Inside the world of August Barron, fashion’s disruptive design duo

This story is taken from the winter 2025 issue of Dazed, which is on sale internationally from December 5. Pre-order a copy of the magazine here.

There’s a seriousness to the way Bror August Vestbø and Benjamin Barron talk about clothes, even when those clothes look like they’re misbehaving. Multilayered cardigans hoicked up to reveal satin bras, petticoated skirts stuffed asymmetrically – their world, spun out through their label August Barron, is one where humour and discipline coexist in the same hemline. “It’s not accurate to describe our work as ironic,” says Vestbø. “We take everything very seriously.”

It’s a fitting protest. Their practice is devoted to the instability of things, built on unlearning what fashion is meant to resolve. Each season’s characters – suburban housewives in bondage, errant pop idols – are not parodies but objects of admiration, contradictions in the way real people are – layered, inconsistent and alive.

They first crossed paths in 2015, when Vestbø attended a party for All-In, Barron’s then-fledgling magazine. What began as a shared fascination with image-making soon became a collaboration and, later, a life. As their editorial one-offs evolved into a label, they kept the name. A decade, a marriage and many invented personas later, All-In has grown up, swapped its alias for something more personal, and become August Barron – a synthesis of their names and sensibilities.

Their pieces embody a perverse kind of glamour: garments caught mid-transformation, dresses and cardigans stiff with the memory of being taken off. The SS26 collection, Real Housewife, takes that tension to its sharpest point, colliding domestic cliche with erotic precision – knotted florals, harnesses of pearls, desire disguised as decorum. From their Paris studio, they’ve built an orbit of friends, muses and fellow troublemakers, all drawn to their beautifully unstable universe. Here, some of them return the favour, turning the gaze back on August Barron with questions of their own.

JT, MUSICIAN

Coming from a group, I’ve always wondered – is it tough having a partner in fashion? Do you ever disagree on designs, and how do you handle it so no one feels overshadowed? PS I hope you stay partners forever, I love everything you do!

Benjamin Barron: And we love you! We don’t always agree on everything. We have learned to take a step back and understand when one person feels more strongly than the other. It’s important to trust each other and let go of control sometimes.

LISA RINNA, TELEVISION PERSONALITY

Who’s your favourite ex-housewife?

Benjamin Barron: You, obviously.

MARC JACOBS, FASHION DESIGNER

As you know, I love your work. How do you start a collection, and what does your process look like?

Benjamin Barron: We love your work! Each collection starts differently – last collection, we were inspired by old bondage magazines we found in Japan. A few collections ago, we were inspired by not being able to depict our favourite pop stars on our garments and decided to make our own. So far, we have always started by thinking of the character and trying to build them out through all the elements that compose the show.

GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE, ACTOR

Who are some of your favourite muses through time?

Bror August Vestbø: Madonna. She’s our eternal muse.

What is it about pale pink? – Chloë Sevigny

JULIA FOX, ACTOR AND AUTHOR

First of all, I’m obsessed with your clothes. What inspires your designs?

Bror August Vestbø: Thank you so much! Everything. Movies, music… but collecting clothing is probably our biggest inspiration.

CLAIRO, MUSICIAN

What colours do you gravitate towards when designing?

Benjamin Barron: Pink. Always pink.

Bror August Vestbø: It’s our black. It goes with everything.

CHLOË SEVIGNY, ACTOR

What is it about pale pink?

Benjamin Barron: The eternal question! Pale pink just hits like nothing else.

CAROLINE POLACHEK, MUSICIAN

I described you to someone as ‘one of the few designers whose work ought to be considered within the remit of contemporary art’, because your work is so theatrical and conceptual yet none of these pieces have ever existed before. It’s totally new and of this moment. How do you feel about the word ‘art’ right now, and do you consider your garments in those terms?

