Seven Standout Fashion Brands to Watch
The MAGIC and Coterie trade shows returned to New York’s Jacob K. Javits Center from Feb. 21 to 23. Across both shows, emerging labels and new exhibitors debuted collections across ready-to-wear, footwear and accessories for spring 2023.
Here, WWD highlights seven contemporary women’s ready-to-wear and accessories brands from the New York Coterie and MAGIC shows.
More from WWD
Brand: Autumn Adeigbo
Designer: Autumn Adeigbo
Backstory: “I’m the founder, CEO and creative director of my eponymous label, Autumn Adeigbo: culture, color, conscience,” the designer, who debuted her label in 2016 and has raised more than $4.2 million from investors in the last two years, told WWD.
“We’re an ethical and sustainable brand based with production in New York City, with also an office in Los Angeles. For fall 2023, I was inspired by a ranch that I went to Malibu — it was this really beautiful expanse of land with horses and cows. I never thought that this was the direction that my brand would take, but apparently it’s actually in the zeitgeist of what [buyers] are calling ‘new Americana.’ Details include lots of flannels, plaids, horse emblems throughout, ikat prints and our staple African prints, vegan leather — a mix between a suede and leather, fringe details, corsets layered over dresses. We like to do classics with a strong twist.”
Fall marked Adeigbo’s first time exhibiting at Coterie as part of Informa’s Informa Markets Fashion for Change incubator program, where she showed debut jewelry alongside her fall ready-to-wear and accessories collection.
Key pieces: A hand-applied tassel-detailed corset layered atop an ikat dress; a cotton-blend plaid dress (and myriad patchworked, smocked and paneled ikat or plaid frocks); a jacquard knit twinset with horse motif appliqués; fringed leather and suede trousers; a gingham tank and matching pant; debut capsule of thematic, playful jewelry.
Retail prices: Coasters for $30; headbands from $45 to just over $100; footwear from $600 to $1,200; ready-to-wear from $300 to $1,200.
Brand: Piper & Skye
Designer: Joanna MacDonald
Background: Piper & Skye is an emerging luxury handbag brand, launched in 2015 in Toronto and New York City, created to bridge the gap between sustainability and luxury. Materials sourcing meets strict standards related to biodiversity and ecosystem regeneration. “We Love What We’re Made Of,” is the brand tag line. “We believe how a product is made, what it is made of, and the people who make it are just as important as the product itself. It is our mission, in line with our values of respect, responsibility and community, to create beautifully unique, luxury handbags, both ethically and sustainably. This includes our internal team, all vendors, suppliers and manufacturers, as well as partners and mentors. It has taken years of being in the business and growing our handpicked network to have the confidence we have today to stand behind our material selections and alliances,” said Joanna MacDonald, founder and creative director.
Key pieces: The Del Ray shopper, Playa shoulder bag, Lola crossbody and clutch with removable strap
Retail prices (in USD) : Core collection: $450 to $1,170; small goods: $225 to $270
Brand: Freyrs Eyewear
Background: Freyrs tarted in Chicago in 2016 with a mission to create true value for the end consumer.
They use hypoallergenic stainless steel (for metal frames) polycarbonate lenses with excellent clarity and 100 percent UV protection. All mirrored lenses have anti-scratch and anti-oil coatings. For their plastic frames, the brand uses high-quality polycarbonate or biodegradable acetate.
Key styles: Shey aviators, Billie aviators, Selina cat-eyes, Austin.
Retail prices: $65 to $85
Brand: Mozhdeh Matin
Designer: Mozhdeh Matin
Backstory: In 2015, designer Mozhdeh Matin debuted her first ready-to-wear label, Mozh Mozh; the label was rebranded eponymously in 2022 with a continued focus on codes of community, heritage and artisanship.
“Mozhdeh Matin is a luxury brand that works with artisans safeguarding Peruvian textiles and techniques while emphasizing form and detail in design. We are interested in using the highest-quality materials, such as alpaca and cotton which are native to Peru. We seek to innovate traditional techniques and continue to forge working alliances with artisans of native villages,” a statement from the brand read.
