The 2022 LVMH Prize: KNWLS

Provocative. That's the word Londoners Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault use to define the woman they design for. "We love that our woman is dangerous and unapproachable," says Arsenault over Zoom from the pair's home in South Bermondsey. "She is completely in control of who she is—and we cut things in a way that makes her feel like that."

Since debuting their apparel to the world in 2018 at Lulu Kennedy's talent incubator Fashion East, Knowles and Arsenault have had a deep, if not always widely credited, impact. Their lithe, otherworldly line, first introduced as underwear-inspired garments under the moniker Charlotte Knowles before quickly developing into a full range, embodies a cold confidence not seen in some time. Grimes, Bella Hadid, Julia Fox, and Rihanna are fans. Post-apocalyptic survivors; ethereal anime heroines; and elegant, feral subversives, breaking free after two years of lockdown, are the characters behind the clothes. The digital world is their home, and it's also where the customer connects to the brand. The looks are revealing, minimal, and boldly sexy. Controversial.

The label developed as its æsthetic was constructed around the concept of provocation under the female gaze, explains Arsenault. "Instagram was our starting point that made people believe in the brand," he continues. "A lot of people in the industry were not ready for it yet. [They] were basically saying that we were going to be working at Victoria's Secret. People didn't get it then." It took some time for the world to catch up to their female form, to their unapologetic vision.

The pair first met at Central Saint Martins in 2016, where they were both enrolled in the school's prestigious MA program, Arsenault one year above Knowles. "I noticed him when I started the course and fancied him," says Knowles, a self-professed tomboy who grew up in the English countryside, got into fashion through her grandmother, and moved to London to study design after high school.

"You would be very surprised she was interested," smiles Arsenault, noting that back then he had shoulder-length hair and "no money because I was on multiple loans. Literally, all my clothes had holes." He had grown up in the suburbs of Montréal, obsessing over McQueen and Dolce & Gabbana on internet forums and working at a "Hot Topic version of a skate shop" with eczema on his face. "I just looked like a zombie," he laughs. "And The Walking Dead was popular at the time."

Arsenault's æsthetic was grunge, beautiful, and "slightly bohemian," says Knowles, describing bleached plaids and silk shirting. Hers was still developing. "I was a bit lost," she admits. "Before then, I was really inspired by Gareth Pugh and Iris van Herpen. On the MA, I realized who I was, what the clothes were, and who the woman was." Meeting Arsenault, and their subsequent conversations about what she wanted to express through the work, helped these ideas take shape. "He was always like, 'Why don't you make it more about you? What do you want to wear?' It evolved into something more authentic and real," she says.

Four years later, the results are evident and ever-transforming. The clothes the two create together have edge and a certain 'choose your fighter' appeal. They're Y2K but with unexpected cuts and striking, unmistakable silhouettes. Think second-skin flared leather trousers, cutting corsets with militaristic shapes, a brushed mohair cardigan with a little collar that folds on the back, and a sheer cut-out bralette with assertive, fantastical magnetism. Materials are a focus of the design. (Special leathers and soft, precious shearlings are key for Spring 2023.) The KNWLS woman is sexual but never objectified. Articulate and unafraid. There's a sharpness to her apparel that feels like armor and a grace to how she moves through the world. She is becoming more nuanced with time.

The universe of KNWLS is also expanding. "Our world is a concept of its own and we are just trying to show little facets of it each season," says Arsenault. "So it is about us putting things together that are built from our two interests—creating tension, creating something interesting from it, then using that as the base of the collection."

For now, they are pushing their form, experimenting with new product categories and cuts, and evolving their language. "We've been trying to push footwear and the bags for a few seasons," says Arsenault. "It's finally getting some traction." Knowles adds, "They will become the foundation of the brand."

The hope is to someday join the fashion lexicon, leaving an imprint in the same way Roberto Cavalli did in the aughts or John Galliano created at Dior. "That's in the far future," says Arsenault, but it might come sooner than they think.

For more information, please visit KNWLS.com. See the full 2022 LVMH Prize portfolio here. Read this story and many more in print by ordering our fifth issue here.

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