ALL THEMES

ELENA DAWSON : THE GARDEN OF FORGOTTEN MEMORIES, A BOTANICAL ELEGY OF SOFTH GOTHIC

Elena Dawson is not a brand. It is a state of being, a phenomenon whose aura resists all attempts at categorization within fashion’s coordinate systems. Her creative work is a secluded sanctuary, a chapel on the outskirts of the industry. Here, a particular, deeply intimate romance is born : the romance of a soft gothic, devoid of vampiric pomp and grotesquery, yet imbued with Victorian melancholy and the stoic grace of decay.

Dark Fashion

MAINSTREAM DOWNSTREAM

In June 2003, along the quiet waters of Milan’s Naviglio Grande, Carol Christian Poell staged one of the most haunting fashion presentations of the 21st century. Far from the conventional runway, his Spring/Summer 2004 show unfolded on the surface of a canal, where garments and models alike drifted in silence, part procession, part apparition. Echoing the spectral stillness of Millais’s Ophelia, Poell’s vision transformed fashion into ritual, decay into desire, and garments into relics. This article revisits that unforgettable moment, where control gave way to current, and fashion, freed from speed and spectacle…

Art| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

QUEERING THE UNIFORM : SUBVERSION, KINK AND THE MILITARISATION OF STYLE

Uniforms were meant to discipline bodies and erase individuality. Yet in the hands of avant-garde designers, they become something else entirely: instruments of desire, rebellion, and identity play. From the fragile adolescent tension of Raf Simons to the hyper-queer provocations of Walter van Beirendonck and the sleek militarised sensuality of Helmut Lang, the uniform is no longer a symbol of obedience but a stage where power, vulnerability, and eroticism collide.

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

7 PAIRS OF AVANT GARDE KILLER FOOTWEAR

Stepping on necks in terrifyingly beautiful shoes by designers like Rick Owens, Myah Hasbany, and Comme Des Garçons

Accessories| Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Futuristic| Japanese Designers

FASHION AS RITUAL: COSTUMING THE SACRED AND THE OCCULT

Fashion has always flirted with the sacred, but a new generation of designers is turning garments into rituals. From the techno-shamanic visions of House of Malakai to the monastic mythologies of Rick Owens, clothing becomes more than appearance, it becomes invocation. These pieces function like talismans, charged with symbolism, intention, and transformation. In an age of digital noise, fashion begins to reclaim its oldest power: ritual.

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

EXPLORING THEMES OF ROMANCE THROUGH THE AVANT-GARDE

Why gothic romance literature and media are at the root of the avant-garde scene

Art| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

CELEBRITIES DRESSING ON THE EDGE

Cemented at the forefront of the avant-garde, here are some looks from icons like Björk, Lady Gaga, and FKA Twigs that we cannot stop thinking about.

Dark Fashion| Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS SHAPING THE AVANT-GARDE FASHION NARRATIVE

Once confined to galleries and runways, experimental fashion now thrives in pixels, posts, and the digital underground.

Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

L’ABBEYE'S GUIDE TO A GOTHIC SUMMER

How to mourn a cool breeze in style…

Accessories| Dark Fashion| Soft Goth

THE INFLUENCE OF GOTHIC STRUCTURE ON FASHION

Gothic cathedrals were built to overwhelm the soul, and their shadow still lingers in fashion. From the monumental visions of Alexander McQueen to the sculptural darkness of Rick Owens and the poetic ruins of Ann Demeulemeester, designers have long translated arches, spires, and sacred geometry into garments. In avant-garde fashion, the body becomes architecture. A cathedral of fabric where beauty, darkness, and devotion collide.

Dark Fashion| Design| Fashion Theory| Medieval core

HAIRSTYLES AS CULTURAL CODES

Hair has always carried meaning beyond adornment. It is a language of ancestry, divinity, and resistance. Through Yoruba philosophy, African ritual, and contemporary fashion, this piece explores how the act of styling -braiding, covering, shaving- becomes both memory and message, both art and prayer.

Art| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

Futuristic

UNWEARABLE FUTURES : FASHION AS CONCEPTUAL ARCHITECTURE

Avant-garde designers like Iris van Herpen, Gareth Pugh and Hussein Chalayan are redefining fashion as architecture. In this emerging landscape of “unwearable fashion,” garments become sculptural experiments that challenge wearability, identity and the future of the human body.

Art| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

7 PAIRS OF AVANT GARDE KILLER FOOTWEAR

Stepping on necks in terrifyingly beautiful shoes by designers like Rick Owens, Myah Hasbany, and Comme Des Garçons

Accessories| Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Futuristic| Japanese Designers

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS SHAPING THE AVANT-GARDE FASHION NARRATIVE

Once confined to galleries and runways, experimental fashion now thrives in pixels, posts, and the digital underground.

Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

UPCOMING AVANT-GARDE JEWELLERY DESIGNERS YOU NEED TO KNOW !

Meet the Next Generation of Avant-Garde Jewellery

Accessories| Emerging Designers| Futuristic

HUSSEIN CHALAYAN: THE FASHION DESIGNER WHO INVENTED WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY BEFORE AI

From transforming furniture into dresses to garments embedded with motors, lasers, and microchips, Hussein Chalayan revolutionized the relationship between fashion and technology. This article explores how the British-Cypriot designer became one of the earliest pioneers of wearable tech and conceptual fashion.

Art| Eco Fashion| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

DESERT COUTURE: THE FASHION EVOLUTION OF DUNE ON SCREEN

How directors like David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Denis Villeneuve envisioned Dune’s universe, and how it continues to inspire avant-garde fashion.

Art| Cinema| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

CTRL + ALT + FASHION : HOW DIGITAL CULTURE IS SHAPING AESTHETICS

While the fashion industry has drawn inspiration from the internet for years, a new wave of digital-first aesthetics is accelerating the evolution of trends.

Art| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

INTERVIEW : VICTOR CLAVELLY'S SURREAL FASHION LORE

Blending video game design, CGI, and couture craftsmanship, Victor Clavelly transforms technology into poetry. His creations stretch the limits of the body, reimagining what fashion - and reality - can become.

Emerging Designers| Futuristic| Interviews

Japanese Designers

7 PAIRS OF AVANT GARDE KILLER FOOTWEAR

Stepping on necks in terrifyingly beautiful shoes by designers like Rick Owens, Myah Hasbany, and Comme Des Garçons

Accessories| Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Futuristic| Japanese Designers

REMEMBER ME WHEN I LEAVE

Editorial| Japanese Designers

JUNGIAN ARCHETYPES AND AVANT GARDE FASHION PERSONA

Carl Jung’s archetypes offer a new lens to decode avant-garde fashion. From Browne’s Trickster to Yamamoto’s Hermit, each silhouette becomes a vessel of the collective unconscious. Proof that fashion, at its most radical, speaks the language of the soul.

Art| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Japanese Designers

HOW JAPANESE DESIGNERS SHAPED THE FUTURE OF AVANT-GARDE FASHION

Japanese designers redefined avant-garde by merging tradition, philosophy, and innovation. From deconstruction to minimalism, their influence reshaped Western fashion and continues to inspire a generation seeking authenticity over perfection.

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Japanese Designers

WHAT "AVANT-GARDE" REALLY MEANS IN FASHION

“Avant-garde” gets thrown around a lot in fashion, but where does it come from, and what does it actually mean? From its radical roots to its presence in lifestyle and design, here is what truly sets avant-garde apart from passing trends.

Art| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Japanese Designers

THE EVOLUTION OF AVANT-GARDE IN FASHION

Tracing avant-garde’s path from its revolutionary roots of Elsa Schiaparelli, Rei Kawakubo, and McQueen to today’s branches of gothic elegance.

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Japanese Designers

Art

MAINSTREAM DOWNSTREAM

In June 2003, along the quiet waters of Milan’s Naviglio Grande, Carol Christian Poell staged one of the most haunting fashion presentations of the 21st century. Far from the conventional runway, his Spring/Summer 2004 show unfolded on the surface of a canal, where garments and models alike drifted in silence, part procession, part apparition. Echoing the spectral stillness of Millais’s Ophelia, Poell’s vision transformed fashion into ritual, decay into desire, and garments into relics. This article revisits that unforgettable moment, where control gave way to current, and fashion, freed from speed and spectacle…

Art| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

UNWEARABLE FUTURES : FASHION AS CONCEPTUAL ARCHITECTURE

Avant-garde designers like Iris van Herpen, Gareth Pugh and Hussein Chalayan are redefining fashion as architecture. In this emerging landscape of “unwearable fashion,” garments become sculptural experiments that challenge wearability, identity and the future of the human body.

Art| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

EXPLORING THEMES OF ROMANCE THROUGH THE AVANT-GARDE

Why gothic romance literature and media are at the root of the avant-garde scene

Art| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

HAIRSTYLES AS CULTURAL CODES

Hair has always carried meaning beyond adornment. It is a language of ancestry, divinity, and resistance. Through Yoruba philosophy, African ritual, and contemporary fashion, this piece explores how the act of styling -braiding, covering, shaving- becomes both memory and message, both art and prayer.