Bror August Vestbø: Thank you! That is so sweet. We always strive to create something that feels familiar but not placeable. What we create belongs in the context of fashion. I think when we talk about ‘art’, it comes down to a historical and industrial context, not the cultural value of the work. We don’t see any medium as inherently superior to others. To represent the now is important in any medium.

NATASHA STAGG, WRITER

Who is a dream customer from the past (has to be dead)?

Bror August Vestbø: Amy Winehouse.

Benjamin Barron: Marilyn Monroe.

ARCA, MUSICIAN

With this season’s playful materials and bold colours, how do you balance big ideas with attention to detail in your design process?

Bror August Vestbø: We design everything separately, so each piece has its own moment. You might have a huge floral skirt, but then you’re obsessing over the colour of the ribbon finishing an invisible seam on the inside. I think that’s what keeps it from feeling flat. The details give it depth.

HONEY DIJON, DJ

A lot of designers dream of being creative directors of heritage brands. Is that a goal of yours, or do you prefer to remain independent and continue to celebrate your own community?

Benjamin Barron: It’s exciting when new generations get to enter the bigger fashion picture. Ideally, more emerging designers would have the space to build their own houses over time.

Bror August Vestbø: Designing for a big house would be fun, though. There are things you can’t do independently. So, never say never.

MIRANDA JULY, AUTHOR, ARTIST AND FILMMAKER

If I go to the St Vincent de Paul charity shop today, what should I look out for? Note: I’m a little sad today but in a grounded, tuned-in way.

Benjamin Barron: It’s always best to go shopping when you don’t know what you want.

We don’t design for a specific woman. It’s about inventing someone you don’t fully know – that openness makes it relatable to us

MYKKI BLANCO, MUSICIAN

In the morning after sex, what is the first question you ask?

Bror August Vestbø: ‘Who’s making coffee?’

SHYGIRL, MUSICIAN

As a personal fan of aliases, what space has the rebranding from All-In to August Barron given you to explore within your designs? And does it change the woman you’re designing for?

Benjamin Barron: We don’t design for a specific woman. It’s about inventing someone you don’t fully know – that openness makes it relatable to us. The ‘AB girl’ is still the same as before; she’s just evolving.

BREE RUNWAY, MUSICIAN

If your designs had a playlist, what would the opening track be?

Benjamin Barron: Every collection starts with a song. We build a playlist for each collection over a year – lots of it ends up on the runway. But if we’re talking general opener… ‘What It Feels Like for a Girl (Above & Beyond 12” Club)’ by Madonna.

PETRA COLLINS, PHOTOGRAPHER

Are there any costume designers you admire or any costuming you die for?

Benjamin Barron: I love when Andy Sachs shows up to work in the Chanel boots in The Devil Wears Prada.

Bror August Vestbø: In Slaves of New York, Bernadette Peters’ character makes hats out of trash. That inspired some of our first pieces.

KELSEY LU, MUSICIAN

How would a Real Housewife go about hiding a blood or cum stain on a satin skirt?

Bror August Vestbø: Hem it shorter.

Benjamin Barron: The shorter, the better.

SUSIE BUBBLE, FASHION JOURNALIST

Can you tell us about a time you wore an August Barron look? What happened and how did you feel?

Bror August Vestbø: I always wear our gold Double Pumps when we go out. I feel amazing.

Benjamin Barron: I’m often the fit model, and I get excited thinking about walking down the street in our looks. It feels transformative and it’s exciting to think about how that will feel for other people.

MARYAM NASSIR ZADEH, FASHION DESIGNER

It’s been seven years since your debut at my store. Where do you see yourselves in the next seven years?

Bror August Vestbø: In our own store!

Benjamin Barron: But honestly, we like not knowing what’s next. It’s exciting to keep it

that way.

SKY FERREIRA, MUSICIAN

I have noticed a decline in authentic personal style, despite people being more obsessed with fashion than ever. As someone who buys and wears your clothing, it feels like it comes with a story and embodies personal style without being about ‘comfort’ or compromising glamour. Are you interested in costume design? If so, who would be your dream director to work with?

