Fashion moves in bizarre and beautiful ways, but few overlaps are quite as brilliant as Alexander Skarsgård and Claudia Winkleman falling for the exact same holy grail piece. On paper, a brooding Hollywood leading man and Britain’s queen of cosy-gothic don't have much in common. Yet both have recently succumbed to the punk folk magic of London cult label Chopova Lowena.
The skirt first landed squarely in the lap of Claudia Winkleman on The Traitors. Styled by her go-to collaborator Sinead McKeefry, Claudia traded her usual highland tweeds for Chopova Lowena’s Arabesque Knee Skirt, which felt completely at home against the backdrop of the Ardverikie Estate.
Then came Alexander Skarsgård, attending the Los Angeles premiere for The Wicker. Skarsgård took the look in a wildly different direction, arriving in a custom pink and green plaid Chopova Lowena skirt held together by safety pins and heavy hardware, paired with a tongue-in-cheek long-sleeve top featuring co-star Olivia Colman’s face. Having already made headlines for wearing Saint Laurent’s clear PVC lace-up oxfords, Skarsgård has been diving headfirst into high fashion.
Fashion lovers have obsession-scrolled this piece for years, but its rise to ‘it item’ status was no accident. The skirt is the brainchild of Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena, who met at Central Saint Martins and debuted the concept on their spring/summer '20 runway.
The genius of the design lies in its clash of ideas. Heavy leather belts studded with grommets connect to pleated fabric using actual rock-climbing carabiners. The designers source deadstock Bulgarian folkloric aprons, vintage tartans, and clashing wools, creating asymmetric midis, minis, and knee-length cuts where no two skirts are ever identical.
The carabiner skirt has become something of a fashion rite of passage, previously worn by the likes of Dua Lipa, Madonna, and Willow Smith.
With autumn in full swing, kilts are having a massive moment again. On the streets, style insiders are currently wearing: layered directly over dark straight-leg denim for a nod to early 2000s street style or anchored with combat boots and knee-high socks.
If you want to add one to your own wardrobe, various styles are still available at stockists like SSENSE and Farfetch. Just be prepared for the price tag - hovering anywhere between £700 and £1,500, it’s definitely one to pin to the dream wishlist.
Shop: Chopova Lowena Skirts
Chopova Lowena, Multicolour Plugged Carabiner Mini Skirt
730
Chopova Lowena, Savie Folkloric Check Pleated Mini Skirt
1,309
Chopova Lowena, Multicolour Lockhart Carabiner Midi Skirt
1,040
Chopova Lowena, Dinasty Pleated Skirt
1,220
Chopova Lowena, Multicolour Adjustable Belt Turf Carabiner Mini Skirt
825
Renee Washington, Grazia's digital fashion and beauty writer, lives online. With a penchant for wispy lashes and streetwear, she writes about the worlds of fashion and beauty from the viewpoint of the modern fashion girlie.
Main Image Credit: Getty Images (L), BBC/Studio Lambert (R)