Simone Ashley’s Illusion Slip Dress Is Courtesy of This Celebrity-Favorite Emerging Designer

Reported by Harper's Bazaar.

Macy Grimshaw is having a moment—the kind that typically takes years to build, except she's accomplishing it while still finishing her Master's at Central Saint Martins. The London-based designer has already dressed everyone from PinkPantheress to Emma Corrin, and last month scored a major co-sign when her "Paper Doll" design landed on Harry Styles's album art, courtesy of his longtime stylist Harry Lambert. Now add Simone Ashley to her roster.

For Ashley's London press tour promoting The Devil Wears Prada 2, stylist Rebecca Corbin-Murray tapped Grimshaw for a teal silk slip that's doing the heavy lifting of a visual gag. The dress features a printed image of a red slip overlaid on the fabric itself—creating a dress-within-a-dress effect where the printed red straps blur into real spaghetti ones. It's the kind of playful, conceptual detail that explains why established industry figures keep circling back to this emerging talent. According to Harper's Bazaar, Ashley paired it with chunky silver earrings, deep royal-blue heels, and a high ponytail for maximum impact, plus sunflowers as a final touch.

The Bigger Picture

What's notable here isn't just that a student designer landed another high-profile placement—it's the caliber of company she's keeping. For the rest of her press tour, Ashley moved through vintage Thierry Mugler, Versace, and Jil Sander, alongside recent drops from Issey Miyake and Marni. Grimshaw didn't just get a moment in that lineup; she held her own. The throughline across Ashley's entire tour suggests her stylist was intentional about mixing legacy fashion with fresh design voices, which is increasingly how the industry signals what's next.

The fashion establishment has always relied on student designers to inject novelty into the system, but the speed at which Grimshaw has moved from art school to celebrity dressing—while still enrolled—speaks to something else: a real understanding of concept over trend. Her work doesn't read as trying too hard to be cool; it reads as intelligent enough to make people look twice. In an industry obsessed with "emerging talent," Grimshaw's already emerged—she's just not done with school yet.

Read the original at Harper's Bazaar.