This weekend marks the opening of the SS23 womenswear shows, kicking off in New York before travelling to London, Milan, and Paris a little later in September. But while fashion month is the most obvious platform for young designers to showcase their work, plenty have decided to unshackle themselves from the demands of the industry’s calendar altogether – both for financial and ethical reasons. At this point, forking out thousands of pounds on a runway show is not the only way to garner attention from the media, buyers, and potential shoppers: recent departures have seen blockbuster brands like Gucci, Jacquemus, and Saint Laurent stage major destination shows pretty much as and when they please – forging a fashion week of their own. 

Opting out of the onslaught is the CSM graduate who creates clothes for “butches and dykes”; the designer who has built a name on bean bag morph suits hand-painted with all-over squiggles; and the Dutch MA student making landfill-sized puffer jackets and slinky football corsets. Some of their designs have already been worn by Julia Fox – which is kind of bigger than having a runway debut, anyway – while others have yet to make it out of their ateliers, nonetheless poised for greatness. Though headlines over the next four weeks are set to be dominated by all the cameos and collaborations that emerge on the SS23 catwalks, below, we list eight emerging designers that should definitely be on your radar.