The Fashion Brands you Need to Know for SS17

We all have our favourite brands, those we look to to make up our clothing staples and lay the foundations for your seasonal wardrobe. But one of the most exciting parts of the fashion world is watching new, young brands and designers emerge in the industry. The trans-seasonal period offers the perfect opportunity to explore these new brands, with fashion’s biggest names and new radicals battling it out for a place in your wardrobe. As we head into Spring/Summer ’17, we offer our guide to the brands and collections to know for this season.

Bec & Bridge

Striking up a friendship while at University in Sydney, Bridget Yorston and Becky Cooper founded Bec & Bridge after creating customised clothing for themselves and friends during their studies. An order for 200 pairs of jeans from a store on the Gold Coast gave the young women the encouragement to develop their fledgling brand into a career, making it their mission to create aspirational and achievable for the modern woman.

Before long Bec & Bridge was ushered into the biggest department stores around the world, and the brand has since gained a cult celebrity following boasting Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Bella and Gigi Hadid, and Emily Ratajkowski among its followers. Fusing vintage inspirations with a distinctly modern aesthetic, Bec & Bridge has quickly become one of the industry’s most exciting emerging womenswear labels.

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Gestuz

Inspired by a rock’n’roll lifestyle with a splash of elegance and sweetness, Gestuz was launched in 2007 to offer a contemporary approach to tailoring and a fresh take on Scandinavian minimalism. Navigating the space between understated, relaxed chic and directional statement pieces, the brand brings together beautiful fabrics with unexpected details to offer sophisticated pieces with elegant silhouettes.

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Champion

Today a global leader in sportswear apparel, Champion was founded in Rochester, New York almost a century ago. Starting out life crafting high-quality sweatshirts and sweatpants for University and College for local sports teams, the brand’s reputation soon spread. Before long Champion was the go-to apparel sportswear manufacturer for sports teams across the US. The brand expanded its range while retaining its focus on quality, and Champion’s fame continued to grow as it was adopted by professional sports teams and the US Military Academy as their official uniform maker.

The brand was refreshed in the 1950s when the now iconic blue and red “C” logo appeared for the first time. One of the brand’s most defining moments was yet to come, however, when Champion invented the hooded sweatshirt in the 1950s. Today an essential athletic garment, Champion came up with the classic hoodie design as a “sideline” piece for in-between game time and practice sessions. The hooded sweatshirt would soon transcend sports and continents to become one of the world’s essential sportswear pieces.

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Rains

Inspired by Scandinavia’s trying climate and rich design heritage, RAINS is a Danish rainwear brand famous for its rainwear including waterproof outerwear, bags and accessories.

Founded in central Denmark in 2012, the brand came to be when its founders made it their mission to reinterpret the classic rubber raincoat in a new, fashion-conscious design. Following the success of the RAINS raincoat, the brand established its name by reinventing classic outerwear pieces before expanding to bags and accessories. Today RAINS is celebrated across Europe for its robust yet on-trend rainwear that fuses traditional craftsmanship and innovative techniques to create pieces that last long beyond the season.

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Barbour

Perhaps today best known for its iconic waxed jackets, Barbour was established in 1894 in South Shields’ Market Place. In those days, J. Barbour and Sons Ltd was a modern local importer of oil cloth; Barbour has since become one of Britain’s (and the world’s) most prestigious manufacturers of weatherproof outerwear as well as ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes and accessories.

In 1974 the brand was granted a royal warrant to supply “waterproof and protective clothing” by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974, cementing Barbour’s place as one of the most recognised names in British fashion. While over 100 years has passed since the brand was first established, each and every Barbour jacket continues to be manufactured by hand in South Shields’ Simonside factory.

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Hugo Boss

Since its inception in 1924, German fashion house Hugo Boss has come to epitomise authentic, understated luxury. Perhaps best known for its refined business- and eveningwear, the brand has come to the fore in recent years for its women’s and men’s casualwear and sportswear which focus on fine fabrics and sophisticated detailing.

Alongside its core offering, Hugo Boss also comprises three subsidiary collections each with its own unique aesthetic and personality. BOSS Orange, the urban casualwear collection, appeals to a laid-back lifestyle with an easy-going aesthetic. The BOSS Green collection is the brand’s sportswear and active performance offering, blending premium fashion materials and detailing with sports performance functionality. The Hugo Boss HUGO range is the edgy, urban brother of the group, with an on-trend, contemporary approach for both business and leisure.

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Maison Labiche

Maison Labiche is a young Parisian brand making its name for its handmade white T-shirts embroidered with fun, tongue-in-cheek phrases.

Founded in 2011 by a group of young Parisian creatives, Maison Labiche was established with the ambition to create a brand with its own unique soul and personality, focused around beautiful products hand-crafted using only the finest materials. The brand’s founding conviction of offering a collection of timeless, quality basics with refined detailing has seen Maison Labiche quickly develop a cult following in France, Europe and now around the world.

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Radley

Radley is the premium British handbag brand established by Lowell Harder in London in 1998.

Starting her journey selling handbags as part of a new wave of creatives who flooded Camden Market in the 1980s, Radley was founded out of Harder’s passion for colour, luxurious leathers and a meticulous approach to handbag design. The brand’s playful but considered approach saw it quickly win the hearts of women around the world, and this approach was epitomised in Radley’s now-iconic Scottish Terrier logo.

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Coccinelle

Founded by the Mazzieri family in Parma in 1978, Coccinelle is today synonymous with luxury Italian bags and accessories. Since its inception, the brand has made its name by creating some of the industry’s most coveted bags using a meticulous eye for detail, premium materials, and refined designs in line with the study of contemporary trends. Each and every product evidences the brand’s authentic traditional craftsmanship, and the Coccinelle’s investment in research, technology and exclusive materials continues to produce some of fashion’s most recognisable and best loved accessories in the fashion industry.

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Novesta

With a heritage stretching back almost a century, Novesta is quickly becoming Slovakia’s coolest export. Known for beautifully made trainers and sneakers, Novesta are an essential brand for the trendsetter, with a focus on unique, on-trend and innovative designs.

Not only are they stylish, Novesta trainers are totally natural—each pair is crafted by hand, using naturally sourced materials, fabrics and threads. This season’s collection offers up Novesta’s iconic Star Master in a range of new seasonal colours to revamp your wardrobe ready for spring.

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Kendall & Kylie

Two of the most instantly recognisable figures of the moment, Kendall and Kylie Jenner rose to fame at a young age in the hit TV series Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Now respected models and designers in their own right, their eponymous fashion label, Kendall + Kylie, epitomises the sisters’ uniquely modern take on fashion and is quickly becoming a celebrity, blogger and trendsetter favourite. The new Kendall + Kylie SS17 collection is full of youthful energy, modern prints and easy-to-wear silhouettes.