Aaron Esh Spring/Summer 2025 / SS25 at London Fashion Week entitled GROWING PAINS. Young people wearing old clothes. Old people wanting to look eternally youthful. Herein lies a delicate harmony that speaks to the instincts and impulses of Aaron Esh.

Now in its third season, Aaron Esh Spring/Summer 2025 / SS25 collection speaks to the idea of British meritocracy; the idea that humble origins provide a far more interesting foundation for self-acquired sophistication than the traditional paths of privilege. Dressing up, and then dressing it down, never letting go of where you came from. Navigating the streets of London, and by extension the big global world, with equal reverence for tradition and rebellion, individualism and uniformity, tenacity and reserve.

Details of Aaron Esh Spring/Summer 2025 / SS25, a low-octane sense of glamour permeates each look, from the exaggerated demi-tinted sunglasses – evocative of both Old Hollywood airport arrivals and morning-after London commutes – to bombshell silk and velvet dresses, fastened by bias binding or herringbone twill tape. Suggestions of formalwear are whispered throughout, a reflection of a generational predilection for vintage: the satin stripes of tuxedo trousers isolated as graphical outlines on backless halter-necks; jackets finished with satin-covered buttons and bugle-bead collars glistening beneath the décolleté.

The lexicon of 1930s couture and Savile Row tailoring – both institutional zeniths of dress-making for women’s and men’s – are reconfigured for a generation more comfortable in denim and jersey. Precision-cut blazers in cross-grain satin, hand-stitched with layers of horsehair canvas – fitted countless times for months to achieve narrow shoulders, darted sleeves and subtly peplumed hips – are meticulously sharp, while sumptuously high-piled velvet is masterfully cut on the bias to achieve a molten softness, sensually mapping the geography of a woman’s body appears in Aaron Esh Spring/Summer 2025 / SS25.

For Aaron Esh, the artisanal is always attitudinal. Every seam and razor-sharp finish is carefully considered as a gestural ode to the way that Londoners wear clothes, hands anxiously placed in pockets of trousers and jackets that are sometimes slouchy, sometimes shrunken.

Just as in nineteenth-century Decadence, the obvious refinement belies an unprecious energy, hence the seams of silk blouses are frayed like embers of a flame and trailing hems are purposefully left unfinished. Clothes that justify the price of a Black cab, but occasionally get dragged across the pavement.

And still, there are the hallmarks of adolescence that are so hard to part with: chevron-panelled biker leathers with concealed pockets, cashmere-supple bamboo jersey polos and tanks edged in ribbon seams, cigarette-cut denim treated with wax resin and ink, imprinting them with the sentimental warmth of your favourite decade-old jeans. High-waisted sailor pants, an oiled-leather cocoon coat, and worn-in pumps sourced on the second-hand market speak to the thrill of the thrift, of scrolling through resale platforms and trawling Portobello on Friday mornings for distressed classics.

The palette borrows from London’s skyline on its dreariest of days, a spectrum of concrete greys extending to the mink-coloured silk linings, occasionally interrupted by jewel-tone velvet akin to the nocturnal glow of neons reflected in glistening asphalt. Texture, opacity, and weight are just as much a part of the hues, informed by grisaille, a Renaissance painting technique whereby a picture is executed entirely in shades of grey to create the illusion of sculpture.

For a generation entering adulthood, breaking free from the playground connotations of London’s always-emerging reputation, there is a worldly sophistication to Aaron Esh SS25 collection. At its heart, this is a collection that speaks to the emotional hinterlands of London and its unparalleled attitude. Of growing up, dreaming big, and making something out of nothing.

This season, Aaron Esh has been supported by Jaguar, as part of its work in championing originality in the arts. Jaguar has provided Aaron with a creative bursary for his SS25 show.

All images Aaron Esh Spring/Summer 2025 / SS25 by Aaron Esh. Credit to: Styling by Katy England, Casting by Najia Li Saad, Hair by John Allan, Make up by Ana Takahashi, Art Direction by Jamie Reid, Words by Osman Ahmed, Production by Gainsbury & Whiting, Lead Producer Rokas Rach, Music by John Gosling, Lighting Design by Aurélie Nedjar for Lightlab, Nails by Abena Robinson, Men’s Boots by DP James London, Eyewear by Fiona Hartley, Scarves by Rockins, PR by Karla Otto