Showcasing a collection in an uninhabited south London pharmacy on the first day of London Fashion Week isn’t the action of a conformist designer. But, since establishing her namesake brand in 2017, moving the needle forward has always been instrumental to Supriya Lele's practice.
Lele acquired the former pharmacy in 2023, transforming the space into a gallery dubbed Qrystal Partners (she co-owns the gallery with Donald Ryan). This season, the gallery acted as Lele's showroom, and the designer eschewed the formal London Fashion Week schedule, opting for private viewings instead. ‘I'm really happy with the collection,’ she says, clearly elated. ‘It feels good to be able to show everybody the work. During the show, the pieces pass by you but being able to show each piece and say to people, “Touch this”, “Feel this” is great.’
The end of the day is nearing when ELLE UK visits the showroom, and dusky skies illuminate Lele’s AW24 garments on rails and draped around mannequin busts. Looking closely at the collection, it's apparent that Lele has ruminated on what the Supriya Lele woman wears in the depths of winter, with a slightly off-kilter lens. Leaning into more tactile inclusions, iridescent pearl foil paisley prints appear. Laying on a table, a seductive corset leather bra – a welcome addition in powder-blue last season – has been reimagined in oil-black paired with outré micro shorts boasting an exposed zip, greeting editors as they arrive. ‘I started by playing with texture quite a lot. We played on gossamer-fine knitwear, there's pointelle knitwear in gold with a sporty finish and we developed foil techniques,’ Lele explains.
There's a subversive, dynamic twist to familiar silhouettes. Meticulously cut, figure-hugging sets previously actualised in punchier shades of carmine, green and duck-egg blue for summer, this time, have been developed in an oatmeal shade with a one-shoulder top and a teasing slither of skin peaking through built-in underwear. Those who have closely followed Lele’s work will revel in the re-introduction of vinyl, a staple in her MA collection.
World-building and the inclusion of the creative’s everyday hero pieces are integrated into the line with the brand's house codes, she continues. ‘There are a few more real components but elevated – cargos and leather and wax ski jackets. I wanted to build a chic language.’ Meanwhile, perspex footwear covered in hosiery gives an illusion of floating heels. ‘We were riffing on the transparent swim shoes from the summer collection.’
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Blue is a running theme throughout the line, with an intentional tension between toughness and sensuality, a direct result of Lele being inspired by William Gass’s 1976 philosophical novel On Being Blue: A Philosophical Inquiry: ‘It was an important starting point. I was also thinking about mundane spaces. My studio is in an office block and the gallery is in an old pharmacy. We're constantly in these mundane, blank environments, and I was thinking about the transient throughout these spaces – and my woman in these spaces.’
One of Lele's team pulls up the AW24 look book, entirely styled by Jane How, and shot on an iPhone. Which piece was the designer most proud of? ‘I don't know, it's hard! I love the foiled lace because it's so cool, but I also adore the sheer knit, vinyl and leather. I just love the entire collection.’ For those who may question Lele’s location choice this season, she simply grins as she heads out of the pharmacy with her beloved dog Stevie, the cogs likely already in motion for SS25's location. ‘There’s something a bit kinky and a bit weird about showing this collection in a banal space.’
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