The tastemakers: 4 key designers to watch out for during fashion week autumn/winter 2019

It takes a special kind of designer to redefine the way we get dressed. Karen Dacre has a guide to the ones to watch out for now  
Karen Dacre12 February 2019

There's nothing like fashion month to clog up your Instagram feed with blurry catwalk shots and up-close insights of clothes you don’t want. At least you think you don’t want them: after 5,000 pictures and much online fawning over the same awkward shoe you begin to doubt yourself.

This is the reality of fashion fatigue. The truth of course is that among the overshares and the hysteria is a handful of brands which will have a lasting impact on the way we get dressed. Not least because their influence expands way beyond the catwalk and into our collective style psyche.

These are the agenda-setters and the designers with real global reach. Accordingly, here we profile the shows you really need to watch out for this season. It’s a bluffer’s guide.

Milan: Bottega Veneta

The sleeping giant of the Italian luxury world has woken up from its slumber and is poised to make waves. Blossoming under the charge of Daniel Lee — a 32-year-old Central St Martins graduate who unveils his first full womenswear ready-to-wear collection next week — the house is set to fill a hole for pared-back, quietly luxurious fashion that has been absent since Phoebe Philo departed from Céline (see #oldceline).

While Lee is yet to stage a mainline fashion show for the house, his debut pre-fall collection (unveiled in December) and a subsequent ad campaign which came close to breaking the internet when it was unveiled at the end of last month have insighted hysteria. Certainly, Lee is off to a great start. Following stints at Donna Karan and Maison Margiela, he was director of ready-to-wear at Phoebe Philo’s Céline before arriving at Bottega Veneta. “My first instinct was to clean it all up and get back to what really felt essential,” he said. Exciting.

Paris: Givenchy

Precision details, gender fluidity and a dedication to the female gaze are among the buzzwords used to describe Clare Waight Keller’s vision for Givenchy. Just 18 months into the job and the former Chloé designer has reimagined the fashion superbrand and, of course, become the designer of choice for the Duchess of Sussex, for whom she created the most talked about wedding gown of the year.

At her couture show in January Keller showed no signs of taking her foot off the gas: debuting a collection that promised to redefine red-carpet dressing for a modern age. Her contribution to the zeitgeist includes an empowered silhouette and a renaissance for high-waisted trousers. She unveils her latest ready-to-wear collection in early March. Meghan Markle will no doubt be watching with interest.

London: Burberry

After a stellar debut in September, Riccardo Tisci is preparing to stage his latest show for for Britain’s most beloved superbrand. Is he suffering from second album nerves? Undoubtedly. But his plans to restore “an inclusive sense of balance” to dear old Burbs look set to continue.

Tisci wants clean lines and a globally focused brand that appeals to a broad dynamic of ages, cultures and lifestyles. His debut show promised a reboot for the brand. What comes next will show us where its bound for.

New York : Gabriela Hearst

With Calvin Klein temporarily off the schedule and Victoria Beckham relocated to UK soil, New York Fashion Week has spare seats to fill. Gabriela Hearst is among the designers determined to keep the US fashion capital on the map. Delivering minimal deluxe to the contemporary Manhattan crowd, Heart’s vision is proof that Americans can deliver on more than sportswear.

Hearst’s success spells louche pantsuits and a spruced-up new look. NB: her handbags are the hottest thing on the planet right now.

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