17 September 2023 |
A year on following their catwalk debut, Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena-Irons brought the fash pack back to a skate park built beneath a flyover in Westbourne Park. The setting was fitting, for the design duo spoke of their teenage infatuation with skater boys as one of this season’s starting points. You could see it in the brand’s growing menswear arm, as lanky lads stomped up and down concrete ramps clad in signature Chopova Lowena kilts over slouched tracksuits, or graphic hoodies and too-cool-to-care three-quarter-lengths. There was a hard edge to the womenswear, too. Despite having a deft hand in creating extremely pretty frocks, the design pairing’s shared handwriting is smeared with Riot grrrl spirit. Usually basing their collections on Bulgarian folklore tales (Chopova comes from a Bulgarian family), this time the duo took a sartorial trip to Cornwall. The county’s Helston Flora Day festival – known for its eccentric garb and medieval stories of everything from angels and devils through to mermaids and maidens – informed the collection’s belted, trinket-adorned dressess, pastel plaid tops scribbled with adorably, angry devils and corsetry printed with a flock of childlike cartoons.
Chopova Lowena first won over a loyal fanbase thanks to its pleated kilts (worn en masse by the show’s audience). All of whom are set to be delighted as the brand stepped into bags and shoes for the first time. From an Ugg collab that acted “as a canvas for the fancifulness of Flora Day to be brought to life”, to hefty over-the-shoulder bags kitted out with custom notebook and pen holders, soon enough you’ll be able to upgrade your entire wardrobe with Chopova Lowena’s mischievous finary.
Photography by Christina Fragkou.
