By Miranda Chance
Edited by Naomi Gupta
Singers Doja Cat and Ice Spice in Jean Paul Gaultier x KNWLS on Sunday night. From @knwlslondon on Instagram
Many social media users awoke September 11th to find their feeds flooded with flashy photos of today’s top celebrities closing out the third day of New York Fashion Week at a vibrant party in Lower Manhattan. This is not anything unusual, but what had users across the Internet especially excited about this party were the various, never-before-seen clothing the celebrities adorned. The edgy, flirty garments were mostly pinks and browns, and sported patterns that many recognized instantly as a signature look from the French fashion house Jean Paul Gaultier (JPG). But next to every logo, tagged in every post, and plastered across every corner of “fashion-tok” was a second brand: KNWLS. The London-based brand—though much newer and lesser known—is establishing itself as an important player when it comes to edgy, non-conformist fashion. The brand’s 21st century-take on pushing boundaries through clothing could help JPG’s brand in continuing its own dissentient (head turning designs meant to make people uncomfortable) agenda since hiring their new creative director, Florence Tetier, while simultaneously boosting KNWLS’s own popularity.
A look from JPG’s SS94 show. Courtesy of vogue.com
There are few brands that embody the 21st-century-aesthetic better than Jean Paul Gaultier. The brand, which debuted its first collections back in the 80s, is known for being experimental, open-minded, and unconventional. Notable moments in the brand’s history include the SS91 show, which featured playful, unconventional walks as a means to show the clothing or his 1985 collection Et Dieu Créa l’Homme in which he debuted menswear with flowy, feminine silhouettes. Another example of this is the celebration of body modifications in his SS94 show through designs like the now-iconic sheer tattoo shirt. An avant-garde designer, Jean Paul Gaultier’s early designs and ideas have proven to be timeless and impactful, and the appointment of a new female creative director has had much of the brand’s fans excited and optimistic for its future.
Designers Charlotte Knowles (right) and Alexandre Arsenault for iD Magazine
Like Gaultier, KNWLS’s creator, Charlotte Knowles, plays by her own rules. Vogue’s Brooke Bobb notes that “Knowles based her Masters collection at Central Saint Martins on women who are unapologetic about keeping porn under their beds”. She continued to emphasize femininity and sexual liberation throughout her short-but-successful career. Her and her partner, Alexandre Arsenault, carried this theme into the collections of their brand, KNWLS, which is known for delicate lingerie-esque pieces worn by the likes of Bella Hadid and Hunter Schafer. The designs, which some consider risqué(even by 21st-century standards) are made with the feminine gaze in mind, and highlight the wearer’s natural shape without alterations.
Julia Fox in JPG x KNWLS. @knwlslondon on Instagram
The visions of JPG and KNWLS, though different, intersect to deliver a message of sexual freedom, self-expression, and body positivity for everyone, and these ideas are well represented in their collaboration collection. Feminine and androgynous sheer tops and bottoms, fitted dresses, and a variety of cropped tops are all plentiful, and the wide-array of clothes encourages a diverse consumer base, further pushing the idea that clothes are for everyone. Unfortunately, however, the price range is not. They range anywhere from 270 to 2,700 euros, making the so-called “inclusive” collection—ironically—inaccessible to most consumers. On top of this, KNWLS’ models do not represent an exceptionally diverse group of models, contradicting JPG’s previous reputation of valuing diversity.
Alex Cosani by Harley Weir for the JPG x KNWLS campaign
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