EGONlab. Brings Kitsch, Campy Cartoons to the Runway for SS23

Parisian design duo Kévin Nompeix and Florentin Glémarec have presented EGONlab.‘s Spring/Summer 2023 runway show, titled “WONDERLAND — THE EGONLAB PLAYGROUND.” The seasonal, genderless collection follows on from HYPEBEAST’s interview with the EGONlab. creative directors, which explained how the label “bridges generations through romance and rebellion” and draws on the “masculine and feminine elements” of the early-20th Century Viennese expressionist painter Egon Schiele. These notions play into EGONlab. SS23, a collection that blurs the gender spectrum, serving a medley of elements that come together for a story about layering, textures, playful fashion and self-expression.

Shimmering floral intarsia knit vests tucked into distressed high-rise baggy denim showed how EGONlab. can serve the hard and soft edges of fashion together, and this set the tone for much of the label’s SS23 collection. Shorts, finished high and tight on the thigh, echoed those from Prada’s SS23 runway show during Milan Fashion Week as they too were crafted in leather. Here, EGONlab. paired the shorts with a double-breasted leather blazer and white tank tops, with the short’s heavily-present metal zipper on the front causing a juxtaposition between the romance and rebellion the brand’s known for.

Elsewhere, denim jeans are covered in a distressed asymmetrical skirt, tapping into trends set by Glenn Martens’ Y/Project and Diesel, as well as JW Anderson as of late. Graphics leaned into the collection’s name, serving a wonderland depiction of a pig in a ski suit holding a mushroom as the friendly animal skis down a slope printed all over a camp collar shirt, while a mole rat that looked similar to Rufus from Kim Possible was split across a pastel ringer T-shirt, paired with denim that sported cargo pockets and exaggerated seams.

Elsewhere, a bunny graphic sat alongside branding and collection monikers on an oversized striped knitted sweater, while argyle knits in cobalt and navy made for genderless track tops and shorts, paired with red sequin tops for a glimmer of campness. Miu Miu’s twin-set that stole the internet last season has also clearly inspired brands — including EGONlab. — to create their own hit look, and here it was a denim two-piece split between a cropped and sleeveless denim jacket sitting alongside wide-leg, fringed denim shorts.

Throw in the belted yet open trench coat, thigh-high patent leather boots and slouchy blazers thrown over bags or worn open with belts over the shoulder, and EGONlab. SS23 presented a campy, kitsch array that took us into its own playground of fun.

Take a look at EGONlab. SS23 in the gallery above, and stay tuned to HYPEBEAST for more Paris Fashion Week content as the days go on.

In case you missed it, check out HYPEBEAST’s interview with Mr. Bailey and Alessandro Sartori, in which we discussed the rise of a new ZEGNA and its latest sneaker collaboration.