Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault of Knwls rode into London Fashion Week on a high this season. Fresh off debuting their Jean Paul Gaultier collection in New York—a rare example of a fashion collaboration that makes complete sense; it received a rapturous response from the brand’s acolytes and was accompanied by a star-studded party cohosted by Ssense—the duo felt creatively reenergized. “We’d been working on it for about a year, so we were just super proud,” said Knowles backstage before the show. “It was all very surreal.”
For spring, Knowles and Arsenault went pedal to the metal. In order to move their selling schedule forward to June, the pair had whizzed up the entire collection in just two months back in the spring—and the instinct-driven forward motion of their design process led them to refine and elevate their staples. “The process of making it was all about speed,” Arsenault explained. “So the collection itself ended up being about speed too. We didn’t want to overthink things: We took some of the pieces that we’re known for and pushed them to the max.”
Staged on a raised catwalk covered in a chalky, extraterrestrial surface of ochre and powder blue, the models stomped in slant-heeled mules and boots to a thunderous dance soundtrack. All of the Knwls signatures were accounted for, from diaphanous sheer dresses in fiery prints, to lace-up details and waist-snatching belts, to lingerie-inspired pull straps that swung from bralettes and bustiers. But there were a few more elevated touches in the mix too, whether a boxier, drop-shoulder version of their cult motocross leather jackets—here cut from luxurious bull leather, then toughened up and treated with an acid-washed, grease-streaked patina—or hand-beaded dresses that re-created the patterns of Harley-Davidson plaid flannel shirts. “We liked this idea of the girl coming straight out of the garage, as if she’s just been working on a chopper,” Knowles said with a twinkle in her eye.
The show at first appeared to conclude with jewelry designer and former adult film actor Mia Khalifa storming the runway in a figure-hugging midnight blue gown, its train billowing behind her like smoke from an exhaust pipe. Except the designers had one last surprise up their sleeve: a slinky teal bodysuit made of crochet and leather from their Gaultier collaboration, paraded by Lily McMenamy with a fabulously vampy runway walk that prompted a chorus of whoops and cheers. Knowles and Arsenault’s collection may have been a laser-focused showcase of everything they do well, but they haven’t lost touch with their playful side.
