‘This is the billboard moment’: Christopher Esber takes Paris

Nature will be present on the runway with Esber using a leaf leather, which has already found its way into Jonathan Anderson’s collections for Loewe.

“It’s essentially leaves from the Amazon that have been stitched together and treated, so it looks like a painted leather, but it’s actually a bio material. ”

“We’re also working with hoops and wire in armholes and hip points to accentuate certain areas of the body. That’s the new element of exploration throughout the collection.”

Esber’s shift in emphasis from fabric to structure is reinforced by the monumental City of Architecture in the Trocadero, the venue for the 200-seat show.

“It’s got this underground feel where I could create this feeling of enclosure and cocooning,” he says. “The collection is inspired by the idea of the first woman – a cave woman. There’s a nod to the first thought of getting dressed.”

The marriage of venue and collection has been hastily arranged, with the Paris adventure only confirmed last month. Receiving approval to show in the fashion capital can be a lengthy process, with Ellery, Romance Was Born, Colette Dinnigan, Toni Maticevski and most recently Zimmermann among the few Australian labels to have made the journey.

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“It’s a fabulous surprise,” Esber says. “I’ve been coming to Paris each season for eight years to show it to buyers. I already feel like part of the environment but it’s different to be showing as part of the schedule.”

“Showing in Paris seems like a natural progression. The business is really growing in Europe.”

Having bided his time, this is not a make or break moment for Esber’s business, with his label stocked in more than 150 stores globally and 40 per cent of sales in Europe.

“It’s a great moment for the brand to flex what it can do,” he says, with only the slightest tremble in a voice husky from delivering last-minute instructions.

“Having no voice helps. It’s harder to hear the nerves inside.”

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