Art| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

THESE FURNITURE AND DECOR BRANDS WILL HELP YOU LIVE INSIDE A WORK OF ART

Think of homes that feel more like installations, minimal to the extreme, anti cozy, sometimes even intentionally disorienting.

Art| Design| Fashion Theory

BEAUTIFULLY BIZZARE AND UNFORGETTABLE: 5 ARTISTS TO DISCOVER

If you are into the surreal and the macabre, this list might be for you.

Art| Design| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

HUSSEIN CHALAYAN: THE FASHION DESIGNER WHO INVENTED WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY BEFORE AI

From transforming furniture into dresses to garments embedded with motors, lasers, and microchips, Hussein Chalayan revolutionized the relationship between fashion and technology. This article explores how the British-Cypriot designer became one of the earliest pioneers of wearable tech and conceptual fashion.

Art| Eco Fashion| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

REMEMBERING EIKO ISHIOKA: AVANT-GARDE ARCHITECT OF COSTUME AND VISION

Known for her Oscar-winning costumes in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and her visionary work across film, theater, and fashion, Ishioka blended avant-garde artistry with wearable sculpture.

Art| Fashion Theory

TO BE WORN OR TO BE WATCHED

In light of recent exhibitions like Demna’s retrospective at the Kering headquarters and Rick Owens’ Temple of Love, we explore the tension between fashion as something to be worn and fashion as something to be preserved and exhibited.

Art| Fashion Theory

DREAMS, OBJECTS, AND SCHOCK VALUE : SCHIAPARELLI AND THE SURREALIST SPIRIT

We explore Elsa Schiaparelli’s relationship with Surrealism, from collaborations with artists like Dalí to how Daniel Roseberry’s recent collections reinterpret those codes for a contemporary audience.

Art| Fashion Theory

Emerging Designers

7 PAIRS OF AVANT GARDE KILLER FOOTWEAR

Stepping on necks in terrifyingly beautiful shoes by designers like Rick Owens, Myah Hasbany, and Comme Des Garçons

Accessories| Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Futuristic| Japanese Designers

CELEBRITIES DRESSING ON THE EDGE

Cemented at the forefront of the avant-garde, here are some looks from icons like Björk, Lady Gaga, and FKA Twigs that we cannot stop thinking about.

Dark Fashion| Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS SHAPING THE AVANT-GARDE FASHION NARRATIVE

Once confined to galleries and runways, experimental fashion now thrives in pixels, posts, and the digital underground.

Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

UPCOMING AVANT-GARDE JEWELLERY DESIGNERS YOU NEED TO KNOW !

Meet the Next Generation of Avant-Garde Jewellery

Accessories| Emerging Designers| Futuristic

MATERIAL INSTINCT: ZWYRTECH IN CONVERSATION WITH L’ABBEYE

Based in Warsaw, Zwyrtech blurs the line between jewellery and sculpture, embracing imperfection through a hands-on and exploratory process.

Accessories| Emerging Designers

FIVE UNDERRATED BRANDS YOU SHOULD KNOW

These five underrated brands are quietly reshaping fashion with bold ideas and unique visions. Discover who’s flying under the radar and why they deserve your attention now.

Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers

GROTESQUE BEAUTY

Dissecting fashion's relationship with distorted, dark, and deformed imagery

Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

PETRA FAGERSTRÖM RE-INTERPRETS HOW CONDITIONED DYNAMICS IMPRINT ON WOMANHOOD

The Swedish designer presented her first London Fashion Week collection as an independent brand at Studio Smithfield.

Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory

MISTAKING STONE FOR SKY

Art| Dark Fashion| Editorial| Emerging Designers| Grotesque Beauty

EXPLORING THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF FISH SKIN FOR FASHION: INTERVIEW WITH ISABELLE TAYLOR

Isabelle Taylor is a beautifully unconventional surrealist fashion designer specialising in fish leather, a sustainable material made from the byproducts of smoked salmon, which she uses to create garments through her brand, Skinned Potential.

Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Interviews

Fashion Theory

THE SUMMER IS COMING AND SO IS THE LAST JUDGMENT DAY: HOW TO DRESS "PROPERLY" ?

In summer, the body is no longer concealed. And dressing becomes a ritual of what we chose to elevate.

Fashion Theory

RAGS AND RICHES

Between memory and marketing, fashion has learned to fake its scars. As luxury brands sell dirt, rips, and wear at a high price, the Dirty Fit trend raises a deeper question: can authenticity be manufactured, or must it be lived? From inherited jewelry to torn runways, this article explores why real wear carries meaning and why pre-damaged fashion often rings hollow.

