As Self-Portrait Becomes An Insta-Influencer Fave, It's Time To Buy In Or Miss Out
Self-Portrait is an extremely young brand, relatively speaking. But for a label still arguably in its nascent stages, its rise to acclaim happened at breakneck speed.
Founded in 2013 by Malasian born, Central Saint Martins graduate Han Chong, the brand gained attention relatively quickly, with sculptural, but mass appeal pieces, pitched at a refreshingly mass-appeal prices.
Taking the first punt, Selfridges began to stock key Self-Portrait pieces from as early as 2014 and what seemed like minutes later, the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Rachel McAdams were wearing Self-Portrait dresses on the red carpet.
It was only in 2015 that Chong staged his first New York Fashion Week presentation and now here we are in September 2018, with Self-Portrait a key billing on the NYFW runway schedule.
And out of all the NYFW shows so far, it was this one that appeared to be fashion influencer catnip, with everyone from reality TV star Olivia Palermo and beauty influencer Camila Coelho, through to @handinfire's Tiffany Hsu in attendance.
Dude where is my car ? #nyfw in @mrselfportrait @rejinapyo 📸 @asiatypek @vogue.polska
A post shared by Tiffany Hsu (@handinfire) on Sep 9, 2018 at 5:09am PDT
An important on-schedule show and with such key figures sporting Self-Portrait designs, it will be interesting to see whether the brand's pricing structure begins to change.
Since its inception, Self-Portrait's pricing has been a key differentiator between it and other brands, with Chong telling ELLE in 2014: 'Beauty shouldn't only be an option for the privileged few. It is possible not to have to sacrifice the quality and details within the products if you find ways to make fabrication more cost-efficient.'
And with dresses as little as £300, Self-Portrait has been a wedding guest favourite for years.
As far as we know, there's no intention to hike the price point, but as we begin to see less of the cutesy mini dresses and more of these beautiful gowns, it wouldn't be too surprising if the cost began to evolve.
So, it seems like a pretty good moment to snap up some of these influencer favourites, before you can't get your hands on them any more.
You can shop a number of the looks seen on Self-Portrait audience members now:
Mary Leest wearing one-shoulder fil coupé mini dress.
Camila Coelho in the tie-front asymmetrical silk dress.
Marta Lozano Pascual wearing the midnight jacquard mini dress.
Olivia Palermo in the checked matte satin midi skirt.
Mary Lawless Lee of @happilygrey in arrow print Self-Portrait maxi dress.
You can get this similar one from a previous self portrait collection.
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