A few years ago, the best way to find a new or emerging brand was to go to Totokaelo, Barneys New York, Need Supply, or any other curated concept store known for supporting new original talent. While there are still a handful of stores that haven’t closed recently (e.g., H. Lorenzo, Printemps, and Dover Street Market), social media has replaced brick-and-mortar stores as the go-to destination for discovering new brands. Now, the best emerging brands for Spring 2024 are about to be revealed.
Take Rue Sophie, for example, the brand’s first spring collection under its new name, formerly known as Sophie Rue, which offers the perfect transition from winter to spring wardrobes. At the same time, designers such as Diotima, Belle, Fonseca and Ella Mae are designing sustainably for warmer weather. Next, let’s take a look at 17 new brands for spring.
Foster
Based in New York and passing through Los Angeles, Fonseca is the eponymous brainchild of Mexican-American designer Adriana Fonseca. With fans including models Kendra Austin, Bijan Ross and Gilly Chan, this sustainable custom brand has a uniquely romantic, ultra-feminine temperament. Fonseca often layers dead stock fabrics by hand to give each piece a textured effect.
Costaiia
Founded in 2020 by Patricia Maria Pietri “with the aim of creating a landscape that interweaves the contemporary and traditional worlds through craftsmanship and design,” Costaiia, a Mexico City-based brand that pays homage to local textile artisans. Fusing unique femininity with traditional Mexican sensibilities, the brand’s pieces include flowy linen maxi skirts, tiered embroidered skirts, and open woven capes that are as effortless as beautiful.
Diotima
Get ready to see Diotima everywhere: founder Rachel Scott not only won the 2023 CFDA Emerging Designer of the Year Award, but was also a semifinalist for the 2023 LVMH Awards and runner-up for the 2023 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. Her work on the label. Founded in 2021, the brand is a love letter to its Jamaican roots, with a mission to celebrate the land’s indigenous craftsmanship: hand-crocheting. Scott called the brand, known for its luxurious crochet knitwear, delicate tailoring and premium sustainable materials, as “an alluring and meticulous vision of Caribbean style”.
Ella Mae
Designer Ella Mae’s Los Angeles-based eponymous label puts sustainability at its center: all of her deadstock fabrics are ethically sourced, and each piece is hand-dyed using only natural vegetable inks. While a double-drawstring babydoll top and matching pleated skirt made her famous, Mae has also experimented with more everyday pieces, whether it’s on her own or in collaboration with the likes of The Social Club.
Rue Sophie
If Rue Sophie sounds familiar, it’s probably because it is: the premium essentials brand debuted earlier this year with its new logo (the Sophie Rue before it). The collection has been revamped with a range of sophisticated pieces, dresses and coats designed for sensible women. Maybe she’s commuting, or maybe she’s meeting at a coffee shop in Brooklyn, but either way, the label’s newfound emphasis on practicality and wearability makes it a must-have for fans of designers like The Row, Phoebe Philo and Jil Sander.
Musier Paris
Founded in 2018 by Anne-Laure Mais at the height of the influencer brand, Musier Paris has managed to fill the void in any timeless French girl’s wardrobe. Although the brand has garnered a cult following for its sophisticated designs, which are often made from natural fibers sourced from European factories, Musier’s inflection point has yet to come.
Siedrés
It’s no surprise that Siedrés’ signature piece is the kaleidoscopic print in its matching set: the Turkish label bills itself as a quirky and playful brand that can be felt just by taking a look at its products. Minimalists will appreciate bold designs, while minimalists may opt for knitted suits with more muted tones.
Nia Thomas
Nia Thomas is a native New Yorker, and her designs are surprisingly soft. After interning at Rodarte and Kith, the knitwear designer founded her own self-owned label in 2018, with each handmade piece “calling on women to have their own sensuality, strength and ability to love”. While Thomas’ signature designs are her timeless open knit dresses and pieces – all sustainably produced in New York City, Mexico and Peru with cellulose fibers and vegetable dyes – she has recently expanded into a new knitted style, often embellished with decorative wood beads or reflective sequins such as this.
Helena Ammitzboell
While Helena Ammitzboell originally founded Asta Resort as a true resort brand, it is now launching a collection that goes beyond its original product range. The three-year-old brand is known for its viscose and lycra-blend swimsuits, which often come in bright hues and are designed for far-flung destinations. Now, Asta is teaming up with designer and CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Conley Averett to expand the next collection with knitwear made in Portugal with Italian yarns.
Cordera
Sisters Mónica and María founded their brand, Cordera, 15 years ago, and although the brand has won the hearts and minds of some local media, it has apparently remained a secret as far as household names are concerned. Deceptively simple in design, the label combines colourful knits with pared-back pieces that are super easy to slip on. The two sisters still call northern Spain their home and continue to design and produce the collection there.
OpéraSport
Founded in 2019 by stylist-designer duo Stephanie Gundelach and Awa Malina Stelter, OpéraSport has become one of Copenhagen’s most revered fashion darlings. While each piece blends ultra-femininity (bow tops) with sporty styles (utility tank tops, oversized shirts), each of the label’s looks seamlessly brings these two pillars together. Like most Danish brands, sustainability is at the heart of OpéraSport: the elegant, luxurious brand uses recycled organic fabrics in each of its collections.
Belle
Founded in 2016 by Annabelle Noelle, Belle was once a small, sustainability-focused swimwear brand. In the years since, the Indonesian-based vintage-inspired brand has grown to offer loungewear and modern products in addition to vacation-friendly designs. The responsible brand sources low-impact textiles locally in Indonesia and is committed to creating romantic, feminine silhouettes that feel like gems from the 90s.
Coral
Handcrafted in Copenhagen, Corali’s jewellery has an otherworldly feel to it – perhaps because designer Caroline Sillese is actually an architect. She launched the brand in 2017 to “experiment with miniature sculpture” and has managed to create a range of unique bespoke pieces that feel almost unfinished in the best possible way.
Chora
Helsinki-based leather handbag brand Chora is more of a design collective than a brand, although each designer remains anonymous. While trendsetting bags are stylish and sophisticated, they are also extremely complex. You’ve probably seen the label’s handcrafted metal chain bag on the ‘gram, and the new lace-up Silva bag will also be part of many save folders
Sam Finger
You might have seen Winnie Harlow on New York-based designer Sam Finger’s latest runway. The brand’s upcycled, one-of-a-kind pieces embody the fashion deconstructivism that many brands try to master, but few do the same as Finger. With a sustainable custom-made-or-book business model, this inclusive brand perfectly highlights the confident power of utilitarian experimentation.
Ester Manas
Founded in 2019 by Belgian designer duo Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre, the romantic, lace-focused label celebrates femininity in all its forms. Sexy and stretchy, the brand’s pieces fit in size XS-3XL, earning the duo the Galeries Lafayette Prize at the 2018 Hyères Festival and being shortlisted for the 2020 LVMH Prize. In 2023, Manas and Delepierre tied the knot – but before that, she received an ANDAM Special Award and teamed up with Danish darling Ganni to earn them a place in one of the many folders that it-girls saved.
Lamara London
Following the millennium trend Renaissance fans will be delighted to hear that London-based, Brazilian-made footwear and ready-to-wear brand Lamara London continues to uphold its aesthetic ethos. Fans of the brand include Emily Ratajkowski and Becky Hearn, and each design is infused with nostalgic emotion.