bar on the other. 4/10 Margarita. While I was awkwardly hanging out on my own, trying to act comfortable (I don’t do well in places I am unfamiliar with), a friendly man tapped on my shoulder and introduced himself as “Pia’s boyfriend.”
‘Pia?’ Oh, right, ‘Pia as in Olympia Schiele. We exchanged pleasantries, and I hung out with his group for a little bit before I parted and sat at my third row seat. The show started 30 minutes late, but that’s considered early, I suppose. Red lights off, bright white lights on, and music started playing. I vaguely remember it was Drum and Bass, I can be incorrect, as I was trying my best to get a peek through the row of heads right in front of me. It was Louther showing first.
After the arrival of the first few models, I remember saying to myself, ‘I know this feeling.’ Before I can even visually make sense of what I am seeing, the images of well-crafted clothes have quickly translated into a familiar emotion that I get whenever I see clothes that excite me.
That’s a good thing, a great thing even. This feeling often primes me to then try to make sense of what exactly is exciting me. However, I was conscious that I needed to hold back on analysis and focus on absorbing and seeing. Let’s save critical thinking for later. And then come look 13, a cropped grey blazer with a double layered lapel styled with a pair of double layered dress pants. Anatomically, these are not brand new silhouettes, but often when we see double-layered pants, especially in recent times, the inner layer is hiked up above the normal waistline, as seen here with Wooyongmi FW25 Menswear (another great collection as well). But Olympia decided to have the inner layer stay around a normal waistline and instead play with the outer layer and have it sag. This moment absolutely blew my mind. I was giddy, and I smiled brightly. As this moment of brilliance radiated.
Louther’s collection was thoughtful in the sense that I felt Olympia held herself back from doing even more; it was doing a lot, then cutting it down to what was shown in each look, instead of scrambling to fill the canvases, leaving just the right amount for what the clothes want to convey across. With each subsequent look, a sense of confidence was felt as well, not in the models’ gait but Louther’s very composed style of extravagant edginess. Each look has a focal point at the middle, from head to toe. Whether they are visible lines connecting by rows of zippers or buttons, or the space left in the middle for us to peer through all the layers of clothes. A very clean and clear collection by Louther.
And then very soon, the collection ended, and Olympia came out and bowed to the crowd. Applause was heard, but to be honest, it was not as passionate as I thought it would be.
Before I could figure out why, Nuba’s collection started walking out, and the models really gave me an impression of a quite dystopian world, as if they were dressed to be anonymous, similar to what I got from Louis Gabriel Nouchi’s collection. There are interesting anatomical details, but overall, there are not a lot of interesting points to latch onto immediately when the models' swift pass me. In hindsight, looking at show photos, I get a sense of protection from the emphasis of extra fabrics around the neck area, whether it is an elongated flap like Look 29 or fabrics crossed near the neck and chest area like Look 20, 21, 23, and 26. Metaphysically, Nuba’s collection weighs a bit on you, but I cannot say that the clothes are especially memorable. In a way, their SS25 collection at Fashion East comprised stronger pieces visually. But I can always appreciate when a brand understands exactly what they bring to the fashion scene aesthetically, and Nuba is nailing it consistently.
And then the duo behind Nuba came out, and the applause heard across the venue was even louder.
Next up was Olly Shinder, perhaps the name of the night, who showed a lacklustre collection, lacking the kind of garment vitality that we all want to see from him. It matters not to me that the focus is to make clothes for everyday, but the ensembles seemed a lazy mix. If you’ve ever been on Olly Shinder’s website and have a look at the products that he’d made, you’d wonder just like me what is happening in the FW25 collection? In his SS25 Fashion East collection, there was at least a thesis; to my eyes, there was a red thread of geometry throughout the whole collection. I saw none in FW25. There are interesting hybridizations of material, but they felt poorly executed. It seemed Olly Shinder missed the mark with this collection.
And then Olly's exit was paired with a thunderous standing ovation. Applause was loud and clear, loudest of them all, and cheers scattered all over the venue.
I didn’t understand this. I feel like anyone who was actually paying attention, regardless of different preexisting style preferences, can see that Louther had the objectively better collection. From clothing details and visual harmony to the great balance that Olympia achieved through the sequencing of looks, Louther achieved something that Nuba and Olly Shinder arguably didn’t touch on that night.
It felt like I was the odd one out. I am by no means trying to stifle other designers’ success and receiving their deserved flowers, but I can’t help but sit there and question what actually goes on in these shows. What exactly are we celebrating?
Louther showed me a promising future, an eye for the ‘right amount’, which is something that not a lot of people get. I don’t want to get into the conversation of which brand do I see Olympia creative directing in the future, althought it’s fun to do and also an accessible method for me to make sense to you just what kind of designer she is to me, but at the same time it seems diminishing as if we collectively agree that working for bigger labels is the end goal in a designer’s journey, so I will refrain from doing that.
I definitely have my eyes on Louther now.