Beloved by Malia Obama, Bella Hadid and Kylie Jenner, Knwls discusses Jean Paul Gaultier, body diversity and showgirl bras.
“It’s beautiful because there’s no sexual intention in the observer,” he says. Might that argument extend to the criss-crossed crop tops, sinuous bodycons and waist-snatching bustiers that make up the rest of the collection? Critics would maintain that this look reinforces the mechanisms it tries to destabilise. But perhaps this is what power dressing looks like in 2023: both the purring come hither and the fang-toothed bite.
But where dangerous cut-outs and low-rise pants reveal the hard angles of their chosen woman, the absence of bigger-bodied models often makes its way into post-show conversations. “As a young brand we do our best. Everything is so tailored and intricate, which makes it complicated and expensive. 90 per cent of the time people will just get a famous plus-size model to walk their show in a random outfit.