Five under-the-radar fashion brands to add to your new-season shopping list

Mandkhai autumn/winter 2018
Mandkhai autumn/winter 2018

Let’s face it. Instagram has made our shopping baskets that much more visible. The quest for the undiscovered label is on in full force. So I’ve compiled a few of my favourites to add to your new-season shopping basket; it's up to you whether or not you choose to share. 

Dušan: timeless elegance with a cult following

A brand with a zealous following, but few outside fashion’s inner circle have heard of it. Whenever I see Wallpaper*’s chic fashion director Isabelle Kountoure, she’s invariably wearing a beautifully cut coat by Dušan.

Dušan autumn/winter 2018
Dušan autumn/winter 2018

“I love wearing Dušan for many reasons, one being that he uses the best fabrics, and his cuts never constrain the body,” she tells me when I ask her what she loves about his designs. “But most of all I admire his design philosophy of understatement, which underlines and enhances a woman’s personality, so you wear the clothes and the clothes don’t wear you. It’s a sense of timeless elegance.”

Dušan autumn/winter 2018
Dušan autumn/winter 2018

Since launching his brand in 1999, he’s proven his longevity and amassed a quiet army of loyal customers. With a sculptural flair and everyday approach to design, his pieces imbue the wearer with an air of knowing and taste. As a result, his cult is one I’m happy to join. dusan.info

Marine Serre: the breakthrough sustainable brand

I’m including Marine Serre in my stealth brand list, although I think she has recently exploded onto the fashion scene. This season you won’t be able to miss her scarf dresses, second-skin unitards and transparent rubber Macs.

Marine Serre autumn/winter 2018
Marine Serre autumn/winter 2018

Three seasons in, the Paris-based designer has won the LVMH Prize and established her crescent-moon logo as one to wear with a knowing grin. She approaches sustainable sourcing as an integral, yet rarely talked about, part of her business model, finding hundreds of vintage scarves to patchwork together into another sure-to-be-sold-out collection. marineserre.com

Bougeotte: for lesser-spotted loafers

Desperate to find the perfect loafers but don’t want to follow the crowd with that pair? Step forward stealth brand Bougeotte.

Bougeotte pistachio suede loafers
Bougeotte pistachio suede loafers

It counts bags and ready-to-wear within its arsenal, but it’s the loafers, especially the soft ostrich leather in powder blue, yellow and soft white, that really stand out. Sleek and chic, they pair beautifully with trousers or dresses - just watch out for puddles. bougeotte.it

JoosTricot: knitwear you wont see everywhere

Casting director, vintage aficionado, knitwear designer. That’s Natalie Joos in a nutshell. She’s translated her great taste into a new sweater line that launched last year, and I swear by her rollnecks as the perfect autumn layering piece.

Knitwear by JoosTricot
Knitwear by JoosTricot

Her cotton knits have just the right amount of stretch and thickness to them, in colour palettes that evoke an old-school candy store. Her knits are produced in limited batches, so order quickly or you’ll miss out. joostricot.com

Mandkhai: the cashmere queen

When you grow up in Mongolia’s foremost cashmere factory, you’re bound to become knitwear royalty. Mandkhai Jargalsaikhan’s loosely tailored cashmere jackets and trousers in bold, primary colours make for the perfect autumn outfit, paired with a t-shirt and loafers.

Mandkhai autumn/winter 2018
Mandkhai autumn/winter 2018

What’s so unique is that she’s a London-based designer who, when in Mongolia, walks among the free-roaming goats whose yarns she uses in her clothing. She controls her entire supply chain and knows the people who make the clothes in her family factory. There are precious few designers who can claim the same. mandkhai.com

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