It’s been nearly a decade since Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena launched their brand fresh out of Central Saint Martins, so there’s every possibility that the Chopova Lowena signatures—upcycled folkloric textiles, kitschy prints, and those carabiner skirts—could have reached saturation point. Not so: There’s something about the design duo’s vision that continues to feel entirely fresh, season after season. You could chalk that up to how steadily they’ve handled their growth, carefully harnessing even their splashier moments—from innumerable high-profile celebrity placements to winning the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund—to work in favor of their long-term vision. (They might be known for the impressive sustainability credentials of their clothes, but their approach to business is just as sustainable in a different way.) But more than anything, their longevity can be explained by the duo’s restless spirit and omnivorous curiosity: just when you think they might have exhausted a particular design trope, they find a thrilling new interpretation of it.
So it was with their latest collection, titled “Too Ripe and Ready by Half,” which took Regency-era silhouettes and put them in a nuclear reactor alongside the knickerbockers and Argyle knits and kilts of 20th-century golf clothing. It turns out the title is a winking nod to Regency slang, typically used to refer to a woman who is overly forward, or possibly even plotting mischief. Sounds about right. Sticking to their commitment of staging a runway show just once a year, the designers took over the 19th-century Crafts Council building in Islington for a presentation of mannequins dressed in meticulously styled full looks, all of which had been styled by an expert from the V&A for an authentic recreation of a museum fashion display.
That’s where any suggestion of an authentic recreation of Regency-era dressing ended, however. (Anyone up in arms over the Wuthering Heights costumes would probably have a heart attack here.) For the lookbook, which was photographed against a painterly set of old theater backdrops that the pair dug up and hung in their studio, their girls wore Peter Pan-collared puff-sleeve dresses featuring layers of deadstock fabrics from previous collections mixed with plaids and Victorian florals, or collage knits—stripes and Fair Isles in every color of the rainbow—seamed together in the shapes of 19th-century bodices. For the boys, there were striped rugby tops with contrasting checks and silver brooches sparkling from the collars, as well as plus four-inspired breeches and bomber jackets with curved zipper pouches inspired by the practicality of a classic golf bag. There were some seriously lovely dresses too: not least a standout with a basque-waist corset cut from an upholstery textile, studded with beaded bows down the front, then exploding into a dramatic puff skirt made from layers of fabric topped with ice-blue tulle. It was as delicious as the floral cupcakes being passed around on platters nearby.
There were also plenty of killer accessories: carpet bags bedecked with silver charms, pearl-strung belts with cameos at the center featuring cherubic faces lifted from vintage Bulgarian postcards, and some fabulous stompers inspired by Victorian-era carriage boots, featuring tussocks of faux fur restrained by black ribbon bows running up to the knee. And to top it all off, the designers used this season’s lookbook as an opportunity to launch a new intimates line, Chopova Lowena Feelings: tees, bras, and knickers in eye-popping colors emblazoned with cheeky mini-poems and cartoonish faces and animals. Their reason for doing so were simple: “We both don’t like any underwear,” said Chopova, laughing. “So this felt like a necessity.” With the pieces’ more accessible price point, it also feels like a savvy commercial move, opening up their world to a different customer without compromising on their renegade creative instincts.
A few minutes after the doors of the Crafts Council opened, the room was already booming with the cacophony of carabiner skirts rustling (the brand’s loyal acolytes had arrived en masse, dressed in head-to-toe looks), editors cooing over the breathtaking intricacies of the clothes, and venturing onto the miniature crazy golf course that snaked through the center of the room. Chopova and Lowena proved they don’t need a runway show to create a real London fashion week moment. In the golfing world, I believe they’d call that a hole in one.