LONDON — Aaron Esh is joining AllSaints as chief creative officer, a boost for one of London Fashion Week’s key young talents. Esh, who will continue to operate his own label, is set to oversee the British premium brand’s women’s and men’s collections and steer overall creative direction, including marketing campaigns, under chief executive Peter Cook.
Since launching his eponymous brand in 2020 with a standout menswear collection, Esh, a graduate of Central Saint Martins, has honed in on a refined wardrobe for his crowd of East London night mavens, where Savile Row tailoring meets Dalston, an attitude that chimes with AllSaint’s DNA. The brand’s offering of draped dresses, slouchy knits and bestselling leather jackets are steeped in a rebellious style derived from Britain’s music scenes and sold in brooding stores furnished with antique sewing machines.
“I remember going to the store in Spitalfields and buying boots that I slept in,” Esh recalled. “I really understand that very London-centric British attitude that’s music adjacent. I think this area of the market between luxury and high street is where it’s at.”
Since nearly going out of business in 2011 after the collapse of its Icelandic investors, AllSaints has been restructured by current owner Lion Capital. The AllSaints Group, which includes the John Varvatos brand, posted a record £458 million ($615 million) in revenue for the year ended in 3 February 2024, up 36 percent on the previous period, on the back of tighter inventory management, store expansion and the integration of Varvatos, which Lion acquired in 2021.
Esh is expected to bring a cast of collaborators to his gig at AllSaints. “It’s really rewarding to work with creatives from London,” he said. “I really want this to be a broader project for photographers, stylists, casting of this city, where people can get platformed globally.”
Esh’s namesake label is set to move into the same East London building that houses All Saints, as he works across both brands with his team. “I think this partnership from AllSaints really shows a commitment to British fashion,” he said. “What it does is, it helps me with the financials and foundations of my company and not having to live season to season.”
“But if the job wasn’t right, I wouldn’t have taken it, no matter how much finance or security it gave me,” the designer added. “There’s this predetermined route to go from Central Saint Martins, do LVMH Prize, then New Gen and then try to work at a luxury fashion house. You know, 0.1 percent get to do that. I want to show that you can build your brand and that route can look different,” he continued. “What I really felt from them is that this is a long-term project and partnership and with creative control that gives me the freedom to do things how I want.”
There were signs of fresh energy at London Fashion Week despite the market challenges facing the emerging designers who are its raison d’etre.
