Paula Gerbase is at her most comfortable on top of the mountain—both mentally and physically. “When you climb, you add or remove layers, but everything you need is in your pack,” says the Central Saint Martins-trained designer behind London-based label Gerbase. “Being able to have an entire wardrobe in one bag—completely self-contained—is so beautiful.” She realized this in 2018 when Gerbase was closing her label, a brand once known for its androgynous anonymity. Such insight is amazing. She quickly began working on her eponymous line and what is now known as Skins: a sextet of form-fitting, lightweight knitwear expertly conceived to expand and contract with infinite ease.
“For the first time,” she recalls, “I wanted to celebrate my womanhood, not apologize for it—and still be able to wear something without thinking about it.” Her newfound sense of femininity marks a departure from her trademark straight sensibility. Still, her signature commitment to functionality—combined with the high-tech tailoring skills she spent six years mastering in her Savile Row atelier—is evident in the collection’s six seamless, ribbed Stitched basics were on display: a funnel-neck tunic, an ankle-baring dress, elasticated waist shift, and a trio of crewneck tops with or without sleeves, all with fluidity. The designer herself wore the same set of morphing skins before, during, and after her pregnancy.
