In the BLK: Black Excellence At Its Finest

It was truly a presentation to remember and a core tenet of this season’s NYFW. Amid the congratulations and praise being sung to all of the designers backstage, office had a chance to speak with Khiry’s Jameel Mohammed, House of Aama’s mother and daughter duo, Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka, and Third Crown’s husband and wife duo, Kofi and Kristin Essel. Take a look into each show and each brand’s vision below.

Third Crown

As a New York City brand, how does it feel to be able to show your work at such a prominent event — NYFW?

Kofi Essel — I mean, it's amazing. It's one of the biggest steps in anyone's fashion career to be in New York Fashion Week.

Kristin Essel — It's the dream.

This show was a really great opportunity for you guys to be able to do this with two other really powerful black designers. So how did it feel to be a part of something like that today?

Kofi — It's amazing. We're always rooting for our counterparts and our friends. Because we are friends with them outside of this opportunity as well. So us coming together to do this was incredible. We're doing this together. We're supporting each other. It's great to have that community always around you to go through such intense moments.

Obviously, a huge theme of everything today was empowerment. And I think that will probably carry on for all of you guys, through your designs, but how do you plan to continue empowering your wearers through your designs?

Kofi — One of the gaps that we saw in the industry was that traditional jewelry was one of the big things that everyone would pursue, but for us, our designs are about wearing something more bold and dynamic, but still wearing it every day. Because going back to our roots of Africa, chiefs and kings wore bold jewelry to stand out from everyone else. That's something that we translate into our jewelry as well. We make bold pieces that can be worn every day — statement pieces that empower you while you're wearing them. It's not a basic chain, it's something that's been well designed.

Kristin — Our pieces really do stand out.

Kofi — They give you that added confidence when you put on an outfit together and add those pieces; it makes you feel like you can take on the world. So that's what we envision for our pieces, and with our new collection, we incorporated gemstones that give certain elements to the person that's wearing it. That's an added bonus. You're going out there and feeling more confident and the stones are giving you everything that you feel inside.

House of Aama

How does the mother-daughter dynamic factor into your creative process and decisions?

Rebecca Henry — It works great. I mean, it's a tug and a pull, but it's good. I tell my daughter all the time, 'You know what, you're right about most things most of the time.' It's good to have a balance like that. Because it's my daughter sometimes, you know, I'll think 'I don't know about this.' But at the end of the day, she's right about most things and I have to remember that.

Akua Shabaka — We have our different strong suits. I'm more of the project manager. I can work really well under pressure, but my mom is the backbone in terms of creativity and the history and the anthology of the work that we do. Especially with this collection, it's such an inspiration of her maternal lineage. So we have to always go back to that. We work together in an interesting way. We're inspired by each other. We're inspired by our culture. And then we also respect one another as well.

I think this is something that you always play upon, but how do historical events and the black experience inform this collection this time around?

A — Yeah, it's definitely a part of our ethos, looking into black storytelling, the arts, history, and folkways. With this collection, what you're seeing is called ‘Bloodroot: Into the Archives.’ So 'Bloodroot' is our heritage collection. It was a collection that we actually presented in 2017 to a smaller audience, but it was what put us on the map. And it also presented our strong suit of storytelling and presenting the Southern narrative. So when this opportunity came, we thought, we already were presenting so many Fall/Winter pieces and we now have learned so much about wanting to expand into more colorways and bring more of our offering, you know? So for us, it was more of wanting to tap back into slow fashion and not having to create something completely new or tell a new story. But instead, to go back into our creative process and look into our archives, which is ourselves.

R — Looking into our own history too.

A — And deciding — what is our history that we want to present? And so it is the story of the blues man, the root worker, and the Southern lady again. But I think that it takes on a new breath. Every fabrication is different. We've never worked with denim before. We continue to work with silks, but now we're tapping even more into silk charcoal. We want people to look at our garments and know that it's us — the Victorian dress, the lace — we want people to know, 'That's House of AAMA.' We're trying to be really strategic about it, and I think people get it.

It's definitely working. But specifically with today's range, it really transported you. You truly got that story out of the runway show.

R — Yes; that's what we really try to do — to create a world with us. Our creative process starts with creating a world at the character, and the flora, and the fauna and we end up with the textiles at the end. We really create all the textures of our own world. And the people that populate it, the foods they eat, the music that they listen to, the whole energy and the vibe of it. The whole ecosystem.

