7 fashion brands I find aesthetically pleasing
As a visual person, I’m never not looking for references, taking screenshots of movie scenes or updating my various mood boards. As a result, my wish list just keeps growing. In this roundup, I gathered seven smaller-scale international brands that exude their personality and DNA through imagery and clothing.
BETTTER
Founded by Julie Pelipas, the former Fashion Director of Vogue Ukraine, Bettter is an upcycling clothing platform that gives great clothes a second chance as they source all garments on secondhand markets and dead stocks around the world. The brand’s production is based around themed drops, the latest one being 5PM SUIT. Their drops consist of a few corresponding pieces that centre around their foundational pieces, which is suiting reworked from pre-existing garments. A floor-length skirt with a long front slit reworked out of tailored trousers or a coat reworked out of two blazers — all pieces come with a passport that contains detailed information on their origins.
ALL IS A GENTLE SPRING
This brand with a poetic name makes me feel somewhat nostalgic — apparently, the phrase all is a gentle spring is a way of saying, hope all's serene wherever you are.. I am a big fan of brands that choose to do less but dedicate all their energy to mastering these few products they offer. This Australian label has only seven styles available on the website in very select colourways: one t-shirt, one long sleeve, one trouser, one skirt, one corselette and one headband. That's it, and I want to buy them all.
A brainchild of Stylist and Brand Consultant Diletta Bonaiuti, Adultiny aims to create clothes for kids dressed like adults being kids (that's their exact motto). Diletta conceptualised Adultiny when shopping for her son Elio, once she found everything to be too cartoonish, overly decorated and gender-specific. Made in Italy to a high standard, the brand undertakes the idea of making clothes that would grow with a child's personality. Honestly, if I had kids, that’s what they would be dressed like.
ESSE STUDIOS
I remember listening to an Offline Podcast episode with ESSE’s Founder and Creative Director Charlotte Hicks where she expanded on what sustainability looks like in practice. Some of her words really stuck with me as that marked the first I heard a fashion brand founder being so transparent and accountable.
I admire the ethos of the brand paired with The Row-esque minimal aesthetic and refined designs.
After years of collecting stories from a variety of women during her tenure as a Stylist, Warsaw-based designer Magda Butrym started her eponymous label in 2014 with an intention to make women feel confident and empowered. True to its Polish roots, the label uses high-quality fabrics from independent studios throughout the country. Butrym unites artisans who share a passion for hand-woven textiles, plaited leathers, knitted fabrics, and hand-embroidered ornaments to create sophisticated ready-to-wear garments and accessories. Be your own muse, Magda Butrym says.
Founded by yet another Fashion Stylist Anastasia Nojina who is known in her circles as someone that loves to push boundaries in her personal style and projects. She continues to translate the same rebellious energy and aesthetic into her own label which she ironically named Pervert. Just as an example, Nojina has gathered all negative comments left by haters on her personal Instagram and turned them into something hilarious — she commissioned a graphic designer to nicely collate these comments into a design for the brand’s packing paper that makes everyone burst with laughter.
EXTREME CASHMERE
Dedicated to reinventing how cashmere is worn these days, Extreme Cashmere doesn’t follow the traditional fashion cycle — they create an ongoing collection suitable for all seasons and occasions. To simplify it even further, all Extreme Cashmere pieces are genderless and unisize, meant for everybody and every body. I have a lot of admiration for how well they style their clothing given that their entire assortment consists of knitwear — there is always so much repurposing and creativity going on.
