Charlotte Knowles and Alexander Arsenault of KNWLS are designing for female warriors.
Over the past seven years, the South London-based brand has perfected the art of irreverence and edge within the feminine form, layering corsets over patterned mesh or tasteful cut-outs that accentuate the body. There is a boldness to their work that cuts through sexiness to explore exaggerations of the female form, and this fashion week was no exception. In their Spring/Summer 2025 show, set in Central Saint Martins's dusty old HQ, models donned oversized jackets cinched at the waist to form illusory corsets, extended sleeves and fluttering ribbons becoming appendages to the body, and pastels gracing the otherwise grungy washed-out color palette. Riding high off the collection's debut, the designer duo rang up CULTURED to dish on their fashion week essentials.
CULTURED: Describe your new collection in three words.
KNWLS: Past, present, future.
CULTURED: What’s the mood this season?
KNWLS: An eclectic mix of what fashion used to be, became, and what we hope it becomes.
CULTURED: Where are you going after to eat/celebrate?
KNWLS: Home!
CULTURED: One thing you can’t survive fashion week without?
KNWLS: Caffeine.
CULTURED: What’s the app you use the most during fashion week?
KNWLS: Camera.
CULTURED: What’s your uniform during fashion week?
KNWLS: Our Halcyon mesh sets and Nike sneakers.
CULTURED: What’s your fashion week guilty pleasure?
KNWLS: Pizza.
CULTURED: What’s the biggest misconception about fashion week?
KNWLS: That it all happened in 2 days, when it really is the cumulation of six months of work.
CULTURED: Biggest fashion week no-no?
KNWLS: All nighters.
CULTURED: Best advice you’ve ever gotten from a fellow designer for surviving the week?
KNWLS: No one will know what it was supposed to be! Ha!
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