You mentioned the music and I was excited to talk about that because I think that was a large part of the fully immersive experience. As soon as it came on, it really took me somewhere. Did you guys curate that together?

A — Yeah, music is a big part. My father was a musician and we also just grew up in such a musical home. I feel like music has always been a way for black people to tell their experiences and I connect to it. And for me, I look a lot at older music to learn about those times. I think that it just makes sense that when we present in our work, that's also telling the story. It's all a part of the experience. We were telling the production crew to focus on the music because music is the most important.

On a broader note, you got to present with two other amazing designers, so how does it feel to be championing black creatives and getting to do this today?

R — It was amazing. We're all members of In the BLK, which is the organization started by our mentor. It just feels amazing to come here and have this celebration together. We're all rooting for each other. We're all part of the same community and it feels great to put on an event together and celebrate together.

KHIRY

Can you tell me a bit more about what’s behind the collection name, “Fights Reveal Utilities”?

Jameel Mohammed — 'Fights Reveal Utilities' was my attempt to say in a few words, the more complicated idea that different strategies are applicable for different situations. And that doesn't mean even in their most applicable situation, it doesn't mean they're a complete solution to the problem. So I wanted to say that these characters — as they're entering in these strong and powerful looks — they command spikes, they command implements of potential violence, you know? Very visibly. I also wanted to, by the end of the finale, demonstrate the ways that there is an inherent self-defeating ideology in hoping to establish peace through violence.

It was so poignant and that message definitely resonated.

J — I'm so glad you got it! It definitely showed that story and that kind of paradoxical phenomenon. I know a general sense of everything you do plays upon this idea of Afrofuturism and incorporating that into each collection.

What is your spin on Afrofuturism and your take on it with this collection specifically?

J — As a brand and as an individual artist, I think about Afrofuturism as a tool to spend time thinking seriously and pointedly about solutions to the problem of oppression. Which is one of the fundamental aspirations of blackness — is to live in freedom or in a situation of greater freedom than you've experienced. So in this collection, there were some looks that referenced those more obviously futurist ideals. There was a pink look and there was an illustration on the back that was this speculative fiction, fem fighter. The idea was they were going back in time to kill a Confederate soldier and be the decisive change that moves black history to a point that we haven't actually reached yet. To a point of actual equality and actual freedom.

You got to present with two other amazing designers today. How did that feel to get to do this together?

J — Man. It was great — one, because I know the people and respect what they do. And two, just because sharing resources, whether that be time, energy, invitations, all of the minutiae that goes into making a production. I feel like I was able to focus more on some of the art and develop the ideas even further because I wasn't at the same time trying to do all that logistical stuff. I think that's my ultimate goal. To the point of Afrofuturism, and as a luxury heritage brand, it's my goal that this will be an institution that will replicate its values over generations. And that will take so much investment, for sure.

But the outcome is worth it.

J — Yeah, I'm okay with that.

You definitely had some amazing statement pieces, so what was your highlight of all of them?

J — So the one that I waited for longest, since I first had the idea and then I pined for it for a long time and worked at it, was the pink look. That was incredible to see realized. I often draw things that feel hard to accomplish. So the process of constructing these clothes in a different way was so great.

So you used new methods in this production process that you hadn't before?

J — I draped a lot of the clothes actually on myself. I really challenged myself not to cower away from the fears that can present themselves when you're working. Sometimes I'll want to do something, but then I'm scared that if I do, I won't be able to take it back. So in other cases, maybe I'd just wait and not do it. A lot of this collection's pieces were slashed.

Yes, there was a deconstruction aspect.

J — But it's also a reconstruction through this different kind of construction. I didn't learn in a formal process, but I learned at the YMCA how to make lanyards and I developed it from that. So for me, there's definitely a lot of difference in the production process this time around. I tried to accept the personal meaning of that and the personal growth opportunity that it was to just let loose and think, 'Hey man, you only live one life. This snip is not as risky as you think it is.' And more importantly, if you make the wrong snip, there is a new intervention that can present itself. I started viewing these things as opportunities, as opposed to constraints.

Fashion

Happy 424 Day!

Simon Rasmussen — What's going on?

Guillermo Andrade — Right now we're just setting everything up.

So, what are you doing, is it a party?

