CHRISTOPHER ESBER
MAKING THE PILGRIMAGE to Bondi Beach when he was young taught Christopher Esber all he needed to know about designing. “Seeing that sense of freedom in how people dress, and how it was very much about fitness and the body,” he recalls. Exalting the corporeal without being overt, downplaying feminine appeal to be exuded subtly became key for his nine-year-old label. He is a master of deconstruction – he looks at patterns in smashed windows, the sculptural lines of cars, sleek, but functional – to cast clothing that is made to be worn. His women aren’t precious. “I was always drawn to those that were a bit more tomboy … They would wear a pair of vintage 80s men’s trousers with a feminine top.” And he doesn’t think evening dresses should be stowed for nights only. “It should be something you really live in … It’s the idea of breaking down something that you already perceive to be a certain way.”