When it comes to styling yourself for a fashion show—or any occasion—the key is to hero key brand pieces, and work them into your existing wardrobe, remaining true to your authentic style. Here, watch as the team work key pieces created by the heritage brand with their own garments.
If you’ve attended Fashion Week yourself, or have kept a keen eye on attendees from afar, you’d know that dressing for a show is a little different from dressing for the everyday. Not only should your look be a little more elevated than normal (the week-long event is dedicated to celebrating creative talents, after all), showing sartorial support is also absolutely key—a label has spent many months creating and curating a collection, so a clear display of appreciation definitely won’t go unnoticed.
That being said, filling your week’s worth of looks with brand-new pieces isn’t essential—in fact, it’s discouraged. Any Fashion Week regular would tell you that the key to a successful look is blending a few trend-driven, seasonal items with your existing pieces. And that is exactly how the Vogue team approached dressing for Oroton’s resort 2023 presentation.
Making their way to Carriageworks to take in creative director, Sophie Holt’s, latest vision for the heritage label, Vogue’s fashion features director, Alice Birrell, digital audience manager, Nikki Chowdhury, and junior fashion and market editor, Harriet Crawford looked to a number of Oroton’s beautifully crafted garments and accessories from the label’s current collections to outfit themselves in for the show.
Each editor naturally gravitated towards different pieces that complemented their own personal styles.
For Alice, the show day brief was classic pieces in a monochrome palette. “When dressing for fashion week, it's the most versatile, elevated essentials that stand out for me and make up the foundation of a look,” Alice shares. As we head into cooler weather, she explains that, for her, layering is everything: “layering is huge at the moment and people are discovering how easy it is to pull together a look to make classic pieces sing by layering them all together.
Given Oroton’s aptitude for creating staples in the perfect palette of neutrals for these exact purposes, the fashion features director was easily able to layer up. “I reached instantly for Oroton's cropped cardigan in dove grey to throw under a denim jacket and oversized coat. I love its slightly boxy cut and you can feel the quality; it's thick and cosy.”
Topping her look off, Alice reached for the classic, yet functional, minimalist ’90s-style Perry bag. “it matches back with almost everything in my wardrobe and makes you feel the part instantly with its structured shape adding a bit of polish. Plus it fits a phone, lipstick, mints, charger—the fashion week essentials kit!”
Nikki’s fashion week approach differed slightly, favouring trend-based, playful dressing with a youthful twist. With a base of simple black silhouettes and luxurious fabrics, such as silk, cashmere and leather, already in her wardrobe, Oroton’s beautifully-crafted pieces slipped seamlessly into her look. “The white leather shirt is such a great elevated basic, and can be worn in so many ways it was a breeze to style,” Nikki shares.
With the core of the look taken care of, then came time for play. “Chunky, bold jewellery is huge right now. Daintier pieces tend to get lost when worn with current trends, and Oroton's gold chunky jewellery really tapped into the current zeitgeist around jewellery, immediately giving my outfit a sense of newness,” Nikki explains of her accessories, adding that the simple addition of a bracelet and necklace gave her look some edge without verging into being too trendy. Add a cut-out top and boucle bucket hat and you have a personality-filled look.
For Harriet, the dressing order this fashion week was conceptual fashion looks with a tougher edge. Looking to some of this season’s biggest trends—a keen focus on trenches, tonal layering, and a mass exploration of neutral hues—she looked to Oroton’s extensive offering to incorporate each element into her look, blending them with her own versatile wardrobe: “I do have a lot of clothes, so I can always adapt to whatever style or vibe I'm feeling on any given day.”
Bringing elements of her own eclectic wardrobe to the look—cowboy boots, two times the belts to cinch her baggy pants, a loose-fit shirt half unbuttoned—the junior fashion and market editor found her playful match with Oroton’s accessories, reaching for statement double bags in a candy pink hue, chunky gold Oroton chain to create interest around neckline, and an oversized trench for a sense of looseness.
But the editors’ appreciation for the reinvigorated heritage brand certainly won’t end at the close of Fashion Week. For Alice, she has an eye on a quilted jacket, what she considers “a sleeker, cooler update on the ubiquitous puffer”. “Lightweight but cocooning, it's going to get a workout this winter,” she adds.
For the cooler months ahead, Nikki is looking to the very same white leather shirt worn here, as well as its cognac counterpart. “I love items that can be worn transeasonally and have a timeless element to them, as I'm big on sustainability. Those pieces definitely go the distance and I can see myself reaching for them again and again, especially to give my workwear looks a bit more edge,” she explains. As for Harriet is loving all of Oroton’s statement earrings, as well as their coat and trench offering.
Whatever occasion you’re dressing for, Oroton’s highly functional, impeccably-crafted, accessibly luxurious offering is here to complete your look.
