Inside Erik Charlotte’s world of exaggerated womenswear

Last May, designer Erik Charlotte set up a wooden block in her LA apartment and posed in nine of her looks. Wearing white patchwork corsets, puff sleeves and voile skirts, it was the first time the 24-year-old had shared her designs with the world (well, Instagram). “I’ve been sewing for eight years, but I always saw it as more of a hobby,” she says.

That was until she started living alone, went through a “really bad” breakup and graduated, all in a short span of time in 2023. “I was rediscovering myself a little bit, but I felt like the bar for sharing online was really high and everything had to be professionally shot and ornate,” Charlotte says. Her first post as a designer is a format she’s since stuck to – the sunlit room, a white fireplace in the background, Charlotte in one of her own elaborate looks. From her apartment, and in between working full-time, she has swiftly built her own world of exaggerated womenswear. Her puffy polka dots, sailor hats, lace corset gowns and ostrich feathers have already caught the attention of the likes of Ethel Cain, Julia Fox and Emma Chamberlain. 

As a child raised in the suburbs of San Francisco – except for a couple of years in Utah and on a farm in Idaho – Charlotte was really into princess dresses and playing dress up. “There’s that really young age that you can pretend and no one cares, and there’s no consequence, which is nice and refreshing,” she says. “Then it became harder becasue I was getting more and more confined by gender stereotypes growing up as a boy, so I really didn't pay too much attention to fashion.”

Charlotte's attention turned to fashion again as a teenager, this time thanks to Tumblr and getting her first pair of Doc Martens. She first started sewing in high school, when she began making costumes for drag queens in the Bay Area. She was taught the basics by her grandmother, an expert quilter and Christmas pyjama-maker, but would turn to YouTube for everything else. “I was always confined to a buzz cut and spots clothes growing up, it was very masculine,” she says. “So I started doing drag as a way of gender exploration and embraced a very feminine aesthetic, which I think still comes through in my work.” 

Despite desperately wanting to go to fashion school, Charlotte moved to LA at age 18 to study communications at Loyola Marymount University because her parents were adamant about her getting a bachelor's degree. Today, the entirely self-taught designer has a custom client list that Parsons and CSM graduates could only dream of. Still, she’s hungry to learn more, perfect her craft and continue to build out the fantastical fantasy that is her budding namesake brand. 

Below, Charlotte spoke to us from the apartment where it all started. 

Who were your fashion icons growing up? 

Erik Charlotte: A lot of them are actually fictional characters. I was really into video games as a kid. That was my form of escapism. I loved The Legend of Zelda, and any of Zelda’s looks. I grew up watching Star Wars because my dad made me, like my brothers, get into it. I loved all of Padme's super ornate looks in the first three movies. I was obsessed with The Lord of the Rings and Legolas. I just loved the long blonde hair. I feel like it made everything he wore so fab. I always had to have short hair – all I ever wanted was long hair. The elves had inches, and I loved their outfits aesthetically. So I was following a lot of cosplay on Tumblr and loved reblogging pictures of Kate Moss. I think I reblogged her in that tartan Vivian Westwood gown about 50 times on different occasions.

What was your freakum outfit as a teenager? 

Erik Charlotte: When I was a teenager, my combo was my Marina and the Diamonds t-shirt from her Froot tour, the tiniest pair of shorts that I’d cut up with scissors, and then the same Doc Martens. I still have them from when I bought them in Portland with the money from my first job.

How would you describe the aesthetic of your brand?

Erik Charlotte: I think the Erik Charlotte aesthetic is exaggerated womenswear. I’m playing with a lot of surreal shapes. I want to look at more classic silhouettes and almost blow them up a bit. I love volume, and everything is accented by that signature corset shape that I do, with a really tight waist and that flared hop with a huge skirt. I think a big element of my aesthetic is playing with volume, removing volume, and then duplicating it and multiplying it somewhere else. It’s very head-to-toe. I love doing hats and feel like they make a look stand out. It’s dramatic. When you wear one, you’re forced to pose. 

You still work full-time while designing and sewing on the side. How do you balance it? 

Erik Charlotte: Last year was a lot of building and developing, and then, at the beginning of this year, things really took off. I had a post that blew up, and I started working with more and more artists and stylists that I loved. It has really exploded ever since, and I still have my job. I still have to make money somehow, because when you're starting out, it's hard to make a living. It's definitely a really intense balance. It can be very stressful, but I’m going on vacation soon. I’m bad at taking breaks, so I’m really grateful that my friends tear me away from my sewing machine. I love making clothes. I can’t imagine not doing it, so I’m going to do whatever I can to make it work until I feel like I don’t need the job on the side anymore. I’m so grateful for the attention I’m getting, and it makes me so happy that my work is resonating with people, but I still need a lot of grace.

You’ve had some big celebrity moments already. How does that feel as a young designer?

Erik Charlotte: I know it’s really big in the industry to be cool and blasé about things, so I try to put on a professional face when I’m meeting with these clients, but I’m so gagged and happy. I think the moment when it really clicked for me was when I was working on Marina’s look for Coachella this year. I was the biggest fan of hers when I was 14 or 15. I had a six-foot poster in my room. So when I was in an Uber to her house for the fitting, I was like, ‘Oh my god, what am I doing?’ Then I watched the live stream at my friend’s house, and all my friends were there to watch it with me. I was in tears. It’s happening so quick, so I’m very reflective about it. It’s beautiful not only for me, but also for other designers who weren’t able to go to fashion school. The fashion industry can be really closed off to people who didn't get the stamp of approval from CSM. 

