Christopher Esber
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 20: A model showcases Resort ’23 designs by Christopher Esber on the runway on the Tiffany & Co. rooftop on June 20, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: It always makes me smile when I see an international high-profile name wearing a new-season Esber at an event. A smug smile perhaps, for any Australian lover of fashion will tell you Christopher Esber has long been our sartorial pride and joy for the better part of a decade.

Now, with ringing endorsements from the likes of Dua Lipa, Zendaya Hailey Bieber, Lorde, and Emily Ratajkowski, what Esber will do to build on those midriff-flossing cut-outs and loophole skirts is one of the most exciting days on the fashion calendar. How do you evolve an already remixed va-va-voom slinky black knit slip dress? How do you top a curled sequinned midi fastened by scalloped hardware? What about the hand-painted mood stones? The chain stitched embroidery? The Shibori pleating? How do you experiment with the experimental?

On a crisp and moody winter’s afternoon in June, and atop Sydney’s Tiffany and Co. rooftop, Esber answered this very question as he showed his Resort 2023 collection to an intimate industry set. Hemmed in by perfectly pruned hedges, the pitter patter of rain sprinkled ever so lightly on the white carpeted runway. The first five models out set the tone for the show: this would be a very different Christopher Esber offering.

Christopher Esber
Credit: Lucas Dawson Photo

Deconstructed creamy white dresses with ruffles and flared, asymmetrical hemlines floated ever so heavenly through the city breeze, their milky trails so feminine and lush. A sequinned netting skirt in basil green – a standout – and then later a dress made entirely of embellished chains, were both styled with floor-length blazers.

Christopher Esber
Credit: Lucas Dawson Photo
Christopher Esber
Credit: Lucas Dawson Photo

The bubble hem commanded the most attention: two dresses in ivory and taffy pink had one leg short and the other long. Meanwhile, a lemon dress had all the characteristics of an Esber – cut-outs, chains, backless (read: a drycleaner’s headache) – but was softened by the bubble at its bottom.

Christopher Esber
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 20: A model showcases Resort ’23 designs by Christopher Esber on the runway on the Tiffany & Co. rooftop on June 20, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)
Christopher Esber
Credit: Lucas Dawson Photo
Christopher Esber
Credit: Lucas Dawson Photo

The sculptural cut-out – almost the inverse of a Loewe breast plate and as standout as a Schiaparelli on Bella Hadid in Cannes – was decorated in splotches of white beaded fringing.

Christopher Esber
Credit: Lucas Dawson Photo

(By the way, be prepared for this look to sell out in the same way Katie Holmes’ Scarlet cardigan and Eda Bralette from Khaite did.)

Christopher Esber
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 20: A model showcases Resort ’23 designs by Christopher Esber on the runway on the Tiffany & Co. rooftop on June 20, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)
Christopher Esber
Credit: Lucas Dawson Photo

Something that didn’t change was Esber’s love for the low-slung as dropped waists exuded across maxi skirts and trousers (yes, Grace O’Neill called it a while ago, noughties gauche-chic is here to stay).

Christopher Esber
Credit: Lucas Dawson Photo
Christopher Esber
Credit: Lucas Dawson Photo

It was the perfect mix of new with old. Of something different while preserving the beloved Esber DNA. Of permanent impermanence.

When supermodel Georgia Fowler was recently photographed in Monaco in an Esber skirt and top combo while speaking to Euphoria star and heartthrob-of-the-moment Jacob Elori, users in the comments section weren’t typically questioning Elori’s uninterrupted gaze on the beauty before him. No, they were frenetically asking who Fowler’s dress was designed by.

That’s the power of an Esber. Even an Elori cannot distract. But as an Australian whose been an Esber follower for years, you already knew that.