Julius and victor juul’s heliot emil is the master of utilitarian, futuristic, form and function-focused attire. Building its brand on such codes equates to a loyal following, one that yesterday turned out in force for the brand’s spring/summer 2023 show, “primal substance.” 

Taking inspiration from bill viola’s art piece martyrs composite, the juul boys look at how water, earth, fire and air can impact and influence the body. Through fabric manipulation and technological studies, heliot emil offers heat-reactive fabrics, water resistance, and more nuanced design details like creating seams inspired by the contour lines of the world, or inflating pieces in wind tunnels. Nothing is too avant-garde for heliot emil, a vanguard that has previously explored liquid metal-effect clothing, and today, a collaboration with alpinestars, known for its motorbiking apparel.

This combines with a new house scent — “dawn 2.0” — made in collaboration with stockholm’s unifrom, and it too explores themes of the show. This is packaged and presented, for the show, in a heliot emil perfume bag, naturally capturing the brand’s aesthetic in a leather and metal mix belt holster.

As for ss23 itself, music produced by ai set an eerie tone for the explosion to come. Lights on, models descend.

Rubber shoes, heels clad in metal, knee-high boots and that alpinestar collab came with force, bolstered with motorbike cues like shoulder reinforcement and padding. Wind was referenced in the ruching and folding of leather for biker jackets, earth through the aforementioned seams and also zippers, a strong visual for the brand.

Anonymity in the form of full-face coverings (à la balenciaga) lead into a second act: with a sudden stop, and subsequent mood switch, a choir came down the steps in custom metallic reflective silver hooded gowns to perform their number.

Returning to plan, piercing ai techno welcomed denim pants and satin tops, as well as a full alpinestars body suit seen alongside a new structural heliot emil bag.

The laser-cut fabric was seemingly a part of the trousers it hung from, displaying the house’s logo. Likewise, it was used for a hook for tops and bras, bag charms, and sling hooks too.

Together, the juul boys presented a clean and confident follow-up to their work before, doubling down on house cues while honing in on what makes it unique: the wearability of what could seem so far fetched, but is in fact, the new vanguard of techwear and more.