Benjamin Barron: As someone who has loved you and your style since Myspace, this means so much! We had no idea you have our clothing – we need pics! We’ve been thinking a lot about how we appreciate garments that are exaggerated but [still] feel ‘real’. That’s a quality we appreciate in some of our favourite costume design as well. I’m so jealous you got to work with David Lynch – it would have been a dream to have worked on costume for him.

We’d be doing this anyway, even on a small scale. So we might as well make it our whole lives

KIM PETRAS, MUSICIAN

What is your favourite YouTube video?

Benjamin Barron: Angelo Badalamenti explains how he wrote ‘Laura Palmer’s Theme’.

Bror August Vestbø: PS22 Chorus ‘Just Dance’ by Lady Gaga.

BERNADETTE CORPORATION, ART AND FASHION COLLECTIVE

What are some of your favourite films?

Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø: Dancer in the Dark, Breaking the Waves, Mulholland Drive, The Devil Wears Prada, American Beauty, Unzipped, and anything by [Pedro] Almodóvar.

ELISE BY OLSEN, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER

What changes would you like to see in fashion?

Bror August Vestbø: We should slow down. Less production, more time to think.

OLYA KURYSHCHUK, FOUNDER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, 1 GRANARY

It takes a lot of courage to do what you do. What fuels it?

Bror August Vestbø: We’d be doing this anyway, even on a small scale. So we might as well make it our whole lives.

Benjamin Barron: Our first show cost $400. It’s nice to know we could do this no matter what.

ISABELLA BURLEY, EDITOR AND FOUNDER OF CLIMAX BOOKS

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Benjamin Barron: We never feel guilty about our pleasures.

DARA, STYLIST

The best fashion revels in the joy and discomfort of being a woman presenting herself to the world. Your clothes somehow freeze that complicated existence into singular garments. When did you first notice an attraction to that tension?

Bror August Vestbø: When you’re little and queer, you feel it immediately – the disconnect between who you want to be and who you’re supposed to be. I think that makes you sensitive to contradiction forever. Our clothes are about that – clothing that’s open to different experiences in a way.

CHRIS HORAN, STYLIST

How did the SS26 show soundtrack idea come about, and what were your favourite songs in it?

Benjamin Barron: We always start by sharing a playlist with Smerz, the musicians we work with. It’s a mix of what we’re listening to and what fits the character of the collection. This time, somewhat unusually, we didn’t send them many pop tracks, but they came back with mashups of Ariana, Britney and Cassie, which we loved. My favourite track from the show is a mashup of ‘Piece of Me’ by Britney and ‘Me & U’ by Cassie.

Bror August Vestbø: Mine was the remix of ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ by INXS.

PATRIC DICAPRIO, FASHION DESIGNER

If there was a scene in Sex and the City where the girls go to an August Barron show, what song would be playing?

Benjamin Barron: ‘Believe’ by Cher.

Music is almost always the first thing that we collect when starting a collection. Working with Smerz has taught us a lot. They collage genres the way we collage garments

TED STANSFIELD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, DAZED

What’s on your Explore page right now?

Benjamin Barron: A lot of cat memes and Addison Rae.

Bror August Vestbø: Food, fashion and Courtney Love.

NICK TRAN, HEAD OF BUYING AND MERCHANDISING, DOVER STREET MARKET PARIS

What’s your Real Housewives tagline?

Benjamin Barron: We did Real Housewives of Fashion

Production with friends. Mine is, ‘I don’t have to worry about my sell-through – find you at the bargain bin.’

Bror August Vestbø: And mine’s, ‘I know I’m a hard sell, but I always reach the minimum.’

BEATRICE BONINO, ARTIST AND SET DESIGNER

What do you collect?