Eco Fashion| Fashion Theory

MAINSTREAM DOWNSTREAM

In June 2003, along the quiet waters of Milan’s Naviglio Grande, Carol Christian Poell staged one of the most haunting fashion presentations of the 21st century. Far from the conventional runway, his Spring/Summer 2004 show unfolded on the surface of a canal, where garments and models alike drifted in silence, part procession, part apparition. Echoing the spectral stillness of Millais’s Ophelia, Poell’s vision transformed fashion into ritual, decay into desire, and garments into relics. This article revisits that unforgettable moment, where control gave way to current, and fashion, freed from speed and spectacle…

Art| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

UNWEARABLE FUTURES : FASHION AS CONCEPTUAL ARCHITECTURE

Avant-garde designers like Iris van Herpen, Gareth Pugh and Hussein Chalayan are redefining fashion as architecture. In this emerging landscape of “unwearable fashion,” garments become sculptural experiments that challenge wearability, identity and the future of the human body.

Art| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

QUEERING THE UNIFORM : SUBVERSION, KINK AND THE MILITARISATION OF STYLE

Uniforms were meant to discipline bodies and erase individuality. Yet in the hands of avant-garde designers, they become something else entirely: instruments of desire, rebellion, and identity play. From the fragile adolescent tension of Raf Simons to the hyper-queer provocations of Walter van Beirendonck and the sleek militarised sensuality of Helmut Lang, the uniform is no longer a symbol of obedience but a stage where power, vulnerability, and eroticism collide.

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

FASHION AS RITUAL: COSTUMING THE SACRED AND THE OCCULT

Fashion has always flirted with the sacred, but a new generation of designers is turning garments into rituals. From the techno-shamanic visions of House of Malakai to the monastic mythologies of Rick Owens, clothing becomes more than appearance, it becomes invocation. These pieces function like talismans, charged with symbolism, intention, and transformation. In an age of digital noise, fashion begins to reclaim its oldest power: ritual.

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

EXPLORING THEMES OF ROMANCE THROUGH THE AVANT-GARDE

Why gothic romance literature and media are at the root of the avant-garde scene

Art| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory

CELEBRITIES DRESSING ON THE EDGE

Cemented at the forefront of the avant-garde, here are some looks from icons like Björk, Lady Gaga, and FKA Twigs that we cannot stop thinking about.

Dark Fashion| Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS SHAPING THE AVANT-GARDE FASHION NARRATIVE

Once confined to galleries and runways, experimental fashion now thrives in pixels, posts, and the digital underground.

Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

THE INFLUENCE OF GOTHIC STRUCTURE ON FASHION

Gothic cathedrals were built to overwhelm the soul, and their shadow still lingers in fashion. From the monumental visions of Alexander McQueen to the sculptural darkness of Rick Owens and the poetic ruins of Ann Demeulemeester, designers have long translated arches, spires, and sacred geometry into garments. In avant-garde fashion, the body becomes architecture. A cathedral of fabric where beauty, darkness, and devotion collide.

Dark Fashion| Design| Fashion Theory| Medieval core

Interviews

EXPLORING THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF FISH SKIN FOR FASHION: INTERVIEW WITH ISABELLE TAYLOR

Isabelle Taylor is a beautifully unconventional surrealist fashion designer specialising in fish leather, a sustainable material made from the byproducts of smoked salmon, which she uses to create garments through her brand, Skinned Potential.

Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Interviews

IT'S NOT JUSTE JEWELLERY. IT'S MIA GOSSET.

Mia Gosset continually rethinks what jewellery and objects can be. Here, she shares her process, inspirations, and the vision behind her practice, uncovering what truly makes Mia Gosset, Mia Gosset.

Accessories| Art| Emerging Designers| Interviews

‘A WALK IN THE FOREST’ WITH ANTONIO FEMIA

Womenswear designer Antonio Femia looks to the hometown forests in Belgium for his graduate collection at Central Saint Martins. Bridget Devine discovers more about his ritualistic design universe...

Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Interviews

BETWEEN RITUAL AND RAWNESS: LEO PROTHMANN IN CONVERSATION WITH L'ABBEYE

Dark Fashion| Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Interviews

CORROSION AS CRAFT: RETHINKING FASHION THROUGH DECAY

What if beauty wasn’t preserved, but allowed to rust? Justin Matringe turns decay into design, crafting garments that corrode the very idea of fashion itself.

Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Interviews

INTERVIEW : VICTOR CLAVELLY'S SURREAL FASHION LORE

Blending video game design, CGI, and couture craftsmanship, Victor Clavelly transforms technology into poetry. His creations stretch the limits of the body, reimagining what fashion - and reality - can become.

