Standouts from this year’s fashion week.
SNOW XUE GAO
Snow Xue Gao’s flagship store in the Bowery served as the perfect backdrop for her SS23 show. The décor, a contrast of traditional Chinese motifs and modern LED signage, echoes the East meets West theme that underscores the designer’s aesthetic – plus it was cool to watch the models emerge from behind gold-leafed oriental screens. The young brand continues to showcase its evolution, and this season saw bolder color prints weaving their way into the designer’s more delicate floral foundations.
Snow’s seamless incorporation of this flashier color palette is achieved through her signature tailoring – her creative aptitude for draping and layering fabric upon fabric is limitless. Every piece from the made in New York collection is a testament to playful elegance, and to pushing the boundaries of innovation.
PH5
PH5 founder and designer Wei Lin and Zoe Champion created an under-the-sea fantasy land to showcase their SS23 collection, in tribute to the planet’s water systems. The label’s dedication to the fusion of art and fashion comes through in every detail, with the clothes this season taking inspiration from the cyanotype prints of photographer Anna Atkins, who in 1843 created a botanical monograph of British algae. Dot-by-dot artwork on this season’s knits (all made from organic cotton or recycled materials) puts forth an almost tie-dye effect, and the label’s signature wavy garments reflect the organic flow of movement underwater. Models sported snorkeling goggles and mermaid worthy jewelry reminiscent of swaying seaweed – all biodegradable and bio-plastic, courtesy of artist Caroline Zimbalist. The beauty of this underwater world serves both as a reminder of the impact we have on our waterways, and the brand’s commitment to be part of the solution.
Rentrayage
“For this collection we couldn’t help but look at where we are, at our country, our policies, our Instagrams and do some self examination. As America seeks to redefine itself amidst a backdrop of political chaos and social media the role of fashion feels intentionally delusional. Not that that’s a bad thing – now, more than ever, fashion should be an escape, a joy – still we must acknowledge the weirdness of it all. For spring we focused on joy with a side of surreal. Awkwardly mixed prints and fabrics, pieced together to create the unexpected. Colorful silhouettes in oversized cuts. Reconstructed Denim jackets with colorful renewed sleeves, upcycled polos pieced into dresses. The collection celebrates the weirdness of it all with a side of hope.”
–Erin Beatty, designer
Erin Beatty has a way with upcycling. While conceptually it’s not difficult to combine say, two t-shirts, the way it’s done makes all the difference. A poorly upcycled garment can veer dangerously towards “summer camp project”. Fortunately for us, Erin has the ability to reconstruct clothes in ways that are unexpected and both whimsical and utterly wearable. Since they are one-of-a-kind they are naturally “statement pieces” but the relaxed silhouettes and delicious details will keep these in your daily rotation –too good to save for special occasions.
Bevza
At first glance Svitlana Bevza’s SS23 collection is serving looks that are chic, strong and with undeniable sex appeal. What you might think fashion is “supposed to be”. And it is all that. But once you know that Svitlana is a Ukrainian designer who had to flee her home and country with her children (leaving her husband behind) you look a little closer and see what’s behind the silhouettes.
“Our Motherland is fertile, giving birth to the grain that feeds a lot of countries in the world, which is one of the main things that we are fighting for. “
– Svitlana Bevza
As they’ve done in past seasons, Bevza’s SS ‘23 collection references and incorporates significant Ukrainian cultural symbols, such as the spikelet, representative of wheat, one of the country’s major exports, a resource which has been greatly impacted by the war. This motif is seen in the brand’s signature spikelet jewelry, which are reinterpreted for the new collection, as well as in textures and details on dresses. Skirts and dresses in the collection also reference traditional cuts of the “plakhta” skirt worn by women when harvesting wheat. Shapes of sleeves on jackets are inspired by traditional “sorochka” blouses. Traditional crochet elements featuring the sacred star symbol can be seen in t-shirts and dresses, and the “Hustka” shawl worn by Ukrainian women is incorporated into elegant evening gowns. Ukrainian cultural heritage is evident throughout the collection.
Sustainability is one of the brand’s core values. Leftover scraps of fabric are crafted into zero-waste dresses, another approach to sustainability that takes the craft-forward process of tailors painstakingly fitting clothes onto a dress form and piecing the leftover textiles into one dress. The process of creating such a dress takes a lot of time as each piece is cut out with caring hands of tailors and then brought together into one piece.
A– Company
A—Company describes its eighth collection as a study of ties and tights – two garments that typically reinforce distinctions of gender and class. Founder and designer Sara Lopez turns these stereotypes inside out with next level twill, silk pinstripes and collared jackets that evoke an office-chic gone rogue vibe.
The sharp tailoring lends the clothes their elegant edge while rejecting everything else about corporate culture. Deconstructed silhouettes call attention to the body’s relationship to its environment and clothing’s purpose in society. Based on what we saw at the show, that purpose is to make one feel comfortable in their own skin and look damn good doing it.
MELKE
MELKE’s latest collection, “How to Act Like a Man”, takes its inspiration from Daisies, a 1966 Czech film which follows around two women named Marie who challenge the absurdities of gender stereotypes by pursuing a series of weird pranks. MELKE designer Emma Gage channels the film’s stylish chaos with nods to cinematic elements like hand-knit corn, eggs, and body-builders ornamenting the clothes. We know we know – we have to watch this movie now too.
Though they serve as a meeting point between masculine and feminine, reality and fantasy, middle of the road these clothes are not. The rich colors and dramatic, avant-garde cuts bring an element of fierceness to the surrealist whimsy of the garments, putting them in a category all their own – and we want more of it.
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