With its latest 'Hauntology’ collection Rave Review's punky, party-girl spirit gets a dark nostalgic twist
The Rave Review girl is growing up. “She’s definitely becoming more mature,” says Livia Schück, who co-founded the Swedish brand with Josephine Bergqvist shortly after they graduated from Beckman’s. It’s been eight years since the design duo introduced their punky approach to upcycling and while the codes remain, a lot has changed. They’ve nabbed a slot in Milan. They’ve taken a more considered approach to the business side of things. Recently, Bergqvist had a baby. “We became friends going to rave parties,” notes Bergqvist, bouncing her son on her lap.
Fans of the brand’s youthful attitude: don’t fret. The autumn/winter '24 collection leans heavy into the details that have come to define Rave Review. “I’ve been trying to dig deeper in our core,” says Schück, who took the lead this go around so her partner could focus on new motherhood. There are the blanket coats with fringe finishes, the asymmetrical approach to patchwork that finds skirts and dresses snaking around the body. The aforementioned punky attitude.
But this is met with ladylike boucle jackets, smart pencil skirts and a notably more subdued colour palette. Clashing argyle prints and ties worn as belts offer a deconstructed approach to prep. “It’s like someone young put on something a bit older and patched it together,” says Schück. Fittingly, the collection is dubbed ‘Hauntology’, a term coined by English writer Mark Fisher that describes how today’s culture is haunted by the past. The collection takes on a sort of dark nostalgia, the upcycled pieces quite literally echoes of the garments they once were. The patchwork faux fur jackets, for instance, look like, as Schück puts it, “something you’d pull from your grandma’s closet”.
The standout moment, however, is something entirely new: organza. It’s found in a knee-skimming transparent frock and Y2K-friendly going out tops. “That’s where we show skin,” says Bergqvist. That raver girl is still in there.
See the full Rave Review AW24 collection below:
