New York Fashion Week wrapped up on Wednesday, but the American name that made the most noise wasn’t on the runways. The news of Pharrell Williams’s appointment to the Artistic Director of Menswear role at Louis Vuitton, one of the most coveted and influential jobs in fashion, was the talk of the town. Folks had a lot to say, and this was a frequent refrain: What does the naming of a celebrity—a style oracle, though he may be—say about the role of the designer? What do young fashion talents strive for as the role of the creative director evolves in front of their very eyes?
For those looking closely at the runways, New York seemed to have the answer to those questions in a new crop of emerging talent. Whether showing off the schedule or sandwiched in between the biggest and greatest names, these budding designers all share a common ideal to create something uniquely their own. Think less along the lines of something for everyone, and more in the neighborhood of everything to someone.
The smell of Frankincense and fresh soil set the stage for Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen’s emotive debut, a 16-look collection unveiled inside St. Mark’s Church in the East Village. The Parsons graduate and Eckhaus Latta alum reimagined the fashion show as a ritual in which models walked a labyrinth made from hand-sewn panels of linen created in collaboration with Lindsae Vallee, whom the designer refers to as a “spiritual aunt.” Whalen’s clothes are made out of deadstock and secondhand discarded fabrics she sources from anywhere from Amish country and Salem, Massachusetts to London. Her approach to silhouette and construction is informed by Victorian undergarments and pagan ceremonies—through her work she investigates how we can reconnect with our bodies. Using lived-in textiles, she cuts flattering but unconventional silhouettes: soft, malleable crinolines and panniers, corsets that protrude from the body in organic shapes, and trousers, skirts, and shirting stylized with a soft, personal touch.
You can see the work of the hand in Whalen’s collection, which is something the young designer shares with fellow off-calendar talent Sam Finger. He too uses up-cycled fabrics and vintage pieces, and in its complex and liberated severity, his one-of-a-kind, ethically produced ready-to-wear bears the signature of his New York roots. The collection captures the rawness and edge of the Brooklyn creative scene. A top with cascading ruffles was made with ribbed tank tops and the skirt it was paired with combined eight pairs of Levi’s 501s, while an oversized top coat was created out of upcycled moving blankets and lined with a duvet comforter.
Colin Locascio is also native New Yorker, though his approach is less edgy and more fun. Locascio originally launched his eponymous label online for the fall 2020 season, and has of late evolved his made-to-order business into a ready-to-wear offering. Locascio finds inspiration in everything from Lizzie McGuire and Hot Wheels to his grandmother, who was the inspiration behind his fall 2023 collection, which leans into vibrant and naive eccentricity. Prints of doodled florals come alive in mesh separates and brushed mohair sweaters, which sit next to trompe l’oeil knits, hand-embellished cartoonish flowers, and denim with a vintage appeal. Locascio embodies the quirky charm and eternal youth of New York’s downtown scene, while being unabashedly queer, a little kitsch, and very Queens.
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Nayon Kim of Nayon distills a different kind of New York energy. The Parsons graduate and former Blackpink stylist—she worked with the K-Pop superstars for their first album—presented a mostly genderless collection, her second, at an event space in Chelsea. Inspired by Brutalist architecture, Kim worked with lush wools and beautiful silks in a reduced color palette of warm grays and black. One highlight was a hulking tailored top coat with its sleeves caving in underneath its shoulders. Kim continues to produce visuals for artists including Psy, on the side. “My visual job in K-Pop right now is more commercial and follows pop trends and culture, while my collection is deeper and more conceptual and personal,” she said. That she showed at an art gallery should not be taken as serendipity—the art crowd will surely appreciate her eye for shape.
Also catering to the art crowd with her unique sculptural approach to dressmaking is Kate Barton. A recent SCAD graduate, Barton molds plates covered in metallic leather to accentuate streamlined silk evening dresses. Barton is clever, and so her sculptures are removable with magnets hidden in between seams or behind the boning of corsetry. For fall, she wanted to add “versatility and dimension” to her line by including styles that lean into the ready-to-wear space. Corsets, mini skirts, and bralettes, all accentuated with Barton’s signature shapes, might attract a younger crowd, though it’s her draping work with liquid iridescent silks that makes her one to look out for.