Bror August Vestbø: Everything. Trash, mostly. We’re trying to collect less now because it’s getting out of control. But I love old underwear boxes – vintage packaging.

Benjamin Barron: We also collect garment labels. And clothes, obviously. Too many clothes.

Bror August Vestbø: The important thing is collecting things you don’t know how to use yet. For one collection, we used cookie-box lids from the 50s to make huge brooches. We had found the boxes at a flea market and had them lying around for a while before they were used.

LENGUA, PHOTOGRAPHER

You work closely with Smerz each season. How much of a role does music play in your creative process?

Benjamin Barron: Huge. Music is almost always the first thing that we collect when starting a collection. Working with Smerz has taught us a lot. They collage genres the way we collage garments.

Bror August Vestbø: Their process really mirrors ours. They experiment, combine and edit until something new appears.

ANA VIKTORIA DZINIC, ARTIST

Personally, the fictional pop star Allina is one of my favourite characters of yours. Who’s your favourite so far? Will each collection have a new one?

Bror August Vestbø: The next collection is definitely going to have a character. My favourite was Real Housewife – that character felt like a new kind of desire for me, and the idea of wanting to be a ‘bondage housewife’ was the most unexpected desire I’ve had yet.

Benjamin Barron: Allina was a really exciting character to build out, because it was about building her universe beyond the runway. We made her fictional one-hit-wonder EP with Smerz.

CORTISA STAR, MUSICIAN

When is August Barron x Cortisa happening? Sike. What type of world are you trying to manifest through your clothing?

Bror August Vestbø: Anytime, girl. Let’s make it happen.

Benjamin Barron: We’re interested in trying to build different kinds of worlds for each collection, and it’s always about the attempt, not perfection. Our characters are trying to become something they can’t quite reach. The failures are what excite us most.

NO BRA, MUSICIAN

Did you dress up or make your own outfits as kids?

Benjamin Barron: I was playing dress-up at school in princess costumes.

Bror August Vestbø: Always. My favourite was the Little Mermaid. I’d wear a sweater as a wig and a laundry bag as my tail. And no bra!

SMERZ, MUSIC DUO

Name a book that has inspired you lately.

Bror August Vestbø: The Sluts by Dennis Cooper – it shocked me. That’s a feeling I’ve been longing for, to be shaken like that.

CHASE ICON, MUSICIAN

Does size matter? Can a heel or a purse ruin an outfit just by being too big or too small?

Benjamin Barron: I don’t love a tiny purse.

Bror August Vestbø: My favourite look is no bag at all. Proportion is everything.

Honestly, my child self would have loved this. When I was little, I used to wear sweaters on my head as wigs and pretend to have long, pink hair

ISSA LISH, MODEL

Who do you think you were in another life, and how did you die?

Bror August Vestbø: No one, this is it. Let’s see how it ends.

COLIN JONES, MODEL

What would your younger selves think of the designers you are today?

Bror August Vestbø: Honestly, my child self would have loved this. When I was little, I used to wear sweaters on my head as wigs and pretend to have long, pink hair.

ALVA CLAIRE, MODEL

What’s the first piece of clothing you fell in love with?

Bror August Vestbø: I have a memory of a gold velvet purse I had when I was little – it had these tiny mirrors on it. I think that was my first obsession with a garment.

Benjamin Barron: I had rainbow Birkenstocks that I used to love as a child.

KIM RUSSELL, FASHION COMMENTATOR

Do your star signs affect your creative process?

Bror August Vestbø: I’m a Leo, and apparently a very typical one.

Benjamin Barron: I’m a Gemini, which people have strong opinions about. But we don’t believe in all of that.

GIGI GOODE, DRAG ARTIST

If you had to design a capsule wardrobe for a fictional female character, who would it be?

Benjamin Barron: That’s what we do every season!

This story is taken from the winter 2025 issue of Dazed, which is on sale internationally from December 5. Pre-order a copy of the magazine here.