Chopova Lowena is always a highlight of London Fashion Week . The brand‘s annual show is more likely to put a smile on your face than any other, which is ironic, considering they usually have pretty dark references and models stomping around like angsty teengaer.

This year, the second greatest moment of the season so far came when a schnauzer walked the runway wearing sunglasses. The greatest moment came immediately after, when that same schnauzer refused to go on, ignoring the model as she pleaded for cooperation.

For Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena’s SS27 show, the duo hired out a central London bowling alley and filled it with witches, wiccans and enchantresses. Their latest collection was all about otherworldly beings, inspired by characters from Slavic folklore, as well as nymphs, water spirits, ghouls and vampires (they even played Paramore’s “Decode”, a song written specifically for the Twilight soundtrack).

We could break down the references for you, but this season, we thought we’d let the designers themselves do the talking. Below, Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena walk us through their SS27 show in five references, from bowling to Baba Yaga.

“We were looking at characters from Slavic culture who were there to enforce rules pre-religion. They’re usually sinister characters, like Baba Yaga [an ogress and witch] or a woodland witch that would discipline children, or Kikimora the house elf or fairy, who would keep the house in order.”

“As in a bowling strike, because the collection was inspired by bowling [and was hosted at Bloomsbury Lanes bowling alley].”

“Because ‘Monster Mash’ the song was part of the soundtrack. We had a lot of fun doing the soundtrack, it’s a real hybrid of all of our inspirations. It’s a cluster of overlaid titbits and references – songs that are either nostalgic and remind us of something, or just perfectly align with the energy of the collection.”

“Neon dog refers to our chihuahua, Nikita, who walked the show in a big green neon puffer jacket. She’s over-protected against road accidents – and she’s really cute. We loved having dogs at the show, we love our dogs. We’re so passionate about over-protecting them.”

“This refers to our collaboration with Dr. Martens . We feel like this is such a natural collaboration. We have genuinely worn Dr. Martens all of our lives and it’s such a great fit. We had so much fun designing them. There are nods to Western, distressed and studded leather, tartan, folkloric stitching, charms, and a real rich mix of materials. So yeah, boot-up!”

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