Bode FW23 Was a New Kind of Family Affair

Emily Adams Bode Aujla started her eponymous brand as a menswear label of sorts, though her clothing has never really been restricted by gender. Can you really label delicate silk shirts, hand-stitched quilt jackets, and corduroy trousers?

But, as of Fall/Winter 2023, Bode is doing a full-on womenswear collection, properly opening up the brand for more “feminine” designs.

As revealed at Bode’s FW23 Paris Fashion Week presentation on January 21, that encompasses everything from cashmere knitwear and lace lingerie to delicate wedding dresses, complete with veil.

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Bode typically draws from her own family history or personal experiences when creating. No surprise there, really: slow fashion clothing usually invites a more patient creative process.

But with the inclusion of womenswear, Bode is looking at sources that didn’t previously inform her work.

Fall/Winter 2023, for instance, takes cues from Bode’s mother, Janet, who worked at The Crane Estate in the mid-’70s.

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In typical Bode fashion, this is an bit of affluent influence that again takes cues from a bit of blue blood heritage.

This collection is especially informed by the antiquated traditions of Ms. Long, aged owner of The Crane Estate, connecting those elements to the present by way of family heirlooms and handmade garments of year’s past.

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You see those throughlines in embroidered velvet, intarsia-knit cardigans, fringed jackets, and corduroy suits tailored with peak lapels and double-breasted closure.

If that sounds fusty, fear not. Bode brings the past into the present with her extremely approachable signature silhouette: relaxed layers atop relaxed, cropped pants.

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Kitschy patterns and prints of a more recent vintage (note the “CONNECTICUT” T-shirt) bring Bode’s inspirations closer to today, and there’s plenty of whimsy to lighten to atmosphere. Wearable Christmas tree, anyone?