“Loaded with symbolism, Mozhdeh Matin planted the seeds that harvested Matin’s artistic ethos: To encourage the preservation of ancestral crafts transmitted through the local culture and its unique wisdom.…Framed in the study of color, gentle silhouettes and surprising textures, Matin’s creations come to life through traditional Peruvian weaving and knitting techniques energized with modern sophistication and textile innovation. A concept both deeply personal and universally relevant, Mozhdeh Matin creates artful garment compositions embedded with history — connecting the past to the present for future generations.”
Key pieces: Tulipan black midi dress; Chunky mini jacket, top and bottom; 100 percent natural rubber cargo pants; Carnaval long dress; Capsule knot bags and mini Cupis bag; Zig Zag dress.
Retail prices: $170 to $700.
Brand: Abrand Jeans
Designer: Cofounder and creative director, Par Lundquvist leads Tanya Aston as the women’s designer.
Backstory: Abrand launched in 2013 and was founded by Melbourne, Australia-based denim house ThreeByOne (which also owns Neuw Denim and Rolla’s Jeans).
“We really built the brand up from influencers for nearly 10 years — we called it the ‘Asquad’ originally and worked with lots of people. For this season, we are doing an endorsement deal with Elsa Hosk who’s Scandinavian; we have a distribution business for Abrand in Sweden as well. We’re really into fashion denim, which is the capsule for the season,” Richard Bell, cofounder and marketing director of ThreeByOne, told WWD, adding the brand stands for offering the highest quality denim at affordable prices for youthful fashion women. “We are committed to delivering the hottest denim trends, however, we do this with long-lasting quality in mind. Garments that can be worn for years beat fast fashion every time.”
“We’re self-funded and independent. We love the idea that denim is synonymous with youth culture and art; we love being able to make high-quality product for the younger kids. What we’re finding is that the denim business is really strong, and we’re really leaning into this kind of fashion denim.”
“We believe there is no one delivering jeans of this quality, which is why Abrand is now the biggest independent denim brand in Australia. We are looking forward to partnering with the best retailers here to replicate the success we find at home in Oz,” Bell told WWD.
Key pieces: A “Fashion Denim Collection,” which will be photographed on Elsa Hosk for the brand’s campaign. Featured styles include pleated miniskirts, low maxiskirts, longline bandeau, slouch jacket, cropped denim vest, Carrie jean and a mid straight jean in blue and black denim washes, as well as long-sleeve tops and camisoles.
Retail prices: $119 to $149
Brand: Amambaih
Designer: Mariela Schwarz Montiel
Backstory: Launched in 2022, Montiel is German and Paraguayan, based in Paris. The textiles are all handwoven by Indigenous female artisans in Paraguay and the shoes are handcrafted in Spain. For spring 2022, the brand debuted its first creative collaboration with Gabriela Hearst, creative director of Chloé, crating a range of footwear with the French brand.
Key pieces:The Carmen platform, Maria flat woven sandal, Amparo espadrille, Monica heeled bootie.
Retail prices: $360 to $525.
Brand: Zimo
Designer: Zimo Yan
Backstory: Zimo launched in 2021 as an emerging designer label focused on celebrating Asian heritage via “documentary visions.” Prior to launching Zimo, the designer worked with the likes of Proenza Schouler, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Prabal Gurung.
“The motto of the label Zimo is ‘We the visions,’ which means we observe, we document and we present — so, we the visions. The label can be seen as a ‘fashion documentary,'” the brand said. Aligning with this concept, Zimo reflects contemporary society’s contradictory phenomena when it comes to garments and accessories, aiming to record the city’s vanishing culture and awaken group perceptions. Zimo upgrades, transforms and reconstructs these elements through the crash of diverse textiles, repurposed materials, collective craftsmanship and the combination with the modern silhouette. It seeks to express, imagine and awaken the memories of Asian heritage in a modern way, the brand told WWD.
Key pieces: Wool tweed plaid pants and button top; double-faced straight pants with vegan leather buttons; a vegan leather narrow sleeve blazer and curved line pants; jersey ruffle hem pants, cutout crop top, a red floral shrink dress, cutout VI jersey crop top, ruffle hem midi dress and asymmetric skirt; twill wool asymmetric tank; a floral jacquard balaclava; a twisted beading ruffle hem dress and a twisted rib beading sweater.
Retail prices: $190 to $1,500.
Best of WWD
