Coterie’s 11 Fashion Brands to Watch
The Coterie trade show returned to New York’s Jacob K. Javits Center from Sept. 19 to 21. Across the show, fashion labels across jewelry, footwear, accessories and ready-to-wear — from emerging, contemporary and advanced contemporary to resort, sustainable, international and premium denim categories — debuted new collections for spring 2024.
Here, WWD highlights 11 women’s ready-to-wear and accessories brands from the September New York Coterie show.
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Brand: Anna October
Designer/Founder: Anna October
Background: Anna October founded her namesake label in 2010; in the following years, the brand was shortlisted for the LVMH prize (2014) and became part of the Mercedes Benz “Generation Now, Generation Next” project (2017) before showing in Paris for the first time in 2022. Current stockists include Moda Operandi, Fwrd, Shopbop and Revolve, to name a few. Anna October joined Coterie for the first time this season to create a touchpoint to U.S. retailers, as the brand has recently only been showing in Paris, and to expand its boutique retail business across the U.S.
Key Pieces: Core looks re-released for Coterie from the brand’s spring 2023 collection. Structured slipdresses; evening-focused eventwear, and lingerie details.
Retail Price: $475 – $1,200.
Brand: OpéraSport
Designers/Founders: Stephanie Gundelach and Awa Malina Stelter
Background: Established in 2019 by former stylist and creative consultant Stephanie Gundelach, and designer Awa Malina Stelter, OpéraSport is a Copenhagen-based brand that focuses on quality over quantity, utilizing responsible production and recycled and organic fabrics. The brand aims to bridge classic and contemporary styles through the juxtapositions of being luxe yet affordable, sustainable yet sexy and elegant yet sporty. Spring marks the brand’s first time showing at Coterie.
Key Pieces: The Alex shirt, Faye dress, Viola top and Violet skirt, Daphne pants.
Retail Price: $130 – $575; most pieces retail under $270.
Brand: Helmstedt
Designer/Founder: Emilie Helmstedt
Background: Designer Emilie Helmstedt founded her namesake label in 2018 after growing up in a “crafts-focused family,” a statement from the brand read, and attending the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Helmstedt is a women’s fashion label that meets at the intersection between art and fashion, as seen through the designer’s artistic approach and creative storytelling. The brand has become known for its joyful styles, and Helmstedt recently hosted a New York City pop-up for her collaborative jewelry line with designer Susan Alexandra, and showed for the first time at Coterie this season.
Key Pieces: The Emilie top, Janice dress, Mizu pants, Leva dress.
Retail Price: $210 – $950; most styles retail under $600.
Brand: The Wolf Gang
Creative Director: Vanessa Pearce
Background: Australian label The Wolf Gang was founded in 2016.
“We’re coming up to our seventh year and do four collections a year. We started the brand with accessories only — a handbag pouch with a bright tassel on the end of it, which became our signature piece. Very quickly, we got global recognition. A few years into the brand being born, we moved into apparel, so we’re doing a lot cross-category now, including jewelry. The Wolf Gang’s ethos is bright prints and bold colors. We work with beautiful fabrics, artisans and intricate designs. A lot of the pieces are made and produced with artisans and partners in Bali, Indonesia and India. We have a lot of stretch fabrics; we’re all about creating pieces that stand out from the crowd,” said Pearce.
Key Pieces: The Seren one-shoulder, asymmetric, ruched linen minidress with structured neckline; the raffia Thea appliqué shoulder bag; Cece minidress, a party dress with shell-themed bust (a nod to their consistent summer vibe); a butter-hued Idrea vest dress and trouser with gold hardware buttons; colorful ribbed strapless Sunmor knit maxidresses.
Price range: $250 – $700.
Brand: Kivari the Label
Designer/Founder: Kirstin “Kiki” Keysers
Background: Kivari was founded in 2014 by Kirstin Keysers, known to many as Kiki. “It aims to create quality pieces with effortless and versatile silhouettes using natural fibers and alternative manufacturing methods,” Place Showroom’s director of brand strategy, Purvi Kanji, said. “The Kivari woman is strong yet feminine. She is adventurous and confident in the way she moves. She expresses herself through clothing that provokes a world of endless possibilities,” Kanji said. The brand has six boutiques across Australia, an e-commerce business and distribution in several luxury stores.
Key Pieces: Sustainable fibers and hand-drawn printed styles; easy playsuits; spring knits and elevated eyelets.
