Glamour found in fleeting, everyday moments is at the heart of Aaron Esh’s namesake label, which in three short seasons has risen to become a highlight on the London Fashion Week schedule. His elegant bias-cut dresses in liquid-y silks and razor-sharp suits – cut with Lee McQueen-level precision – could easily grace any big red carpet. Yet when it comes to his own inspirations, Hollywood starlets don’t have a patch on the chic twentysomethings who dazzle at East London house parties in vintage frocks worn beneath their boyfriend’s jacket.
In his most elevated outing yet – Esh has recently begun working with legendary stylist Katy England – the designer spoke backstage of admiring the boys you see in Dalston “in the most elevated, sophisticated wardrobe”; those who save up six months to buy their dream Vestiaire finds that they’ll treasure for life. It was all about dressing up and dressing down in a singular notion. Think midnight-blue velvet suit jackets worn with drainpipe leather trousers and indie rocker boots. Or silk blouses with trailing hems paired with frayed baseball caps and morning-after bug eye shades. Add in sculpted blousons, skinny scarfs and casual sheer tanks and you have the ideal wardrobe for all sorts of nocturnal adventures – whether that’s glitzy bars in Mayfair or a dingy club basement in Hackney.
Photography by Christina Fragkou.
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