Is that something that you’ve felt starting out?

Erik Charlotte: I started this year with a lot of reflection. I was applying to Master's programmes in fashion. I really wanted to just have the opportunity to learn, but I literally didn’t get in anywhere and was so disappointed. To see this blossom from all that rejection has been really validating. I now know that it wasn’t my time because all this was waiting for me.

What celebrity are you dying to dress next and why?

Erik Charlotte: God, it's so obvious. I want to dress Addison Rae. But my number one is Hunter Schafer. She’s such a huge inspiration, and I love how she's this fashion sponge. Everything becomes cool no matter what she wears. That would be a moment where I would really be pinching myself. 

Which four designers would make up your fashion Mount Rushmore?

Erik Charlotte: John Galliano would be the most obvious. Vivienne Westwood. And then Sarah Burton, honestly. I look up to her so much. The way that she took over the house of McQueen, and her focus on tailoring, is so beautiful. Then Thierry Mugler. The corsetry is so inspiring.

You are trapped in an elevator with your celebrity crush. Who is it and what are you wearing?

Erik Charlotte: So I guess I’m trapped with Harris Dickinson, and I’m wearing a twenties silk bias slip down to a little above the ankle. Then a kitten heel and a feather in my hair. 

What’s the story behind your capsule collection?

Erik Charlotte: I did that capsule collection last year when I was really getting inspired by sailors and maritime, which has become a big theme in my work. I think last year, I was still figuring out what I like to do, playing with a lot of different things and figuring out what I liked and what direction I wanted to go in. It was a helpful collection to establish my signature shapes and what my brand codes are, even though it’s still such a young brand, and things are changing all the time. For how little experience I had, I’m really proud of how it came out, even though I look at it now and think, ‘I could have fixed that.’ It’s helping inspire my next collection that I’m working on now.

Can you share anything about your upcoming collection?

Erik Charlotte: My current plans are to show in February here in LA and have it just be a guerrilla pop-up kind of thing. I’ve already started on a lot of pieces for it. I’m working with one of my really talented friends, who is gonna help me out with some 3D elements. I want a big collection with different colours, shapes and more accessory work. The thing that inspires me about this collection is that a lot of my work focuses on the surrealist element of escapism, which has been a big theme growing up in my childhood. But this collection is more real. It's tapping into real, serious subject matter of my life and of other women's lives, looking at fetishisation through a trans lens. 

What does your design process look like?

Erik Charlotte: I like to take ideas that are already in my head, interpret them and kind of mash them together. I usually start with sketches. Usually, when I have a big idea, I have to write it down right away. One time, I was in the shower and just grabbed my phone to sketch on the notes app. Once I have the sketch, I’ll source my fabric, usually at Fabric Planet, a local fabric store here in LA. I’ve been shopping there for maybe four years. A lot of what I make is patterning and geometry; I don’t do a lot of draping. I make the shapes on paper and then try them out on the body to see what it looks like, and go from there. Sometimes the ideas are so strong that I'll knock them out in a couple of days because they're knocking at the back of my head. Other times, I’ll let each step marinate. 

And a lot of your designs are made and measured on your own body.

Erik Charlotte: Yeah, it’s helpful that a lot of my measurements are standard size, but because I work with corsets, it’s nice that my samples are pretty adjustable for a lot of people of different sizes and heights. I also do custom work, taking in another person's measurements. 

Money is no object. Where are you staging your first catwalk show?

Erik Charlotte: I want a fierce castle in Scotland. Something regal and a little spooky, but high budget and fierce. The nice countryside with rolling hills and cobblestone. 

What’s your favourite corner store snack?

Erik Charlotte: I have a crazy sweet tooth. I love anything really sour and really sweet. Sour Haribo gummy bears are always my favourite. I have this thing where I put all my candy in the freezer because I just love to chew on something. 

Can you share a recent screenshot for your camera roll?

Erik Charlotte: Basically, I did this look for the Emmys, which was this chartreuse gown, so I screenshotted The Cut article saying that the corset gown would probably make Charlie xcx proud. The next screenshot is the stylist texting me, ‘As long as they don’t feel brat.’ I just think putting the two next to each other is really funny. 

What’s next in the world of Erik Charlotte?

Erik Charlotte: The biggest focus for me right now is working on my next collection and continuing to develop my skills. As cool and amazing and exciting as all these opportunities to work with artists and celebrities are, I do want to continue working on my craft because I still have so much to learn. I want my focus to be on craftsmanship, and I want it to be on shape and structure and drama. I’m pushing myself to have a very cohesive piece of work, and I hope that it'll help people to take me even more seriously. I know that my path into fashion is unorthodox – I’m shooting stuff out of my apartment and still working my job, but this next collection will be a big milestone. 

Let your predictive text finish this sentence: “I am a designer because I love _____, but people don’t know that I’m actually _____.” 

Erik Charlotte: I’m a designer because I love my hair, but people don’t know that I’m actually an engineer.