‘Our Way Is The Only Way We Are Going To Do This' - Chopova Lowena Were London Fashion’s Force To Be Reckoned With
On the bank of the River Thames in Deptford, South London, Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena-Irons are sitting in their white-walled studio. We're a few days out from their next turn at London Fashion Week and the duo are, us usual, the best ambassadors for their folklorish-meets-punk clothes (Emma in one of it's printed T-shirts and black carabiner skirts, and Laura in a similar iteration in lighter tones).
They might typically come as a pair but, this time, it’s not just the two of them. A few weeks ago, Lowena-Irons gave birth to twin girls, one of who, she cradles on her chest as we chat, fully immersed and at peace in the magical, irresistible world of her mother’s making.
Entering motherhood presents seismic changes for anyone, but the stresses and strains of running a business and building a creative empire do, perhaps, exacerbate these new demands. Fortunately, when Lowena-Irons took a short maternity leave, Chopova was there to keep the cogs turning and the carabiners clicking.
‘It definitely feels different for me,’ the new mum shares. ‘But I just love creating collections and doing the show. These babies surprised us very early but what it proved was that Emma could do this without me. Stepping back and then coming back into it, I also have a different appreciation for it all.’
‘It was not without you,’ Chopova is quick to intercept. The pair, organised as ever, had much of the designing done even before the due date. ‘Honestly, I think the most honest answer is that it doesn't feel different and that feels really good,’ she adds, confirming that the new arrivals were as much of an unknown for their mother as her business partner. ‘We didn't know how our lives would change after having the babies. Now, we’re pretty prepared, pretty much done and it really feels like it’s happening.’
A year ago, Chopova Lowena’s Friday night show was a highlight of the season and the two have secured the same slot again this year but will present in an entirely different context. They’ve swapped the West London skatepark for an East London, to quote, 'dungeon'. 'It doesn’t feel like a place where fashion should be happening,' Chopova laughs. ‘We loved the skate park. It was amazing, but it didn’t offer us the opportunity to show the clothes up close. This time, we’re not getting so close that the clothes are hitting people in the face but that’s more towards what we want this show space to offer.’
And you better believe there is, in typical Chopova Lowena fashion, a lot to see. The collection surrounds us in the studio space, glistening in a way that previous collections have not with hotfix rhinestones and sequin tulle punctuating with fresh intrigue. Plus, a delicious collaboration with Hellman's — yes, as in Hellman's mayonnaise — is sure to whet the appetites of the front row.
The collection itself follows several streams of conscience and influence – a given for the clued-up designers who love to get lost in inspiration – skirting from women of the Wild West and early American culture through to the retro mood of modern-day gymnastics wear, by way of Halloween costumes.
‘We have a lot of those very defined characters in the show,’ Chopova shares. ‘That’s how we design the collection.’ This speaks to the way they cast their shows too, always with a diverse cohort of faces and names that exist beyond typical casting confines. The same happened this season too.
‘Women of the Wild West are one side, those from early American culture — like Annie Oakley and Belle Brezing and then Halloween is a big theme. There are a lot of costume-inspirations like fairies and witches and then there's showgirl, but we also have rhythmic gymnastic influences. That’s the clash.’
The details from the references are best seen in the pieces taken from Brezing’s estate sale imagery. ‘She was so cool,’ Chopova says, pointing out how her carpet prints have now become fabrics, and her scrapbooks appear across T-shirts.
‘We like the tackiness of the references but then also the subliminal messaging of them about how these are all strong, powerful females seen through the subtleties of the details.’ The duo are never frightened by a reference being too literal. A case-in-point here might be the soundtrack that they say will be interspersed with snippets of Annie Get Your Gun and Calamity Jane.
It could be easy to assume that it’s been plain sailing for a pair who continue to go from strength to strength, whether through the viral success of their carabiner skirts or the permanent space they just set up at Dover Street Market London, their Fashion Award for The New Establishment Womenswear or high-profile fans such as Dua Lipa, Olivia Dean and... Madonna (not bad for a brand that is only seven years old). But, it’s worth taking note of their unorthodox ascension.
‘Starting to do shows was risky,’ Lowena-Irons says, still clearly thrilled that they’re an important part of the offering today, choosing to show once a year. ‘We waited for so long. And then the payoff of not having one and then having one was probably the most satisfying thing.’
It wasn’t a wait that was their choice, they say, but a necessary one. ‘It was the best feeling that we could [do a show], that people wanted to come and see our collection and care about it and that we could afford it. It was then that the whole thing made sense.’
The climate is tricky right now, they admit: ‘On a daily basis right now we’re having to be quite aggressive with the way we make decisions — we have to be decisive in how we invest and expand or move away from things.’
What Chopova Lowena quickly established in the early days remains today: an understanding that they would have to do things no other way than the Chopova Lowena way. ‘We're trying to do stuff that people don't, maybe necessarily do,’ Chopova explains. ‘Our way is the only way we are going to do this.’ Next, it’s candles and perfumes. They are also manifesting a London store that would be as much a place for them to sell their collections as for their community to hang out, drink nice coffee, read and make necklaces.
And what a community that is. Perhaps because of the label’s unorthodox entry to the industry or the sheer wearability and singularity of their aesthetic, they’ve developed such a cult-like following. Chopova Lowena has an unrivalled gang of core loyalists that brands much bigger than it would love to cultivate — many of which are delighted by its sub-£200 T-shirts and accessories that have helped contribute to its success, and all of whom you can spot a mile off.
‘We're just lucky,’ Lowena-Irons shrugs when asked about how they’ve managed to captivate their audience so intently. ‘We're so lucky that there's so many people that have supported us and like the clothes as much as we do. 'The way people wear stuff always inspires how we make it too,' Chopova adds. 'Especially the girls in the office or when people send us photos. It is weird to see people wearing our clothes, but inspiring in how they do so.’
The week we meet Sarah Burton was announced creative director of Givenchy, and the conversation shifts to talk about what it feels like to be a woman working and designing right now. ‘I think that our most defining characteristic is that we are girls,’ says Chopova. ‘I think people can be so snarky about girlhood, and so many girls are so taught to shy away from it: to not embrace it.’ It’s something that they’ve never done and yet their clothes have an increasingly unisex appeal.
‘In a way, we design gender-neutral clothes that we sell to both men and women. We aren't really confined to the fact that we are female designers for women by women, but we do love the fact that we like girlhood and all of the things that are the complexities of girlhood because I think it's all about that; we have very feminine sides and very masculine sides. And I love that,’ says Chopova. ‘A huge part of our actual growing up as designers was that we were so against femininity when we were younger and then we loved femininity and then we were against it and then we loved it and it was a back and forth balance.’
Lowena-Irons takes over; ‘Yes, you’re right. We don't design for women but we design for people, and yet we are women designing it. But I don’t think about that every second of every day — I think about designing for people who understand those different, multi-faceted parts of girlhood.’
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