Vietnamese brand Thaihuy, founded by Tô Hoàng Thái Huy, had a major red carpet moment in December 2023 when British model Jourdan Dunn wore the label’s starfish dress to the British Fashion Awards 2023 in London.

Since the brand launched its first collection Ertica in August 2023, it’s been standing out for its distinctive edgy creations. The Ertica collection pays tribute to Romain de Tirtoff—who was known by the pseudonym Erté—the renowned French artist from the 1920s Art Deco era. With a palette of black, white and metallics, the pieces lean into linework, symmetry, patterns, stars and the overall glamour of the period.

Qiqi Yuan and Crystal Wang are the Chinese duo behind the emerging brand Buerlangma. Their visually striking aesthetics have struck a chord in the music industry, with artists such as Beyoncé, Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion sporting their pieces in promotional campaigns or editorial shoots last year.

The label’s garments are often sculptural and give a nod to traditional silhouettes and cuts, but are exaggerated in their proportions. They combine high-quality craftsmanship with technology, such as 3D printing, to create futuristic pieces that resemble high couture, culminating in a unique take on opulent dressing.

Yogie Pratama is a Jakarta-based designer, whose bridal and formalwear pieces wowed the internet when a video of his Minuit collection from June 2023 went viral on social media for both its ethereal nature and its spin on highly feminine motifs such as bows and florals. It even caught the attention of Barbie breakout star Arianna Greenblatt, who wore one of his dresses from that collection to the film’s premiere in July last year.

There’s a vintage-meets-modern quality to his work: for example, he often references the complex embroidery seen in traditional kebaya (upper garment worn by women in Southeast Asia) but modifies the patterns for a fresh feel. He also adds a lot of visual details such as beads, fringes or volume to contrast with the subtle palette of champagne and blush shades.

New York-based emerging designer Grace Ling stunned with a debut collection at New York Fashion Week in September 2023 that married minimalist construction with futuristic elements. Sheer dresses were elegantly censored with opaque weaving, and her popular Glitched corset was a chic, cage-like structure that was 3D printed to encase the model’s torso. 

The simplicity of her black, white and silver colour palette, combined with her striking designs, has been popular with red carpet attendees and fashion lovers alike, including singers Jennifer Lopez and FKA Twigs, as well as actresses Anya Taylor-Joy and Julia Fox in 2023.

Ayushman Mitra founded his label Bobo Calcutta in 2016 to celebrate traditional Bengali culture and express the joy of his queer experience through garments. His distinct application of colour and affinity for psychedelic patterns have culminated in a signature style that exudes a sense of playfulness in each of his creations, from ready-to-wear pieces to bridalwear.

Made out of silk, his garments are hand-painted or embroidered with complex designs that often begin as paintings, and his pieces have been worn by Indian celebrities including Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to Cannes Film Festival in 2022.

Chris Habana is a Filipino jewellery and fashion designer who has worked with an impressive repertoire of musicians, actors, celebrities and other designers since 2008, but it’s only in the last few years that his eye-catching work has been truly in the limelight. His style of jewellery turns spike, claw and chain designs into weird and wonderful pieces that can be worn alone or incorporated into clothing.

He’s collaborated with major artists to create iconic looks, including Beyoncé’s golden halo and a cyborg look for her Renaissance tour, as well as other looks she has worn on the red carpet in 2023. He has also helped create Doja Cat’s flesh bodysuit for her Scarlet tour, as well as working with the likes of LaQuan Smith, David Koma and Theophilio to come up with unique accessories for their respective fashion collections.

Chinese designer Mark Gong’s spring-summer 2024 collection has nailed the corpcore aesthetic, with models sporting chic reading glasses, pencil skirts and cardigans while traipsing down the Fashion Week runway holding coffee and sporting lanyards. What made the collection all the more fun was a behind-the-scenes video of him demonstrating how he wanted the girls to walk, embodying the sassy energy of the office siren.

Having started the label in 2018, Gong’s designs have evolved to have an effortlessly sultry quality today: pieces inspired by late ’90s and early ’00s fashion, with off-duty-model and rockstar vibes resonating through the styling. Blackpink’s Jennie and Rosé have both worn his pieces on stage and in photoshoots, and Korean DJ Peggy Gou and American singer Olivia Rodrigo are also fans of the brand.

Omer Farooq and Anusheh Omer are the husband-and-wife duo behind Pakistani label Aomi, which launched in late 2022. With traditional design at the forefront of their brand DNA, their collections are inspired by traditional Pakistani garments and feature tilla and resham embroidery work, blended with modern cuts and proportions.

At the heart of their brand is sustainability: pieces are made-to-order by local artisans to encourage more realistic productions standards, and some items are reversible to encourage more wear out of them.

Kei Ninomiya, the brains behind the visually dazzling brand Noir Kei Ninomiya, is the protégé of legendary Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, the founder of Commes de Garçons.

Kei’s own brand takes inspiration from the colour black and from the world around him. He focuses on intricate construction and fabric manipulation to create masterful gowns that feel otherworldly. His autumn-winter 2023 collection explored florals in futuristic forms, while his spring-summer 2024 collection experimented with texture and volume, and Icelandic singer Björk has worn a number of his pieces to perform on stage last year.

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