Bode Creates Timeless Styles for Today’s Fashion Lovers
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Recently, Mick Jagger shared a holiday message on Instagram, donning a striking deep red paisley shirt adorned with canary yellow and inky black details. The shirt exuded a nostalgic glamour, perfectly complementing Jagger’s bohemian rockstar persona. “Maybe he got it for Christmas,” quipped Emily Adams Bode Aujla, the creator of the garment and founder of her eponymous label, Bode, during a Zoom conversation from Paris.
Since the launch of her New York City-based brand in 2016, Bode Aujla’s designs have captivated a diverse array of celebrity figures, including Harry Styles, Jordan Peele, Bruno Mars, and the Jonas Brothers. “With his tour,” said Bode Aujla, “Harry was signed with Gucci, but he’s one of our most loyal Hollywood customers. He wore us a lot off stage. We’d wake up to paparazzi pictures.” This success has helped Bode build a significant following among avid fashion enthusiasts and style-conscious consumers globally, all drawn to her clothing that resonates with a “sentimentality for the past.”
Harry Styles wore a lacy Bode shirt while out with Olivia Wilde in New York City, 2022.
Examples of Bode’s offerings include colorful quilted workwear jackets, blousons featuring 1940s-era Hungarian appliqués, lightweight chemises showcasing prints from 1920s French textile mills, and whimsically hand-decorated corduroys, including one famously donned by Styles in Vogue in December 2020. Many of Bode’s pieces are one-of-a-kind creations, crafted from deadstock textiles and vintage garments, while others highlight historical reproductions with meticulous details such as buttons and seaming.
Despite a grounding design philosophy, Bode’s collection occupies the luxury market, with quilted jackets priced between $1,000 and $2,000 and two-toned embroidered socks at $250.
“We speak to material and technique,” the designer stated. “What we do really hones in on the idea of the preservation of craft. You wouldn’t necessarily think of the silhouettes as dated, but there are labor-intensive techniques we put into the clothes that are definitely from a different era.”
Bode evokes emotion through the reworked vintage garments and historical reproductions of 20th century clothes.
An Emotional Connection
Bode Aujla’s designs resonate with personal and emotional narratives. Her creative process explores themes such as remembrance, family dynamics, and domestic settings shaped by her experiences primarily across the Eastern United States. Born in Atlanta and spending significant time in Massachusetts, her childhood memories—especially those of a family home in Cape Cod—deeply influence her work. Bode Aujla’s passion for vintage clothing began early, enriched by the stories shared by her mother and relatives. For instance, in her Spring 2018 collection, she traveled to Peymeinade, France, to visit her uncle’s mother, who recounted her own childhood experiences. This narrative inspired a collection featuring toweling fabric and old duvets, among other materials.
Her designs are heavily influenced by her own life and family history.
Bode Aujla’s work aligns with contemporary trends as a leader in ethical fashion design. As upcycling gains popularity, her label remains ahead of the curve, even as its designs are not dictated by fleeting trends. The aesthetic favored by Gen-Z notably draws inspiration from decades past.
In an exciting development for 2023, Bode Aujla has introduced womenswear to her repertoire, unveiling the new collection alongside her latest Fall-Winter menswear line at Paris Fashion Week.
This new line features historical reproductions of 1920s dresses and 1940s gowns, along with reimagined 1970s garments lovingly preserved and passed down by Bode Aujla’s mother, Janet. “This first official womenswear collection is about my mother and a really specific time during her youth in Massachusetts,” Bode Aujla explains. “She had a job as part of a seasonal staff at a home in Cape Cod, owned by an elderly woman who would dress in full evening wear every night for dinner.”
The label unveiled its first womenswear line at Paris Fashion Week.
The collection also showcased a stunning gold sequined coat, a champagne-colored bib-collared dress, vintage-inspired embroideries on cardigans and jackets, and even Western-themed fringed suede, marrying ambition with a nostalgic vision that spans decades.
While Bode Aujla draws heavily from personal experiences, she recognizes that emotional connectivity, fostered through introspection and family narratives, resonates universally, transcending her unique heritage.
This profound connection is evident in her brick-and-mortar boutiques, one located in New York City and the other in Los Angeles. With a design aesthetic reminiscent of living rooms, the LA store leans more academic, while the New York version exudes intimacy. As part of her 2023 strategy, she plans to open a third boutique in either the UK or Europe.
“We’ve experienced tremendous growth because of our retail stores,” Bode Aujla noted, adding that many customers have formed a loyalty to the brand, drawn to the deeply personal nature of the clothing once they experience the garments firsthand.
