Last summer, the designer whose acolytes include Charli XCX, Hailey Bieber, and Zendaya, took home the prestigious ANDAM Prize, and the ensuing monetary injection and mentorship programme made this his most robust effort to date. He invested time and energy in textural exploration. Riffing on interiors, his experimentations included deconstructed knitwear with jacquard and brocade panels and exposed seams. Throughout the collection, he treated menswear fabric weights in a more feminine way spanning structured pinafore dresses, tied in the back with shibari-inspired detailing that took hundreds of hours to complete; off-the-shoulder wool gabardine coat dresses; and charcoal suiting cut on the bias. There were various iterations of humble workwear fabrics like corduroy as cord separates to more glamorous and elevated results in velvet corduroy suiting and devore dresses.
“We wanted to take these beautiful things from the past and make them possible in today’s world by modernising them. It was a challenge, but it was exciting to look at these things and push them further,” said Esber via video call from his studio in Sydney.
What would you like us to know about this latest collection?
We’re working with three pillars this season. The first is flamenco and understanding the gestures, mood, sound, and history around that. The other element is different upholsteries from the 1920s and finding ways to modernise them. It plays into this idea of restraint, knotting and roping – the idea of shibari, which brings a kink or fetish element throughout the collection. It’s a weird play between techniques and ideas of the past and twisting them to find new ways to make them feel relatable for today.
Having won the ANDAM Prize and showing on the official calendar, the brand is on a roll right now. How does it feel?
It’s been a great moment to push the brand out there and the ANDAM Prize support has brought to life a lot of possibilities. We’ve always had big dreams to do very intricate and exciting things, so being able to see some of these ideas come to life this season feels really special. [The prize] has definitely made certain things more possible like our ability to reach different ateliers in Paris and across Europe, and how the collections are developed.
Where do you look for new ideas or voices in fashion?
There isn’t one answer. Something might come from a previous season, or something could come about because of a mistake and it ends up being great. Typically, one collection can morph into the next even if the concepts are completely different. We develop our ideas in the studio; it’s like an incubator of creativity. But also, women on the street are always so inspiring in how they wear something uniquely or spontaneously or something that catches me off guard.
How do you think your brand can spark and sustain desire with so much else happening in the world?
The customer is always looking to be inspired or have an emotional feeling or reaction to a collection or a piece. My job is to constantly find the direction and concept while bringing this element of fantasy and desire that pushes the brand forward. I have to ask myself, who is [the Christopher Esber woman] morphing into? What does she need? It’s about conjuring desire. For me, if it’s not emotional, we don’t bother with it. Everything needs to have a strong reaction.
Do trends still matter?
I don’t want our clothes to come across as transient, or a one-time wear. I’m always thinking about how our clothing can become part of your character, part of your life – something that gives you the canvas to be yourself.
This interview has been lightly edited.
