Meet the duo who sent their mini-me doppelgängers down the Paris runway

All eyes might have been on the big behemoth fashion moments during the SS24 season – from Sabato De Sarno’s highly anticipated Gucci debut, to Sarah Burton’s Alexander McQueen swansong – but in-between the gaps, it was the emerging brands that really shone. From sustainable Scandi upstarts Reve Review and bonkers Beate Karlsson of AVAVAV in Milan, to stand-out moments from Hodakova and All-In in Paris, the calendar was crawling with new and rising talent that should be on your radar. 

Among those ‘ones to watch’ was zomer. The brainchild of designer Danial Aitouganov and stylist Imruh Asha, the label takes its name from the Dutch word for summer, and channels the duo’s sunny disposition into bold, beautiful, elegant clothes for the modern woman.

Aitouganov and Asha first met in their hometown of Amsterdam almost a decade ago and formed a tight friendship. Both knew they wanted to forge a path in fashion, and originally toyed with the idea of starting a collaborative label when they were taking their first baby steps in the industry. “We decided the time wasn’t right, though, and that we needed to do our own thing first,” explains Asha. 

Across the course of the last seven years, both have risen through the ranks of the industry, notching up a series of impressive accolades and achievements between them. Aitouganov studied design at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, before scoring jobs at prestigious houses including Burberry and Chloé, while Asha has joined forces with everyone from Moschino, to Pucci, to Jacquemus. Then, in 2021, he was appointed fashion director of Dazed. 

With all this experience and understanding of the industry under their belt – plus a full to bursting little black book of fashion contacts – the two finally came together and decided there was no time like the present to actually bring their idea for a brand to life. And so, zomer finally came to fruition. 

On the second day of Paris Fashion Week, in a sun-drenched show space also favoured by designers like Junya Watanabe, the duo debuted their first ever collection. Worn by models zipping between beams of natural light, out came a procession of easy-to-wear looks incorporating neat apron dresses with asymmetric, cutaway hems, slinky ribbed-knit tank tops, and silk slips that hung like hankies from slim spaghetti straps. 

There was crisp tailoring, too, in the form of sleek shirt dresses with press-stud fastenings that could be popped on and off in different ways depending on the wearer’s preference, as well as precision-cut blazer and flared trouser combos. Puff-sleeved party dresses in zingy stripes, wearable sculptures made from polished wood – a collaboration with artist Amaury Darras – and punchy leather accessories, designed in partnership with ECCO rounded things off. 

Though this is the first time Aitouganov has stepped into the spotlight, those familiar with Asha’s work will surely feel his influence throughout. There’s the same proclivity for vibrant colour and unique shape and silhouette that’s evident throughout just about all of his shoots, with the clothes coming out of zomer channelling the same childlike joy that permeates his work. 

Cementing the playful spirit of the brand was the show’s finale. With both Aitoganouv and Asha keen to let the clothes do the talking, the two enlisted a pair of tiny mini-me doppelgängers to close out their first show, and in the process cultivated one of the most joyful moments of fashion week. Keep your eyes on the label from here: there’s surely plenty more to come.