Brightest Minds In The Darkest Times

Socially hyper-aware, slightly off kilter and fiercely loyal to cultural heritage — these are the defining qualities of the young designers emerging during fashion’s gloomiest period.

- Terence Poh

CHOPOVA LOWENA

The design duo of the label Chopova Lowena met on their first day at Central Saint Martins in 2011 and bonded over a love of skirts. Emma Chopova, 28, comes from Bulgaria and Laura Lowena, 29, hails from England. Despite growing up in small villages and never being surrounded by art as children, the designers were influenced by pop culture and craft. They name transgressional authors — Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf and Chuck Palahniuk — and books — “Faces in the Water” (1961), “Naked Lunch” (1959), “Walden” (1854) and “Steppenwolf” (1927) — as influences; Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano as fashion forefathers they respect. “We were both really interested in [expressing ourselves] and making things, which is ultimately what led us to fashion,” says Chopova.

It is a Saturday night in September, a hectic month for the designers, and Chopova finds a pocket of time to cosy up at home and write to T Singapore. She started the co-owned label with Lowena, in June 2018, by launching “Kukeri,” a book that collages the fashion of their respective heritages. They were then discovered on Instagram by Matchesfashion and went on to release a capsule collection on the e-tailer’s site. For over two years now, Chopova Lowena has produced pieces that upcycle textiles and fabrics from Bulgaria and England, utilising traditional techniques that they are passionate about.