Emerging Designers| Futuristic| Interviews

Eco Fashion

RAGS AND RICHES

Between memory and marketing, fashion has learned to fake its scars. As luxury brands sell dirt, rips, and wear at a high price, the Dirty Fit trend raises a deeper question: can authenticity be manufactured, or must it be lived? From inherited jewelry to torn runways, this article explores why real wear carries meaning and why pre-damaged fashion often rings hollow.

Eco Fashion| Fashion Theory

CELEBRITIES DRESSING ON THE EDGE

Cemented at the forefront of the avant-garde, here are some looks from icons like Björk, Lady Gaga, and FKA Twigs that we cannot stop thinking about.

Dark Fashion| Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory

FIVE UNDERRATED BRANDS YOU SHOULD KNOW

These five underrated brands are quietly reshaping fashion with bold ideas and unique visions. Discover who’s flying under the radar and why they deserve your attention now.

Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers

THE OBSESSION WITH DECAY

From distressed denim to decomposing garments, the aesthetics of ruin, erosion, and entropy in emerging fashion may signal a deeper response to the glossy unreality of digital perfection.

Dark Fashion| Eco Fashion| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

ELENA DAWSON : THE GARDEN OF FORGOTTEN MEMORIES, A BOTANICAL ELEGY OF SOFTH GOTHIC

Elena Dawson is not a brand. It is a state of being, a phenomenon whose aura resists all attempts at categorization within fashion’s coordinate systems. Her creative work is a secluded sanctuary, a chapel on the outskirts of the industry. Here, a particular, deeply intimate romance is born : the romance of a soft gothic, devoid of vampiric pomp and grotesquery, yet imbued with Victorian melancholy and the stoic grace of decay.

Dark Fashion| Eco Fashion| Fashion Theory| Soft Goth

HUSSEIN CHALAYAN: THE FASHION DESIGNER WHO INVENTED WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY BEFORE AI

From transforming furniture into dresses to garments embedded with motors, lasers, and microchips, Hussein Chalayan revolutionized the relationship between fashion and technology. This article explores how the British-Cypriot designer became one of the earliest pioneers of wearable tech and conceptual fashion.

Art| Eco Fashion| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

EXPLORING THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF FISH SKIN FOR FASHION: INTERVIEW WITH ISABELLE TAYLOR

Isabelle Taylor is a beautifully unconventional surrealist fashion designer specialising in fish leather, a sustainable material made from the byproducts of smoked salmon, which she uses to create garments through her brand, Skinned Potential.

Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Interviews

‘A WALK IN THE FOREST’ WITH ANTONIO FEMIA

Womenswear designer Antonio Femia looks to the hometown forests in Belgium for his graduate collection at Central Saint Martins. Bridget Devine discovers more about his ritualistic design universe...

Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Interviews

BETWEEN RITUAL AND RAWNESS: LEO PROTHMANN IN CONVERSATION WITH L'ABBEYE

Dark Fashion| Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Interviews

CORROSION AS CRAFT: RETHINKING FASHION THROUGH DECAY

What if beauty wasn’t preserved, but allowed to rust? Justin Matringe turns decay into design, crafting garments that corrode the very idea of fashion itself.

Eco Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Interviews

Grotesque Beauty

THE OBSESSION WITH DECAY

From distressed denim to decomposing garments, the aesthetics of ruin, erosion, and entropy in emerging fashion may signal a deeper response to the glossy unreality of digital perfection.

Dark Fashion| Eco Fashion| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

BEAUTIFULLY BIZZARE AND UNFORGETTABLE: 5 ARTISTS TO DISCOVER

If you are into the surreal and the macabre, this list might be for you.

Art| Design| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

POST-HUMANISM: THE LESS HUMAN THE BODY BECOMES, THE MORE SACRED IT FEELS

The body disappears, distorts, expands. Not to become something else, but to escape being human at all.

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

GROTESQUE BEAUTY

Dissecting fashion's relationship with distorted, dark, and deformed imagery

Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

MISTAKING STONE FOR SKY

Art| Dark Fashion| Editorial| Emerging Designers| Grotesque Beauty

GETTING TO THE BONES OF IT: WHEN MORBID CURIOSITY MEETS FASHION

Exploring the use of bones and skeletons as imagery and motifs across avant-garde fashion and design

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

THE POLITICS OF UGLINESS: ANTI-BEAUTY AND THE NEW AVANT-GARDE

When perfection becomes propaganda, ugliness becomes resistance. Across the avant-garde, designers are weaponising distortion, decay, and discomfort to fracture the polished surface of contemporary fashion. Transforming the grotesque into a radical language of defiance.

