This story originally appeared on ELLE AUSTRALIA

When it comes to fashion collaborations, there are collabs and then there are GANNI collabs. In a new collection with London-based designer Priya Ahluwalia, the nouveau Scandi brand has raised the bar again. More than a partnership based on symbiotically transferring each brand’s cultural capital, the thoughtful 19-piece collection hones in on each brands’ commitment to designing fashion responsibly.

For her first foray into women’s wear, Ahluwalia drew on themes that will be familiar to those across her work at her eponymous menswear label. With a design sensibility shaped by her Indian-Nigerian heritage and London roots, the LVMH prize winner has always had a mandate for working with existing clothes and fabrics. The tradition of passing clothes on through families and friends might not solely belong to the immigrant experience, but here too it’s evident how Ahluwalia’s design sensibility has been uniquely if not always intentionally shaped.

“I’m not an environmentalist and I’m still learning, just trying to do the best I can,” Ahluwalia explained, speaking to GQ. “We just try to work with materials that are pre-existing, deadstock or vintage, and just try and create really interesting design details and quirks. Sustainability just naturally happened.”

The dresses, jackets and other separates in the GANNI x Ahluwalia collaboration feature recognisable GANNI silhouettes reimagined in sumptuous patchworks of wavy ’70s browns and optimistic blues. Crafted from deadstock fabric and leftover styles from 2020 pieces that didn’t sell during the lockdowns, GANNI’s creative director Ditte Reffstrup explained in a statement that the collaboration has been “cooking up for well over a year.”

While some European countries might still be struggling through lockdowns, the “I’m going out” sentiment we’re starting to feel in Australia is strong throughout the GANNI x Ahluwalia collection.

“When I started my research … I thought about both GANNI’s and my own love of a good party,” Ahluwalia shared in a statement. “I looked at photography from the UK Garage scene as well as photos from my own personal history and culture.” (Read as: no, it’s not just you looking back on shaky videos of club nights of yesteryear.)

Fans of Ahluwalia’s work who are keen to see the designer keep flexing her womenswear muscles can look forward to a follow-up collaboration launching later in 2021. In the meantime, good luck picking a favourite piece.

The GANNI x Ahluwalia collection will be available to shop exclusively at GANNI.

Read more:
Fashion: We’ve Officially Entered a Tennis Renaissance
How to Wear Leggings: 10 Fashion Rules
12 On-Point Swimsuits You Should Scoop Now