By Seth Khouri
There is an ongoing conversation surrounding wearability within runway performance. For some labels, the runway exists as a space to indulge their wildest, most untamed fantasies. And while these excursions invite audiences into worlds of imagination, one can’t help but question their wearability and commercial appeal—particularly within the ever-constrained Australian style landscape. Yet for ESSE Studios, practicality, measured reassurance, and wearability remain central to this season’s design ethos, creating a world where assurance is not sacrificed in pursuit of creative zeal.
“Amidst the noise, intentionality is a choice. A refusal—exacting and absolute,” shared Charlotte Hicks, Creative Director of ESSE Studios, following the show. This season, Hicks remained steadfast in her framework, orchestrating a collection grounded in craft and executed for the everyday woman. For Hicks, the runway is not a site for fanfare, but rather a space to exhale. The twenty-eight-look collection—the majority of which was produced locally in Sydney—unfolded with quiet assurance, reinforcing the brand’s commitment to precision, permanence, and purposeful design.
The collection opened with a black V-neck tunic layered over billowing trousers in a matching tone. Anchored at the hip, a black scarf traced with floor-length fringe introduced a sense of movement to the otherwise restrained silhouette. Offsetting the all-black ensemble was a cream teddy coat and a brown leather messenger carried in hand. Elsewhere, Look 22 saw a black high-neck lace blouse styled with loose-fit tailored shorts cut below the knee, finished with burgundy pumps underfoot. Overcoats, leather jackets, fringed scarves, and billowing trousers dominated the offering. Yet within this assured contemporary wardrobe, Hicks subtly shifted the tone, introducing a series of evening-wear looks and sculptural gowns that extended the collection’s dialogue to strength and sensuality.
In many ways, ESSE succeeded not through spectacle, but through restraint. Hicks understands that contemporary dressing no longer requires excess to communicate desire, nor performance to assert authority. Instead, through an unwavering commitment to purpose, ESSE Studios continues to refine a wardrobe grounded in permanence rather than novelty. In a fashion landscape increasingly driven by acceleration and display, Hicks offered something far rarer: clarity.