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

HOW 15TH-CENTURY GERMAN MERCENARIES BECAME AVANT-GARDE ICONS

Centuries before punk or avant-garde existed, German mercenaries were already slashing fabric, clashing colours, and defying social codes. The Landsknechts of the 15th century turned rebellion into style, and their fearless self-expression still echoes across today’s runways.

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH: 6 TIMES DAVID CRONENBERG INSPIRED RUNWAY DESIGNERS

To mark the release of The Shrouds, we revisit six moments when Cronenberg’s grotesque genius oozed into the world of fashion.

Cinema| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

WHEN MODERNITY MEETS THE MERKIN

Why the Fashion World is Exploring Hair… Down There

Accessories| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

Accessories

7 PAIRS OF AVANT GARDE KILLER FOOTWEAR

Stepping on necks in terrifyingly beautiful shoes by designers like Rick Owens, Myah Hasbany, and Comme Des Garçons

Accessories| Dark Fashion| Emerging Designers| Futuristic| Japanese Designers

L’ABBEYE'S GUIDE TO A GOTHIC SUMMER

How to mourn a cool breeze in style…

Accessories| Dark Fashion| Soft Goth

UPCOMING AVANT-GARDE JEWELLERY DESIGNERS YOU NEED TO KNOW !

Meet the Next Generation of Avant-Garde Jewellery

Accessories| Emerging Designers| Futuristic

MATERIAL INSTINCT: ZWYRTECH IN CONVERSATION WITH L’ABBEYE

Based in Warsaw, Zwyrtech blurs the line between jewellery and sculpture, embracing imperfection through a hands-on and exploratory process.

Accessories| Emerging Designers

WHEN MODERNITY MEETS THE MERKIN

Why the Fashion World is Exploring Hair… Down There

Accessories| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

IT'S NOT JUSTE JEWELLERY. IT'S MIA GOSSET.

Mia Gosset continually rethinks what jewellery and objects can be. Here, she shares her process, inspirations, and the vision behind her practice, uncovering what truly makes Mia Gosset, Mia Gosset.

Accessories| Art| Emerging Designers| Interviews

Editorial

ANN DEMEULEMEESTER AW25: ROAD TO NEVER

Editorial

THE GRACE OF WITHDRAWAL

Editorial

TCHUR, AN ARTISANAL BRAND EXPLORING THE THRESHOLD BETWEEN REALITY AND DREAM

Rooted in the echoes of Orthodox Christianity, Russian literature, and forgotten silhouettes of the early 20th century, the brand TCHUR constructs garments as fragments of an alternate reality : somewhere between ritual, memory, and dream. Drawing from the mystical meaning of “chur” as a boundary between worlds, each piece becomes a quiet incantation: a way to reveal what culture hides, and to dress the invisible.

Dark Fashion| Editorial

MISTAKING STONE FOR SKY

Art| Dark Fashion| Editorial| Emerging Designers| Grotesque Beauty

THE GENESIS OF EMILIA

Editorial

IN LIKENESS

Editorial

IRRÉEL

Editorial

STERN BIRD MORPHING

Dark Fashion| Editorial

REMEMBER ME WHEN I LEAVE

Editorial| Japanese Designers

PROTECTION FROM SOME ETERNITY

Editorial

Soft Goth

L’ABBEYE'S GUIDE TO A GOTHIC SUMMER

How to mourn a cool breeze in style…

Accessories| Dark Fashion| Soft Goth

ELENA DAWSON : THE GARDEN OF FORGOTTEN MEMORIES, A BOTANICAL ELEGY OF SOFTH GOTHIC

Elena Dawson is not a brand. It is a state of being, a phenomenon whose aura resists all attempts at categorization within fashion’s coordinate systems. Her creative work is a secluded sanctuary, a chapel on the outskirts of the industry. Here, a particular, deeply intimate romance is born : the romance of a soft gothic, devoid of vampiric pomp and grotesquery, yet imbued with Victorian melancholy and the stoic grace of decay.

Dark Fashion| Eco Fashion| Fashion Theory| Soft Goth

7 GOTHIC FRAGRANCES FAR FROM BORING

Want to smell like bloody birthday cake, chilly nights in London, and burnt blunt?

Dark Fashion| Soft Goth

FROM KILN TO CATWALK: THE CRAFTSMANSHIP BEHIND ROKH'S FRACTURED MOTION

In revisiting some of the most thought-provoking moments from recent seasons, Rokh’s Autumn/Winter 2025 show stands out as a masterclass in sculptural tailoring and conceptual storytelling.

Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Soft Goth

Cinema

ANNIE LENNOX: TEN LOOKS THROUGH THE LENS OF MUSIC AND IDENTITY

As she releases her Retrospective book, we chart the Eurythmics vocalist's looks across different musical eras, and how they shaped fashion, gender representation, and the visual vocabulary of pop.

Cinema| Fashion Theory

LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH: 6 TIMES DAVID CRONENBERG INSPIRED RUNWAY DESIGNERS

To mark the release of The Shrouds, we revisit six moments when Cronenberg’s grotesque genius oozed into the world of fashion.

Cinema| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

DESERT COUTURE: THE FASHION EVOLUTION OF DUNE ON SCREEN

How directors like David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Denis Villeneuve envisioned Dune’s universe, and how it continues to inspire avant-garde fashion.

Art| Cinema| Dark Fashion| Fashion Theory| Futuristic

Medieval core

THE INFLUENCE OF GOTHIC STRUCTURE ON FASHION

Gothic cathedrals were built to overwhelm the soul, and their shadow still lingers in fashion. From the monumental visions of Alexander McQueen to the sculptural darkness of Rick Owens and the poetic ruins of Ann Demeulemeester, designers have long translated arches, spires, and sacred geometry into garments. In avant-garde fashion, the body becomes architecture. A cathedral of fabric where beauty, darkness, and devotion collide.

Dark Fashion| Design| Fashion Theory| Medieval core

HEAVENLY BODIES REVISITED : FELLINI'S VATICAN RUNWAY, MODERN FASHION, AND OUR OBSESSION WITH RELIGIOUS SPECTACLE

While the recent media frenzy around the Vatican might have cooled off, fashion keeps returning to Catholic imagery, and perhaps that is no coincidence.

Art| Fashion Theory| Medieval core

Design

THE INFLUENCE OF GOTHIC STRUCTURE ON FASHION

Gothic cathedrals were built to overwhelm the soul, and their shadow still lingers in fashion. From the monumental visions of Alexander McQueen to the sculptural darkness of Rick Owens and the poetic ruins of Ann Demeulemeester, designers have long translated arches, spires, and sacred geometry into garments. In avant-garde fashion, the body becomes architecture. A cathedral of fabric where beauty, darkness, and devotion collide.

Dark Fashion| Design| Fashion Theory| Medieval core

THESE FURNITURE AND DECOR BRANDS WILL HELP YOU LIVE INSIDE A WORK OF ART

Think of homes that feel more like installations, minimal to the extreme, anti cozy, sometimes even intentionally disorienting.

Art| Design| Fashion Theory

BEAUTIFULLY BIZZARE AND UNFORGETTABLE: 5 ARTISTS TO DISCOVER

If you are into the surreal and the macabre, this list might be for you.

Art| Design| Fashion Theory| Grotesque Beauty

THEMES YOU COULD LIKE

FUTURISTIC

DARK FASHION

INTERVIEWS

Dark Fashion

Stepping on necks in terrifyingly beautiful shoes by designers like Rick Owens, Myah Hasbany, and Comme Des Garçons

Why gothic romance literature and media are at the root of the avant-garde scene

Cemented at the forefront of the avant-garde, here are some looks from icons like Björk, Lady Gaga, and FKA Twigs that we cannot stop thinking about.

Once confined to galleries and runways, experimental fashion now thrives in pixels, posts, and the digital underground.

How to mourn a cool breeze in style…

Futuristic

Avant-garde designers like Iris van Herpen, Gareth Pugh and Hussein Chalayan are redefining fashion as architecture. In this emerging landscape of “unwearable fashion,” garments become sculptural experiments that challenge wearability, identity and the future of the human body.

Stepping on necks in terrifyingly beautiful shoes by designers like Rick Owens, Myah Hasbany, and Comme Des Garçons

Once confined to galleries and runways, experimental fashion now thrives in pixels, posts, and the digital underground.

Meet the Next Generation of Avant-Garde Jewellery

How directors like David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Denis Villeneuve envisioned Dune’s universe, and how it continues to inspire avant-garde fashion.

While the fashion industry has drawn inspiration from the internet for years, a new wave of digital-first aesthetics is accelerating the evolution of trends.

Blending video game design, CGI, and couture craftsmanship, Victor Clavelly transforms technology into poetry. His creations stretch the limits of the body, reimagining what fashion - and reality - can become.

