5 indie brands to keep an eye on

Fashion is such a big world that it's hard to keep up. But between fashion week and various red carpets, it is always worth remembering that there is nothing better than discovering a new brand to follow. Emerging and independent brands are the proverbial "salt of the earth" for fashion that, without them, would end up fossilising itself into about twenty illustrious and famous names. Investing in an independent brand means not only conducting a truly personal research operation, but also experiencing the thrill of discovery, of choice outside the canons of the mainstream. For this reason, the selection of the 5 international brands to keep an eye on wants to make a metaphorical tour of the world, starting from traditional Paris and London, passing from Peru, from Ukraine to Seoul.

Arnodefrance (@arnodefrance)

This brand has been around since 2016, yet it deserves much more fame than it gets. The brand is based in Paris, directed by founder Arno, and has recently gained a good following in Japan and China. The latest SS21 collection, poetically called The Pine on The Rock, aims to take the brand's production to the next level. The highlights of his aesthetic are certainly the diagonal cuts of the most structured jackets and the wonderful work of building details such as overlapping pockets and coats built like kimonos. The color palette takes its inspiration from the natural scenery of the Massif de l'Esterel, a mountainous region of the French Riviera from which the founder originates.

Santa Calata (@santacalata)

Interesting brand that deals with exploring the concept of nudity (Calata is the Quechua word for "naked") through the reconstruction of clothes. The founder of the brand is the Peruvian Pamela Calderòn who based her brand in Chicago. Since the brand is in charge of reconstructing vintage garments, its production is a naturally sustainable slow fashion – but the beauty is that the entire concept of the brand focuses on transgression and gender expression. In a fairly interesting way, the shop of this artisan brand is currently on Depop while an official web store is being set up. The artisanal mood also comes from the brand's website, deliciously '90s.

non (@non.eco.denim)

Pete Hellyer founded non (which is written with a lowercase "n") with the aim of building a completely sustainable minimal denim collection. The range of the collection he presented is concise and essential – but this says a lot about the quality of denim that is also equipped with a digital identification system developed by Eon that gives customers useful indications on how to cure it to extend its life. Needless to say, the clothes designed by Hellyer are also incredibly cool.

young n sang (@youngnsang)

This Korean brand was founded by Youngshin and Sanglim, a pair of designers who have been together for 13 years. The brand is sustainable and is based on extraordinary technical research on natural fabrics. Their collections have always been something surprising and above all artisanal: the first collection revolved around patchwork, another one called Street Vendors revolved all around hand-woven clothes. The latest is called Serene Rural Landscapes in Korea which pushes the intricacy of certain hand-woven designs to the highest levels.

KSENIASCHNAIDER (@kseniaschnaider)

Founded in 2011 by consorts and designers Ksenia and Anton Schnaider, this Kyev-based womanswear brand found international recognition in 2016 when it invented Demi Denims, a sort of union between the top of a baggy jeans and the bottom of a skinny jeans. Still following her avant-garde vision, Ksenia titled her FW21 collection with emojis and introduced a new design: the Wader Jeans. The construction of this denim is inspired by wading boots, that is, those peach boots up to mid-thigh high, whose appearance has been reconstructed entirely in denim.