Aaron Esh has finally discovered colour.
That might sound slightly ridiculous, but for a designer who has built an entire universe out of black, grey, brown, seeing bright red, hot pink and electric blue tear through his Spring/Summer 2027 collection felt amazing.
For “Laws of Attraction,” hot-pink leather was layered over equally loud jersey, red tights appeared beneath delicate dresses and teal, crimson, purple and washed-out nude tones were pushed together. After seasons of Esh’s signature murkiness, it gave the collection an entirely different energy.
Leather trousers sat low on the hips, tailoring remained louche and deliberately imperfect, trench coats hung softly from the body and scuffed denim stopped everything becoming too polished.
A hoodie was paired with an enormous fluffy organza skirt, nude leather was treated until it took on an almost sickly quality and ribbing was blown out of proportion. Collars appeared in colours that seemed deliberately misplaced and otherwise familiar jackets were cut in ways that made the body underneath them look slightly strange.
One deep-purple coat that appeared to be shearling was actually constructed from organza that had been dyed, sliced into strips, hand-brushed and embroidered back together. It reportedly took more than 100 hours to make and that contrast between something looking a bit grubby from across the room and incredibly luxurious once you get close has become one of Esh’s smartest tricks.
SS27 also pushed further into womenswear with tiny skirts, sheer dresses and flashes of lingerie bringing more femininity into the collection. But the women never felt disconnected from Esh’s men, everyone belonged to the same slightly chaotic night out.
Aaron Esh's world has changed dramatically over the past year, most notably with his appointment as chief creative officer of AllSaints. Working simultaneously on a major commercial brand and his considerably more specific namesake label seems to have made the latter's identity even clearer.
