A designer's first runway show is a long-standing make-or-break milestone. But in the 2020s, a decade in which the fashion capital cities have become increasingly tough environments for young designers to show their work in (the skyrocketing production costs, the crowded show calendars, the competition to get a good show date and time, the list goes on), the feat can feel particularly monumental. ‘I’m not a crier, but I felt deeply emotional at the first rehearsal,’ says London-born Aaron Esh, recalling the day before his inaugural London Fashion Week show at Tate Modern last September.
Dressed in all black, from his trainers to his signature baseball cap, Esh remembers the moment as if it was yesterday. ‘Hearing the music in the venue, seeing the casting and the collection... I actually got goosebumps. You have this idea scribbled down detailing what the final product will look like, but seeing six months’ worth of work, I genuinely had to hold it together.’
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Esh graduated from an MA in Fashion at Central Saint Martins in 2022. Starting out with menswear, Esh’s pieces became a talking point among editors for the way he mixed soft and sensual elements in clothes that subverted conventional codes of masculinity. His ‘Comma’ loafers fast became a favourite with industry figures, and Zendaya wore a custom waistcoat for a campaign shoot last year.
Buyers at SSENSE and LN-CC quickly came calling and the designer was selected as one of the prestigious 2023 LVMH semi-finalists – all within six months of graduating. ‘I thought it was too soon to apply, but now I realise that I belonged there. Speaking to one of my favourite designers, Nicolas Ghesquière, grounded me, and confirmed that I’m doing something right,’ he said of the experience, which saw him present his work to a panel of judges including Jonathan Anderson, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs, Kim Jones, Stella McCartney, Nigo and Silvia Venturini Fendi.
Growing up in east London with a musician father and a Royal College of Art-trained sculptor mother, it’s possible Esh was destined to be good with his hands. Having initially studied graphic design at Central Saint Martins before dropping out, he reapplied aged 28 to study fashion and has never looked back. ‘I was 15 when I saw a Raf Simons show for the first time, and I understood what it meant to have a vision in fashion,’ he says.
For SS24 he introduced womenswear into his collection ‘Chaos and Control’, and swung a pendulum between masculine and feminine attitudes with looks that were feats of technical know-how. The highlight? An aubergine cowl neck dress with a liquid-like flow held together by a single seam. ‘It conveys evening glamour with a sort of slickness,’ he says. Longline waistcoats, a bouclé jacket and balloon-hem miniskirt set and faultless tailoring all stood out.
‘We’re looking at the 1950s Parisian woman,’ he explains of next season’s inspiration. ‘It’s taking what I love about that French couture elegance and integrating it into the everyday wardrobe.’ It’s this sharp assimilation that makes Esh such an exciting presence on the London fashion scene. And with a formula as winning as his, Esh has many more emotional moments to come.
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