Japanese Designers

Stepping on necks in terrifyingly beautiful shoes by designers like Rick Owens, Myah Hasbany, and Comme Des Garçons

Carl Jung’s archetypes offer a new lens to decode avant-garde fashion. From Browne’s Trickster to Yamamoto’s Hermit, each silhouette becomes a vessel of the collective unconscious. Proof that fashion, at its most radical, speaks the language of the soul.

Japanese designers redefined avant-garde by merging tradition, philosophy, and innovation. From deconstruction to minimalism, their influence reshaped Western fashion and continues to inspire a generation seeking authenticity over perfection.

“Avant-garde” gets thrown around a lot in fashion, but where does it come from, and what does it actually mean? From its radical roots to its presence in lifestyle and design, here is what truly sets avant-garde apart from passing trends.

Tracing avant-garde’s path from its revolutionary roots of Elsa Schiaparelli, Rei Kawakubo, and McQueen to today’s branches of gothic elegance.

Art

Avant-garde designers like Iris van Herpen, Gareth Pugh and Hussein Chalayan are redefining fashion as architecture. In this emerging landscape of “unwearable fashion,” garments become sculptural experiments that challenge wearability, identity and the future of the human body.

Why gothic romance literature and media are at the root of the avant-garde scene

Think of homes that feel more like installations, minimal to the extreme, anti cozy, sometimes even intentionally disorienting.

If you are into the surreal and the macabre, this list might be for you.

Known for her Oscar-winning costumes in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and her visionary work across film, theater, and fashion, Ishioka blended avant-garde artistry with wearable sculpture.

In light of recent exhibitions like Demna’s retrospective at the Kering headquarters and Rick Owens’ Temple of Love, we explore the tension between fashion as something to be worn and fashion as something to be preserved and exhibited.

We explore Elsa Schiaparelli’s relationship with Surrealism, from collaborations with artists like Dalí to how Daniel Roseberry’s recent collections reinterpret those codes for a contemporary audience.

Emerging Designers

Stepping on necks in terrifyingly beautiful shoes by designers like Rick Owens, Myah Hasbany, and Comme Des Garçons

Cemented at the forefront of the avant-garde, here are some looks from icons like Björk, Lady Gaga, and FKA Twigs that we cannot stop thinking about.

Once confined to galleries and runways, experimental fashion now thrives in pixels, posts, and the digital underground.

Meet the Next Generation of Avant-Garde Jewellery

Based in Warsaw, Zwyrtech blurs the line between jewellery and sculpture, embracing imperfection through a hands-on and exploratory process.

These five underrated brands are quietly reshaping fashion with bold ideas and unique visions. Discover who’s flying under the radar and why they deserve your attention now.

Dissecting fashion's relationship with distorted, dark, and deformed imagery

The Swedish designer presented her first London Fashion Week collection as an independent brand at Studio Smithfield.

Isabelle Taylor is a beautifully unconventional surrealist fashion designer specialising in fish leather, a sustainable material made from the byproducts of smoked salmon, which she uses to create garments through her brand, Skinned Potential.

Fashion Theory

In summer, the body is no longer concealed. And dressing becomes a ritual of what we chose to elevate.

Avant-garde designers like Iris van Herpen, Gareth Pugh and Hussein Chalayan are redefining fashion as architecture. In this emerging landscape of “unwearable fashion,” garments become sculptural experiments that challenge wearability, identity and the future of the human body.

Why gothic romance literature and media are at the root of the avant-garde scene

Cemented at the forefront of the avant-garde, here are some looks from icons like Björk, Lady Gaga, and FKA Twigs that we cannot stop thinking about.

Once confined to galleries and runways, experimental fashion now thrives in pixels, posts, and the digital underground.

Interviews

Isabelle Taylor is a beautifully unconventional surrealist fashion designer specialising in fish leather, a sustainable material made from the byproducts of smoked salmon, which she uses to create garments through her brand, Skinned Potential.

Mia Gosset continually rethinks what jewellery and objects can be. Here, she shares her process, inspirations, and the vision behind her practice, uncovering what truly makes Mia Gosset, Mia Gosset.

Womenswear designer Antonio Femia looks to the hometown forests in Belgium for his graduate collection at Central Saint Martins. Bridget Devine discovers more about his ritualistic design universe...

What if beauty wasn’t preserved, but allowed to rust? Justin Matringe turns decay into design, crafting garments that corrode the very idea of fashion itself.

Blending video game design, CGI, and couture craftsmanship, Victor Clavelly transforms technology into poetry. His creations stretch the limits of the body, reimagining what fashion - and reality - can become.

Eco Fashion

Cemented at the forefront of the avant-garde, here are some looks from icons like Björk, Lady Gaga, and FKA Twigs that we cannot stop thinking about.