AS IF Interview's Christian Cowan at New York Fashion Week.

FASHION

CHRISTIAN COWAN, THE KING OF COLLABORATIONS

WORDS

by KRISTOPHER FRASER

PHOTOS

COURTESY of PURPLE PR

Christian Cowan has had a meteoric rise to fashion stardom the past several years. When Lady Gaga adorned his boots for the first time, it’s like she clicked her heels three times together and wished for his ultimate success. It’s been a beautiful trajectory for the designer, which included his most recent New York Fashion Week runway show.

This season the designer brought his two world’s together of his club kid days in London and his new found world when he moved to New York. “The design process for this collection brought me back to my party days in London and the exploratory mindset I had at Central Saint Martins,” Cowan said. “This collection is incredibly personal to me. It’s an inside view of my world and pays homage to my club kid past.”

When Cowan first came up with the collection he wanted it to all be floral neon, which became a major trend at New York Fashion Week, he also wanted to continue bringing the idea of fusing your jewelry with your clothing, so all the jewelry draping his dresses was attached and his signature watch motif, which Cardi B helped make famous with her music video for “Money”, were well incorporated into the collection.

Christian Cowan Fall/Winter 2019

Cowan, who last season collaborated with Eugenia Kim and Bumble and Bumble for New York Fashion Week, is continuing his collaboration with Giuseppe Zanotti with the watch strap heels that Kim Kardashian West helped make famous. “Last season the collaboration was so much fun, and thanks to Kim Kardashian the collection sold out four times on the website,” Cowan said. “To do it again I wanted to expand it out to create more styles fro more women.”

This season’s shoes were inspired by the online culture of influencers and are a whimsical take on their “ready to break the internet” mentality. The new idea of “street glam” is also becoming a major trend in fashion, where people are really elevating their streetwear looks to be more high-fashion and a little more maximalist. “There’s two things going on there,” Cowan said. “One, fashion is going more and more pop culture, and also the idea people want to look social media ready for photos the whole time.”

What time is it? Social media time.

Christian Cowan Fall/Winter 2019

“The design process for this collection brought me back to my party days in London and the exploratory mindset I had at Central Saint Martins.”

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Giuseppe Zanotti x Christian Cowan Sandals

Crafted in Italy, these black and gold-tone calf leather sandals feature an open toe, a branded insole, a high stiletto heel and a “watch” buckle fastening.

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Christian Cowan x Giuseppe Zanotti

Gold laminated leather sandal. The design stands out for its metal “watch” buckle-fastening and sculpted heel.

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Christian Cowan x Giuseppe Zanotti

The shoes feature a sculpted high heel, an open toe, gold-tone hardware, chain link strap and leather sole with embossed logo.

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