Meet Freddy Coomes, The Emerging Designer Behind Emma Corrin’s Campy Dress

It takes skill and bravery to stick your neck out in the fashion industry, and making a bold statement in an oversaturated market is a feat. That’s why Emma Corrin had my full attention when they stepped out in New York on July 23 to appear on Good Morning America, wearing a dress comprised of a drop-waist polo shirt top with a mini red bubble skirt, and finished off with a massive bow that appeared permanently caught in the wind. The team behind the brand Freddy Coomes, comprised of Freddy Coomes and Matt Empringham, dreamed it up for them. The duo only recently graduated from Central Saint Martins — the London-based Holy Grail of fashion design schools — but if the start of 2024 is any indication, we’ll be seeing lots more of their crazy good fashion.

Their work is charged with a sense of whimsy, play, and irreverence, with proportion, texture, and textiles all called into question. Their debut collection, “Collection 01,” is like cartoon or Polly Pocket clothes come to life, not made for utility or function, but rather to challenge traditional aesthetics and perception. It’s very workwear-inspired and British in nature, with plaids, tartans, traditional work shirts, a green hunting jacket that looks like a paper cut-out, and scarves that also look like paper pieces and almost float off the body. They use unique materials like flocked velvet, plastic, zip ties, and Alcantara, an oft-overlooked synthetic suede, bringing a charged sense of tactility to their silliness.

The duo both worked under Jonathan Anderson, one at Loewe and one at JW Anderson, and their pieces take cues from Anderson’s sense of fun, color, and irony. They also inherited a sense of technical rigor from him, which shows in the behind-the-scenes pictures they post of their process. The London fashion scene is one that embraces oddities much more so than American fashion, with the likes of Alexander McQueen, Craig Green, and yes, Anderson all finding a home for their avant-garde visions in the English capital.

Coomes and Empringham are close with stylist Harry Lambert, who worked with them on styling their first collection and coordinated the custom look on Corrin. Lambert has also placed their designs on Emilia Clarke and Sienna Miller, showing off the brand’s versatility. The dynamic duo are not in a rush to start a business, or expand at a rapid rate — they’re just having fun. As Empringham put it to WWD, “I don’t think either of us are keen to establish something that just exists to make money. It’s about establishing something that has core values that feel appropriate to us and our customers. I think that’s a slow thing. It can’t be wrong.” If what they’re cooking up is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.