The fashion retail landscape is more precarious than ever right now, with businesses shuttering at an alarming rate and rising designers facing wild financial challenges as they battle to get their names out into the world.

It’s for this reason that it’s never been more important to support your friendly independent stores, and digital fashion platform APOC is among the best of them. Blossoming out of the dark days of the pandemic back in 2020, founders Jules Volleberg and Ying Suen have cultivated a unique space for even the smallest talents, doing away with tight delivery windows, order minimums, and the dreaded sale or return format to allow fledgling brands to really flourish.

Known for their keen eye for bizarro creatives you can’t find anywhere else, the site spans clothing, accessories, objets d’art, and brilliantly weird homeware. Designers on the roster hail from all four corners of the globe, including New York upstart Elena Velez, scrappy Milanese label Garbagecore, and jewellers like Hugo Kreit and Pia Glassworks. Scroll through APOC’s pages and, if you’re anything like me, it won’t be long before your wishlist is stacked high. Wondering where to start? Here, Volleeurg lists some of the names exciting him most right now. 

SOFT SKIN LATEX

“Fusing fetish with historical costume references, Soft Skin Latex are redefining how we wear latex. With a firm place on the London scene, their inspirations are very queer – they even worked with the Tom of Finland Foundation. Our current favourite style of theirs is the Bow Bag (made in latex of course) which, due to its material and design, is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”

BHIVE

“We don’t recommend BHIVE if you’re looking for a standard pair of shoes – they’re much more of a multidimensional design lab than a traditional footwear brand. The DRAGO, for example, has a palmate silhouette that makes you look otherworldly, while the MAGMA resembles melted lava.”

ONRUSHW23FH

“Founded by Albert Sánchez and Sebastian Cameras in September 2020, ONRUSHW23FH is at the forefront of Spanish experimental design. With materials draped over mannequins (like canvases) before undergoing a transformative journey of modification and distortion, the duo's creative process exists within a seamless integration of digital craftsmanship and 3D prototypes.”

SYLVI SUNDKLER

“Sylvi Sundkler is the alias of Matilda Sundkler. Repurposing Sweden’s wool wastage into new textiles, we love how unique her approach to sustainability is. She sees wool as being inextricable from the natural world, allowing for an intimate dialogue between material and maker. The shrinkage technique she uses is all her own too.”

SNAKE DIVINE

“Rebecca Adam was a tattoo artist for a decade before launching Snake Divine. Her love for the former is evident in the clothing and jewellery she designs from her home in Germany’s Kassel. Also key to her design process is an experimental approach to printing techniques, resulting in distinct outcomes every time.”

LA MANSO

“The acrylic jewellery she found in her grandmother’s collection was what first inspired Adriana Manso to start La Manso back in 2018. From its colourful beaded necklaces to its flower hair clips, there’s a certain nostalgia to this Barcelona brand that you can’t help but love.”

THIS SHIT BLINKS

“If ancient symbolism and liquid futurism had a baby, it would look something like This Shit Blinks. We love how Kt Ferris infuses centuries-old motifs with contemporary design, blending the past with the present.”

NICCHI

“Last year we launched nicchi´s couture-like (and priced) Boomblaster bags, but now we are so excited to have launched their new, more affordable line of unorthodox bags. Their brand is a bittersweet universe of characters – a twilight zone between luxury and Saturday morning cartoons.”

CARO CHIA

“Rooted in Malaysia, Caro Chia launched her brand in 2020 after graduating in Brighton. Her creations blend a new way of draping and sculptural embellishments in a more subtle and sophisticated way, creating a new language for unique, yet wearable garments.”

WRETCHED FLOWERS

“One of our favourite latest homeware additions, Wretched Flowers is a collaboration between Loney Abrams and Johnny Stanish. They started as a floristry studio strictly utilising wild plants, and have now become a multifaceted art practice. Referencing historical objects from a museum archive, including mediaeval items like the mace, they recreate them in a more refined and contemporary manner.”