Season after season, Central Saint Martins alumni Stephen Cook and Jake Bart are among the most anticipated designers at London Fashion Week. Their eponymous brand, Stephen Cook, grew up in Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East and was quickly hailed as a brand to watch, especially after he was a finalist in the 2019 LVMH Prize. With his glinterati for Fashion Week, he celebrates Stefan Cooke’s schoolboy themes and reflections on traditional menswear tropes. Ahead of the London Fashion Week show, Hypebeast told the duo, who at the time were eager to make his Simmons debut, ‘I’m not sure what to do. Mainly menswear too. A strong designer adds weight to the LFW line-up and will re-center London as the home of the avant-garde. ”

But Stefan Cooke doesn’t seem to need the likes of Simons, because he’s actually the “strong designer” it referred to. Heading into SS23, the boys looped a high-frequency pitch to kick things off, welcoming showgoers to the Old Selfridges Hotel. The space is often reserved for both patrons and must-sees of London Fashion His Week, and Stephen Cook has his own entitlements.

As the model arrived on the runway, a roar of transport service information from the South Western Railroad rang out. It was aurally stimulating and enough to make some attendees giggle. But the outfit was no laughing matter. Stephen Cook always had a great eye for bending the rules and then rewriting them. Jorts came in a variety of takes, including a greenish wash, floor-length denim on his skirts, and his 360-degree jean edging that ran vertically from the midriff to the legs.

Familiar cues like skirts are applied to boiled wool cardigans, sequins add sparkle to an array of kitschy T-shirts (including one with a jack-o-lantern), and baker caps from past seasons. now adorns tight-fitting jackets.

Completing the above were many Canadian tuxedos, overturned with the aforementioned skirts and offered in different shades, including purple. But the boys seemed to have turned their attention to the brand’s consumer-centric attribute: accessories. This theme was also reproduced in his jacket, a white bomber with diamond slash shadows. Completing the ensemble for this season were the shoes that completed Stephen Cook’s billing.

See Stefan Cooke’s SS23 collection above and find London Fashion Week SS23 content on Hypebeast and our new Instagram channel @HypebeastUK.

For must-see menswear, check out Simone Rocha’s forays onto the scene for Spring/Summer 2023.