Your Faves Favorite: Meet Feben
NEW YORK, United States — While the Renaissance World Tour may have concluded, the global Beyhive have been in eager anticipation for the concert film that drops this week on December 1st. For the eagle-eyed journalists who clocked every custom look from Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour, you may have noticed that there was a new crop of designers making their mark on the main stage. Besides the mega watt brands pulling off bespoke couture for Mrs. Carter, this new class of emerging creatives included Maximilian Davis of Ferragamo, Ib Kamara of Off-White, and relative newcomer Feben (behind her eponymous label). Her mixed metallic encrusted look graced the RWT stage in Amsterdam this summer and brought a major spotlight to this young UK brand.
Beyonce in Feben / @feben.x
The rest of Feben’s celebrity roster is as eclectic as you can imagine — from Kelela and Jorja Smith to Erykah Badu and Michaela Coel — these women represent a new wave in music and film pushing the boundaries of what was once considered ultra-feminine or subversive and everything in-between. She’s even dressed Ms. Lauryn Hill for her ground-breaking 25th Anniversary Tour. The aesthetic is supremely figure flattering with a twist — fundamentally supported by her use of technical fabrics. There is a wrought-ness that enhances the body (versus overwhelms) and the varied textures and printed overlays have steadily become a signature trademark. It’s a powerful way to cultivate a singular voice in a sea of sameness.
Feben / @feben.x
Founder Feben graduated from Central Saint Martins during the pandemic and she counts Ib Kamara (stylist extraordinaire) and Liz Johnson Artur (legendary photographer) as close collaborators. If you were to look at her works from earlier years, in particular her masters’ collection, ‘it’s not right, but it’s ok’ the designs have only matured, which goes to say that persistence and pivoting are mandatory ingredients to survive in this business.
On a deeper level, her works deal with nomadism and surrealism in a way that has its own meaning from a diasporic perspective. Born in North Korea to an Ethiopian mother and raised in Sweden, Feben brings a multifaceted perspective that resists constriction. She has even lent her talents beyond fashion into costume design for “Brown Skin Girl” on BLACK IS KING. With stockists including ssense and Browns, Feben is well on her way to building a formidable business.