Well, I kind of felt universally forced, right? Because 4/24/24, I was just like, I don’t really have a choice here. The stars also just kind of aligned, so to be honest, I got this settlement that came with a bunch of clothes so I had this idea to give back to the kids who fuck with us by allowing them to buy our shit first. Not handing stuff out for free, but to do it in a way where we could skip the middleman of the industry, so to speak, and not allow clothes to disappear into the abyss of Farfetch or whatever else. So what we’re going to do is a sort of warehouse sale, which we’ve never done before so that was really exciting for me. I didn’t want to do just another warehouse sale, so it’s like a sample sale turns rager. We teamed up with Adidas and a couple of other sponsors, then drinks, DJs, and a performance.

Sick, I love it.

Yeah. My dream sample sale. Also, it’s not just hoodies and t-shirts here in there, it’s proper collections from the past three seasons. I’m also not picking and choosing, trying to make it accessible, like this was the only way I could afford to buy shit when I was a kid, bro. Sample sales were the thing I looked forward to the most.

I feel you. In New York, there's the annual CDG sale, which is when I used to cop all my CDG.

The only time I could afford Rick. I flew to New York once for a Rick sample sale and I was like, Wow, I can't believe I got invited. And it was mental. I still have those pieces. I will never sell them. Not even because I got 'em cheap. It was also just really fun. Even on the flight to New York, I was like, I can't believe I'm going to New York for a sample sale, what a fucking loser I am. But it was like the adult version of when I was a kid and I was like, Wow, I can't believe I'm 20-something and I'm still doing the thing I was doing in high school. So I hope we can create moments like that for kids here in LA.

Yeah. I love that. It’s important to connect with them; they’re essentially creating the brand. If you don't have them, good luck.

I mean, yeah. Fuck, bro. It's cool that we've been around for this long. I mean, it got a little rocky there for a second I think, for all of us. So coming out of it, tomorrow is a celebration. And it’s like an odd day of the week. It's a Wednesday, super random. And now that we've set it up, the homies are all like, Yo, I'm coming. I'm coming. Let me jump on stage, let me do this, and that's really what it's always been about. It's not some other strategy to get likes on the internet.

That’s how the best things happen, you just couldn’t help yourself. It was intuitive.

Yeah, it all came together in a really nice way.

Would you say that’s how 424 started as well? I remember we met in like 2010 on Fairfax and I was visiting with Rasmus…

Oh bro, it’s probably the time when I started the branch… do you remember Cecilia from Black Dakini? She’s the one that introduced me to CIFF and honestly, I didn’t even care what she was doing, I was just like, I’m coming, I’ll go with you. She said she’d give me half of her booth and I said, Awesome count me in. At the time, I had just gotten my green card and I wasn't allowed to ever leave America, so Copenhagen was one of the first cities I went to when I could finally travel. I mean, you see what we did at CIFF bro? It became our fucking hub for half a decade.

That was a moment for sure.

I remember the first account I got was Antonioli, and he came super gangster, being like, You're going to sell me these clothes. And I was like, bro, I didn't come to sell clothes. I'm just kind of catching a vibe with my homie and I made these things. And he's like, No, you're going to sell it to me. And then I was like, Oh my god that’s Claudio Antonioli. So then I went home, I googled wholesale, and figured that shit out. [laughs]

[Laughs]

Like you said, I couldn't help myself, but I didn't just make t-shirts and hoodies either. I was really on my Rick wave, so I made my version of the Rick things. It was that meets like The Boondock Saints, because I'm still a little bit of a Cali bro, sort of rock kid, but not really. I like hip-hop, but I like the way the rock stars look. I like the contrast. I thought it was cool. After that, I just never stopped.

It was clear to me when I first met you that you were onto your own thing in LA. It made a lot of sense, and it was so cool. It was before 424 was its own brand; you just had the store and this really cool curation.

It was all my shit, bro. I was very, very invested in sharing all of these things that I was finding from all over the world, like Astrid Anderson. She was one of those designers at the time, so important to 424. The connection to Copenhagen specifically for me was huge. I had a big fan base there. It was incredible. And then here in LA, we were sharing the things that we were a part of and finding; it was still the early days of Fear of God, Rhude, Martine Rose. A lot of these brands, we were the first store to ever sell it — we were selling Hood By Air on the West Coast.

