If you can count on street style to tell you anything, it’s what people really want to wear - the things they wear when they want to look their best, flanked by 249,559,894 street style photographers, fashion editors, and front row celebrities.
So, when you clock several variations of the same skirt, you’re not going out on a limb to say it’s a hit — well, an 'it' — piece. One of this season’s most spotted styles? London-based duo Chopova Lowena’s distinctive skirts.
The pleated style, with a wide leather belt attached by carabiners and one-off handpicked charms, is indisputably them, but somehow manages to look different on everyone who wears it — women of all tastes (whether it’s bold, minimal, or chic), ages, and body types.
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‘It’s been incredible to see them fit so easily into so many different people's wardrobes,’ says Laura Lowena, the English half of the British-Bulgarian duo, who met while studying fashion at Central Saint Martins in 2011.
Seen styled with everything classic white shirts, to crewneck knitwear.
That’s what actually makes these skirts so interesting, and why we had to stop in the streets throughout the Spring/Summer 2020 shows to ask ‘WHO ARE YOU WEARING?’. It’s not easy to nail the formula of being irrefutably unique, and somehow working on everyone.
What makes the skirts so unique are the wide leather waist-belts, ‘harness like,’ Lowena says, modelled on mountaineering gear. Everything beyond that varies, from the length, ranging from mini to maxi, to the shocking citrus and primary coloured prints, inspired by the Bulgarian heritage of American-born Emma Chopova, the other half of the design duo.
‘The pleating is inspired by a style of Bulgarian skirt call a “bruchnik” and Scottish kilts,’ Chopova explains, with the hybrid-style speaking to the mixed-heritage of those who grew up with, or identify as, second generation immigrants (a number in its millions).
If you’re wondering where you can get one, the duo have quickly racked up a list of premium stockists since launching the label in 2017, including Matches, Farfetch, and Browns. ‘I fell in love with their collection,’ says Ida Petersson, the Buying Director at Browns.
‘Their work is like nothing else on the market,’ Petersson adds, making sure everyone knows it by being the first to take Chopova Lowena’s work on the road as part of Browns Nomad, a roving pop-up in Berlin, between the 14th and 16th November.
What Petersson says is true, literally, as the Chopova Lowena designers use unique recycled and deadstock fabrics to make the skirts, including vintage fabrics sourced from Bulgaria, and the UK. Yes, that means the duo’s work has sustainable credentials too, made with the environment in mind.
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So, one of the most photographed skirts of 2019? Yes. Easy to wear, whether you’re a minimalist with wardrobe of crisp white shirts, or are big on head-to-toe print? That too. One of the fashion industry’s most original and exciting new brands? That’s a ‘yes’ on all fronts.
Be prepared to see these skirts everywhere next fashion week.
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