Retail Price: $160 – $400
Brand: Triarchy
Founders: Mark Taubenfligel, Adam Taubenfligel and Ania Taubenfligel
Background: ”My brother, sister and I started Triarchy [in 2011] as a vehicle to discover and highlight ways in which to make denim better,” said cofounder Adam Taubenfligel. “We were in the denim industry before; it’s impossible not to be aware of how horribly wasteful it can be. The more responsible options were not readily available to us, which made us understand that they were probably not readily available to other brands.”
Together, they founded luxe, sustainable denim label Triarchy as a vehicle to highlight responsible technologies and practices, including a “strict adoption of organic or regenerative cotton” with certificates to back them up (the brand hires third-party auditors to listen to, look at and publish their initiatives independently); wash practices with no chemicals and low water usage; no plastics; tightly edited collections four times a year, and carbon offsets for everything it does. Each garment from Triarchy includes a unique QR code that enables customers to transparently see their piece’s certificates.
Key Pieces: Core styles, all in plastic-free stretch, including the Ms. Keaton High Rise baggy jean, Ms. Fonda High Rise wide-leg jean, Ms. Triarchy V-High Rise straight leg and Ms. Onassis V-High Rise wide-leg jean. In fashion styles: the Ms. Jones Tank minidress with handmade denim-floral accent.
Retail Price: Core sits below $300; fashion denim from $250 – $700.
Brand: Moussy Vintage
Designer: In-house design team in Japan.
Background: Moussy Vintage is a premium Japanese denim label that was launched under Moussy, the Tokyo-based high-casual brand, in 2016.
“Everything is handmade, hand-sewn, right-distressed, all in Japan,” said sales and fit specialist for Moussy Vintage, Melissa Graham, adding that the brand cuts to order in lieu of mass production, pushes sustainability initiatives (including clean water, fair wages) and designs vintage-inspired jeans each season. The spring 2024 season marked the brand’s first time showing at Coterie.
Key Pieces: The cuffed Foxwood straight jean; Waipio wide straight jeans; Maplecrest boy pants; Bayview zip cropped jacket; Mckendree shorts.
Retail Price: $80 – $500.
Brand: Diff Eyewear
Founders: Zach Gordan, Chad Jernigan, Chad Dime
Background: Founded in 2015, Diff stands for “different” eyewear, and creates eyewear with a charitable mission statement. When the brand first started, it was essentially a one-for-one, with one sunglass sold, one donated. It quickly grew out of that model with a goal to help more people, and so far it’s helped more than 3 million people to date since its inception, in partnership with Sightsavers and other charities providing sight-saving treatments by funding eye exams, surgeries, medicine, and more.
Key Pieces: Becky cat eye, Lenox aviator, Kristy Sarah square geometric frame
Retail Price: $98 and $120.
Brand: Claudia Lisotta
Designer/Founder: Claudia Lisotta
Background: Born in Brazil and now based in the U.S., Lisotta launched her brand last year with a range of dressy heels. Since then she has expanded, aiming to craft shoes for all parts of a woman’s life. Her footwear is made in Brazil. “Adding the culture of Brazil was essential to showcase the country’s talent as well as running alongside women on this journey of empowerment and encouragement,” she says on her website.
Key Pieces: Block-heel mary janes, Western booties, denim mules, platform wedges, steel toe mid-calf boot
Retail Price: $200- 450.
Brand: Bijoux Num
Designer/Founder: Num Nontapun
Background: Nontapun had a jewelry store in Santa Monica, Calif., where his customers would often ask him to create pieces for them. He closed his store in 2010, but kept making pieces and eventually launched his brand in 2011. His early collections were based on pearls and he has grown into a variety of collecting using gemstones, sterling silver, gold and pearls on rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets.
Key Pieces: Pearl and mother of pearl collection, tropical flower collection, enamel collections, and the Italian inspired collection.
Retail Price: $200 – $3,000.
Brand: Walter Baker
Designer/Founder: Walter Baker
Background: Baker had a background in finance before launching his namesake brand in 1991 with women’s ready-to-wear. He previously did a range of handbags, but sees spring as a relaunch of the category. All the leather was made in India, from the same factories as his leather jackets. “Handbags just felt like the natural transition from our jackets,” he explained, adding that his leather jackets are one of his bestsellers.
Key Pieces: Cargo pocket slouchy bags, U-shaped boho bags with hardware at the peak of the strap and woven crossbody bags, all in neutrals.
Retail Price: $200-500.
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