Loulou has a particular kind of confidence. The Bucharest house that Andra Turcanu founded in 2012 puts romance and nerve into the same outfit, a rose-appliqued crepe dress one season, studded leather and shearling the next. Everything is made in small runs, which is part of why each piece feels considered rather than churned out. If you have fallen for that mix of softness and edge, the good news is that several of the designers we stock speak a similar language. Below are five names to know, each with its own accent, all of them working in the contemporary luxury register that Loulou calls home.

What links them is a refusal to be quiet. These are labels built on a signature, a hand-set flower, a sharp shoulder, a flood of print. Where they part company with Loulou, and with each other, is in the mood. Some lean darkly glamorous, some read as garden-romantic, some are pure colour. Start with the brand whose instinct feels closest to yours, then let the others pull you somewhere new.

Magda Butrym

If Loulou’s rose-appliqued dresses are what drew you in, Magda Butrym is the obvious next stop. The Polish designer builds body-conscious silhouettes around three-dimensional flowers and a heightened sense of romance, the same instinct for one dramatic gesture that runs through Loulou. The two houses share a belief that a single detail, done boldly, can carry a whole look, and both are the sort of label you buy for a wedding, a milestone birthday, the party you will still be talking about a year later. Where they differ is temperature. Butrym’s tailoring is more sculpted and sensual, cut close to the body and pitched at the grown-up end of evening, while Loulou keeps a lighter, more playful wit. If you want the romance turned up and the silhouette pulled in, browse the Magda Butrym collection.

Erdem

Erdem shares Loulou’s love of the flower, though it treats the motif as print and embroidery rather than applique, layering botanical patterns into pieces with a distinctly English, faintly historical air. Both labels are romantics, and both design clothes that reward a second look and a proper occasion. The contrast is in volume. Erdem is the quieter, gallery-going cousin, all restraint and painterly detail, the kind of dress you wear to be admired up close rather than across a crowded room, where Loulou wants the room to turn its head from the door. For a softer, more literary take on the same romantic instinct, spend time with Erdem.

The Attico

The Attico, the Milanese label from Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini, matches Loulou for sheer statement value. This is after-dark dressing in its purest form, strong shoulders, high shine and a silhouette designed to be remembered. It overlaps neatly with Loulou’s bolder, studded, going-out side, the part of the wardrobe meant for a late reservation and a good entrance. What it trades is the romance. Where Loulou softens its edge with roses and faux fur, The Attico keeps things cool, sharp and unmistakably Italian. If drama is the whole point of the outfit, start with The Attico.

Huishan Zhang

Huishan Zhang works the more polished end of this group. The London-based designer is known for refined eveningwear, lace and delicate embellishment, clothes made for occasions with a capital O. He shares Loulou’s conviction that a dress should feel like an event, though his hand is more classical and less rebellious, closer to couture manners than to studs and shearling. This is the name to reach for when the invitation is formal and you want elegance with a little sparkle and none of the noise. Explore Huishan Zhang for the occasions that ask you to dress properly.

Stine Goya

Stine Goya brings the colour. The Copenhagen label is built on painterly print and a joyful, slightly off-kilter palette, a different route to the same destination of being noticed. Where Loulou reaches for romance and edge, Stine Goya reaches for optimism and pattern, which makes it the peer to try when you want a statement that feels light on its feet rather than heavy with drama. It is the most easy-going name here, and the one that slots most readily into a daytime wardrobe as well as an evening one. If your version of a statement is a print you cannot ignore, see the full Stine Goya collection.

Part of what makes Loulou worth knowing is the craft behind it, the small Bucharest runs and the hand-applied detail that give each piece its character. If you want to understand that side of the label, read our view on whether Loulou is a luxury brand, then learn how to style Loulou so those statement pieces earn their place in a real wardrobe. When you are ready to shop the label itself, our edit of the best Loulou pieces is the place to begin, and you can see all of these designers together across our designer dresses.