You had Rick as well, I remember.

Oh yeah. It took me a long time. But I got Rick, bro. By the time I had to close the store on Fairfax, I already had a Raf Simons account. I had reached my ultimate dream. It was really all the stuff I wanted to wear at the time. It was dope. The best of the best.

We had an office magazine newsstand in there as well.

Oh yeah, we did! I came to visit the one you had, and I was like, Yo, I got to bring this whole fucking thing over here. But yeah, in LA, after two days people forget you exist, but everyone’s been super supportive. We’re all 10 years older now. We've been around forever at this point.

It can be dangerous to take those breaks when you’re figuring shit out, but there’s something very genuine to this comeback you’re having.

Thank you, thank you. We’ve been in and out of those fucking showrooms in Paris for long enough. I've been in and out of these factories for the past 10 years of my life. We had to figure something out. And I think now really diving in, being in Italy full time and being there to develop these products over time, I think that the whole thing just really shows the suppliers respect you more. The people who are making your goods understand why you're making them. And I think now I finally got to the place where I'm not making Italian things, I’m making my clothes, I'm making Cali-centric shit, but with that European technicality and execution. With this Fall / Winter collection, it clicked.

So what’s the vision for the next year? What are you manifesting?

I'm just fucking relentless, bro. This is the way I want to live my life. Now that we are more aligned, more prepared, and have more experience, moving forward it is just more of becoming a fully functioning company that can provide and create opportunities for all of the people around me. We’ve been operating just on instinct for a long time.

Sustaining a business is scary, trust me I know.

Scary as fuck, dog. I just opened a store next to Bottega, bro, and it’s like what am I even doing? You have to just believe in the thing you're doing more than anybody else.

100%, and it seems like that’s what you’re doing.

And fashion’s kind of a competitive sport, as much as people don’t think it is. We can reach a certain level without losing ourselves. My biggest ambition at the moment is to create something that, when you leave one of our neighbors you come into our place you don’t feel that the level has been sacrificed at all. And it’s not easy.

Definitely. I wish I could be there tomorrow.

Thank you, bro. 10 years now. You’ve always shown me so much love. We have to do a booth or have the office part of the next 424 day. Shit let’s do a 424 day in New York.

That would be sick. Let's do it. I'm here. Let’s catch up soon.

Next season’s right around the corner so I’ll see you in Paris.

Yes, see you in Paris and Happy 424 day!

Fashion

Luis De Javier's Puta Takeover

April 25, 2024

Last night with Luis De Javier, guests were overheard confirming this generation's most vital conundrum: “If I’m cunt, I can still be pussy.” “And if you’re pussy, you can still be cunt.” This sentiment echoed throughout the night as we celebrated De Javier’s first-ever streetwear collection, "Puta". We spent seven hours at Ella Funt at a dinner turned party that only he could’ve thrown (co-hosted by emcee). It was too dark for even the most aspiring-to-look-mysterious of us to wear sunglasses inside. Under the semi-oppressive flash of party photographers, we danced as much as the space would allow, drank tequila out of teacups and kissed each other on the cheeks with a vaguely European intimacy. “I’m doing streetwear!” De Javier could be heard exclaiming — whether it be in disbelief or excitement, we couldn’t tell you.

Words and photos by Izzy Capulong

The Spanish-born London-based designer has been well-loved for his genderless tailoring, latex mastery, and overall message of empowerment. Dressing everyone from ravers to A-listers, De Javier’s latest drop pushes his design repertoire to a new level. “While designing for my celebrity clientele and showcasing my creations on the runway has always been my dream,” he notes, “It’s equally important to me that my brand resonates with a wider, more diverse audience.” While this collection’s medium has shifted from corsets to sweatshirts, the classic LDJ avant-garde sensibilities remain. Bikinis and booty shorts are shamelessly emblazoned with “PUTA,” blazers are constructed with ample shoulder padding, and I had my eye on the cheekily-named “Faguette Bag.”

The Puta collection will be available exclusively on emcee.

Fashion

Nadia Lee Cohen Celebrates Paris Texas Launch at the Chateau

To celebrate the launch, Cohen and founder and creative director of Paris Texas, Annamaria Brivio hosted an intimate dinner at the Chateau Marmont pictured below. Arman Naféei entertained guests throughout the evening with a special playlist he curated for the occasion.