Salt slipped through their fingers like time, like power—an unspoken transaction unfolding on the runway. At The Standard, High Line, a mound of salt rocks stood at one end of the room, a model stationed beside it, cradling a vessel of the same crystalline substance. As others emerged, they scooped handfuls, letting the grains spill from their hands—a quiet but potent gesture. This was the first clue that LEBLANC STUDIOS was staging something beyond a conventional fashion show.
The models navigated an eerily stark, salt-laden runway, a symbolic landscape that set the stage for the performance.
On the runway, salt is not merely the physical path along which the show unfolds; it embodies the dynamic circulation of power in the human narrative. The word “salary” comes from salt being traded as a currency in the ancient world. Stepping on salt while dropping some yourself, speaks on how shamelessly we feed into a cycle of economic disparity: A landlord offers workers salt, setting them on a path that squanders their, and other people’s money. –Yamil Arbage
Fragments of a spoken monologue punctuated the space, with lines like “I’m walking with style on other people’s salary” and “I’m asking for your money, I’m not begging for it” forcing the audience to confront the intersections of luxury, privilege, and economic dependency. The effect was both unsettling and magnetic—a visual and auditory dissection of modern feudalism in a world where capital speaks louder than character.
Arbaje and Beato approach fashion both as clothing and as a cultural critique. The collection drew from historical silhouettes while reimagining them for a speculative near-future. The result? A wardrobe for a world where aristocrats, laborers, and capitalists morph into new archetypes, their clothing reflecting both insolence and complicity.
Double-hemmed trousers, unfinished collars, and exposed elastics at cuffs spoke to a deconstructed aesthetic that felt intentionally raw—clothing that refuses to be too polished, too compliant. Several pieces also featured round patches from La Federación de Mujeres Cubanas, subtly nodding to the historical and political roles of women in resistance movements and grassroots organizing.
The materials were as layered as the themes. Repurposed automotive leather reinvented as oversized jackets challenged notions of luxury and waste. Hand-felted nylon ripstop subverted expectations of both material and technique. Meanwhile, the muted palette of grays, browns, and blacks, punctuated by marigold, felt both grounded and defiant. The pieces—distressed suits, high-waisted tailored trousers, and hybrid polo-trench designs—reference both historical class distinctionsandthe precarious nature of contemporary labor.
But what Other People’s Money truly excelled at was its ability to render the abstract tangible. Clothing became a site of questioning, an assertion of agency in a world where ownership and autonomy are increasingly illusory. As they state in their show notes:
Clothing, far from being a mere aesthetic accessory, functions as an embodied manifestation of one’s awareness of and resistance to prevailing power structures.
I’ve been following Arbaje’s trajectory since he was an undergrad at Parsons and this collection felt like an expansion of ideas he has been exploring for years. Yet, this was not a nostalgic revisitation of past critiques—it was a sharper, more urgent progression of an intellectual and aesthetic lexicon.
Other People’s Money is “fashion” but it’s also about the politics of fashion, and more importantly, about the politics embedded in who gets to participate in the system at all.
In an industry often accused of being out of touch, LEBLANC STUDIOS is doing the opposite: staring directly into the uncomfortable truths of power, money, and influence, and asking us to do the same. Arbaje and Beato’s distinct aesthetic combined with their intellect makes LEBLANC STUDIOS one of the most exciting brands we’ve seen.
runway photos ©Paolo Lanzi, courtesy LEBLANC STUDIOS
Credits:
Collection by Angelo Beato and Yamil Arbaje
Styling: Milton Dixon III, Styling Assistant: Ola Olamide
Photography: Paolo Lanzi
Set Design: estudio caribe / Ojeras, Set construction: Kat Bloom
Make Up: New York Make Up Academy, Hair: Unite
Production: Ojeras
Casting: Sapuis Consulting / Yamil Arbaje
Lighting Design: Hesler Garcia
Score: Akira S. Audio: Fernando Moore
Footwear: Merrell Bags: Made in collaboration with K.S Tehara Studio Hats: Binata Millinery
Consulting: Ernesto Rivera
Press: ABrooks Consulting
–Katya Moorman
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