Chopova Lowena‘s style is a fine balance of alluring quirkiness and astonishingly great craftsmanship. For autumn-winter 2023, Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena went for their signature, funky eclecticism. The collection sees a ’70s ski-theme that somehow got caught up with Georgian petticoats, bloomers, cross-lacing, and bonnets. Trust the London-based designers to turn such a bonkers combo into an extensive collection of clothes and accessories that are at the service of cold-weather practicality as well as… fun. They’ve played with the idea of retro children’s patterned ski suits and sleepwear to come up with high-waisted checkered pajama-cum-snowboarding trousers, baby-bedsheet prints, and the piped-pocket detailing that made the whole recognizably Chopova Lowena. Genius cardigans – some with vintage baby-book doll characters dancing on the front, others threaded through with tartan ribbon tied in bows – evoke some sort of deranged Tyrolean classic, possibly an ode to one of Vivienne Westwood‘s signature looks. There are layers and layers to explore here, from heavy-duty brown leather ‘carabiner jackets,’ through ski-capris with frilly knees, stripy wool scarves, tights, and knotted-top beanies, all the way through to stuff that sorts out how a Chopova Lowena person parties – which is to say in lacy white and bows, but with a definite Goth-y attitude.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Chopova Lowena‘ cult carabiner skirts are a runaway success, worn the world over by Fashion Week guests, pop stars, and Real Housewives. The brand’s monogram chain necklaces and upcycled jewellery sell out instantly, and their growing blouse and bag categories have set the business up well for the future. But Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena aren’t the type to take it easy. As Chopova says, “Every season we’re trying to do new things, things that don’t feel like us. It’s interesting to see how we can make new categories our own.” For autumn-winter 2022 they have tackled suiting. “Skirt suits felt the most Chopova Lowena, obviously,” says Lowena. Theirs are made with a rounded double breasted jacket and pleated miniskirt, in deadstock orange plaid or deadstock silky synthetic. Necklaces and bracelets are laced into the collars and cuffs so that the pieces jingle and sparkle. The integration of metal chains into their clothing comes from their research into medieval dress. Each season, the designers clash a folk reference with a sport one – this time they’ve landed on ice hockey versus Renaissance Faire, extrapolating tying and knitting details and armor-like finishes and titling the collection “kiss the hare’s foot,” a medieval expression used, per Chopova, “for when you miss dinner but savor the leftover scraps.” A witty reference to their deadstock practice. The romantic-meets-brutal spirit of their collection works well, the CL boys and girls existing in an in-between. They are not pretty in their laced-together flocked dress with a white slip. They are not strange in a taffeta skirt made of 8 plaid panels, each knotted at the hem, worn with a fuzzy floral cardigan, the brand’s first earnest foray into knitwear. They are not silly either, even if rabbit-ear hoods and cartoon-print tops telegraph childlike humor. Standing boldly in their velvet tops and hardcore metal-trimmed trousers, they are something else, a new aesthetic, a new spirit of furious eclecticism that could only be Chopova Lowena. That’s the genius of their work: it simply cannot be mistaken for anything else.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.