AW23 NEW BRANDS 

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“I just try to make cool shit” declared Angelo Baque when he launched Awake NY in 2021. After a decade as Brand Director for Supreme, the Queens native returned to the graphic t-shirts and hoodies that hypnotised him in the early 2000s. His love letter to New York pays tribute to streetwear’s origin story, beguiling the hypegeist with reimagined vintage hip hop staples and superstar collaborations.

A self-taught jeweller and a master of colour, Bleue Burnham playfully recycles precious metals and gemstones into a kaleidoscopic ode to the natural world. Appearing both carefully crafted and roughly hewn, a handmade Bleue Burnham ring, pendant or bracelet is a fast track to instant joy and an assurance of a future heirloom. 

While some worry about the future and others bury their heads in the sand, Charlie Constantinou is designing for it with colour-rich contemporary garments suited to extreme weather conditions. Inspired by Inuit tribes, the Central Saint Martins graduate swaps animal fur for sherpa fleece and skins for waterproof nylons. Don Charlie Constantinou’s shrunken quilting, bungee straps and sun-bleached waterproofs to face apocalyptic climate change with raw elegance. 

From a family of generational tailors to four decades mixing colour, prints and embroideries, Dries Van Noten has crafted an inimitable signature of statement dressing. Eternally dedicated to denying convention, the Flemish designer and member of the legendary Antwerp Six is expected to arrive at LN-CC in a riot of sensory fabrics, saturated florals and glowing metallics undercut by sensual, yet decisive, tailoring.  

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What began as a side hobby has transformed into an Instagram sensation beloved by Harry Styles, Dakota Fanning and Gigi Hadid. éliou’s playful yet delicate range of bracelets and necklaces are inspired by a fascination with sand and the sea. Grab a string of cowrie shells, freshwater pearls and vivid-hued glass beads to summon the romantic awe of the perfect summer.

What does Gerrit Jacob share with Karl Lagerfeld? A hometown and a chromatic expression of self-irony. Inspired by politics, graffiti, camp and German funfairs, Jacob takes an airbrush to leather, mesh and anything in-between. Seesawing between naivete and cynicism, the former Gucci tailor saturates his utility-inspired separates in a bubblegum expression of youth frustration. Where 70’s Britain had punk, 21st Century German has kitsch. 

Worlds away from the genteel fairytale of Scandi chic, Jannik Davidsen and Tim Hancock are brewing a darker, grungier expression of Danish style that has the internet in a chokehold. Having gone viral with a skeletal hand wrapped around Julia Fox’s throat, Copenhagen’s resident avant-garde exhibitionist transports to a fashion shadowland where occult-like graphics, severe architecture and a dystopian colour palette reign supreme. 

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When Katie Holmes broke the internet with a cashmere twin set, she did so in Khaite’s Scarlet cardigan and Eda bralette. The New York label swiped laissez-faire luxury from the Parisians, rebranding it as a distinctly American affair and injecting meticulously designed wardrobe staples with coquettish seduction. Let Khaite’s elegant tale of structure and fluidity romanticise your everyday. Be warned, a media frenzy is likely. 

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One of many creative outlets for polymath artist Cho Gi-Seok, KUSIKOHC is a rallying cry for freedom of expression. An ode to the multidimensional creative, the label is shaped by Cho’s experiences with graphic design, set design, sculpting and photography. Casual streetwear is rendered in branded graphics and geometric pattens that demand you embrace your ‘Right To Fail’. 

Catherine Boerter’s priorities are clear, “Jewellery always comes first, outfit second”. The mantra echoes through her Oslo-based atelier. Eccentric and bold, Boerter handcrafts alien-like adornments with an unadulterated expression of glamour. Searching for attention-seeking jewellery that refuses to be ignored? Then you’ll find deliverance in a pair of Pearl Octopuss.y earrings or body chain decorated with supersized freshwater pearls and dazzling pavé settings. 

Lyna Ty and Melvin Tanaya don’t do conformity. Rejecting the typical 9-5 path preferred by their Asian Australian community, choosing instead to deconstruct traditional tailoring in story-driven collections. Far from a finished narrative, the lifelong friends create new designs every season in search of their voice. Find yours in wabi-sabi informed separates cut from meticulously sourced luxury fabrics. 

It’s time you got a Pocket Operator. Small and ultra-portable, the device makes music with studio quality sound and costs no more than nice dinner for two. Or how about the TP-7 field recorder, CM-15 tiny studio microphone or TX-6 pro mixer? Tiny Engineering is transforming electronics for people who love music. Join the revolution with your own miniature recording studio, the possibilities are endless.