Divination is one of the toughest of witchcraft’s seven wonders to master. It’s about seeking truths and foretelling the mysteries of this chaotic world, and in Ryan Murphy’s third (and arguably best) instalment of American Horror Story, failure to read the language of this hidden knowledge could mean the beginning of the end, at least in the case of one villainous protagonist. 

Thankfully, for Feben’s SS23 collection, the stakes are slightly less intense, though for sure equally as stylish. This season, the designer undoubtedly finds strength in the mystic, expanding on her texture-heavy universe with new, entrancing developments. “I think I’ve grown as a person and therefore my way of thinking has evolved,” Feben explained ahead of the show, “which has opened me up to a different world I’ve always found quite intriguing: spirituality.” 

Taking cues from old-age divination methods like tarot reading, The Read reveals the infinite possibilities of life’s cards by turning the wheel on fan favourites. Feben’s shiny beaded bodices evoke the work of last season with a clubby feel, further felt in strapless corset minidresses and wild-and-free micro-mini skirts. The body becomes a vessel for freedom in curved, belly-bearing shibori blouses as new textures emerge in scaly, olive mock-croc jackets and thigh-high PVC boots. 

The boys get their own shibori knit dresses, layered with jumbo bead bags and brush-stroke print poplin shirts, whilst selections from the deck formed the patterns of mesh dresses, bringing with them their own meanings and associations. Feben flexed her chops with studded accessories, echoed in graphic, asymmetric drape skirts and sharp double-breasted blazer jackets. Perverse passages from Georges Bataille’s Story of the Eye linger between seams and stripes too, begging for an interpretation that Feben does well to leave her onlookers to decipher.