Love, Nicolaia: FW24

First stop was a Simone Perele lingerie event, where a very patient seamstress embroidered initials onto lace panties. Simone had original lingerie flown in from Paris; they were extremely pretty. When I walked into the event the PR girl had a photo sheet with pictures of all the influencers/attendees. This, of course, was tantalizing, a fleeting chance to see how the world views you. I had to know! There, smiling up from the dossier was my college ID, a goofy i-phone shot my mom took of my 17-year-old self, a photo I thought was only accessible on my personal phone and in a college database. I’ve been hacked! Those PR girls work hard!

Party starts when Ava Pearlman and Sasha Mutchnik arrive. Ava tells me she knows how the world is going to end but won’t say anymore. I love mysterious women. I invite myself on their next trip to the Banya. Hot girl schvitz. There were also experts fitting. The last time I had a bra fitting I was a senior in high school getting manhandled in a Victoria Secret. I still own that Bombshell bra. Anyway, I left without getting fitted. Sometimes you just don’t need to learn anything new about yourself!

At the Puma gifting suite I had option paralysis and got a pair of white bondage, straightjacket, knee high mostros. Taylar Herman of Puma had the best bob I’ve seen in a while. Downstairs HG digital editor Olivia Ghantous and I spot Dylan Sprouse. I have secret nonsensical resentment towards the Sprouse twins because I grew up in a Hotel and I spent my childhood fending off, “Oh, like The Suite Life of Zac and Cody? Do you get room service?” from impertinent middle schoolers. It was NOT like The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. I did NOT get room service. I didn’t even get service! Until 7th grade I had to sit down in the lobby to get any wifi.

I go to Ava Pearlman jewel box of an apartment to pick up a sexy silk dress from her new brand All The Rage.

Puma’s return to the runway was a magic show all about the Amazing Mostro. A funky freak of a shoe, with spikes and knobs and velcros, and I am glad they’ve revamped it. Next they should remake the sporty ballet flats that those Depop motherfuckers are price gouging me on. The runway had an abandoned carnival with disembodied legs suspended from a carousel and Eartheater sang as people entered.

The standout for me were the bags. First, a shiny silver soccer ball bag that clearly took cues from the iconic Dirk Bikkembergs bag. A bag of the millennium for me, right up there with Maya Kotomori’s Richard Prince LV and my beloved Girbaud Pockachu bag. Another Puma standout was a clear gym-bag for when you really want people to see your preworkout. The clothes were an uncanny valley reversal: sportswear does serious fashion, instead of serious fashion doing sportswear. As I watched models in thong bodysuits and 3D puma harnesses it made me consider the current state of athleisure. We’ve reached a confusing standstill – in the economy of the hustle do we ever have time off? How do we dress for near constant on-ness? What is athleisure anymore, when nobody really has leisure? There was a brief moment of confusion when the show ended and no designer jogged out.

Star photographer Sophia Wilson, Olivia, genius Liv and I decamped to Kikis for a carafe of white and some taramasalata. The hostess tells us that we can’t sit at the corner high-top because it’s actually for “two and a dog” and would be too small for four slender gorgeous ladies. This isn’t Kikis slander. My only Kikis slander is that I can never get a table.

Downtown at the Siren Basics Party at Le Dive softly hued mesh panties dangle from the ceiling and pretty girls danced while Miss Dylan mixed drinks upstairs.

The afterparty for Puma is hosted by ASAP Rocky at Nebula but ASAP is sick. There’s a rumor that Beyonce is coming (LOL). The parties this season have felt subdued. We walked through Time Square at night and there are no street Elmos out to play.

At Kim Shui, Maddy Crawford sported an excellent cabbage bag which reminds me of stuffed cabbage which reminds me of how hungry I am. It's an influencer bonanza and I can unfortunately identify every one of them. The only person with worse screen time than me is Adam Faze.

Gia Kuan, looking magnifique, runs around. There are Mac goodie bags for the primo guests. I sit next to the chicest woman in the country Taylore Scarabelli. Watching the editor’s outfits this season was often better than the shows. Taylore’s writing a FW diary. Matt Weinberger appears. What’s he working on? A FW diary. I admit it shamefully, I too am writing a diary. It’s a deluge of diarists. Nikole Naloy, the only person from my high school to get into Harvard, takes photographs. White fur boots and hoods at Kim Shui, white cloudlike coverings on the models, and teensy hot pants.

I meet the Olivias at a Prada Beauty launch in the newly rebuilt Dominos Sugar Factory. I have been wanting to see this space since I slept through an Open House New York tour months ago. Seeing Manhattan up from the dome makes me feel like I’m in a Roald Dahl movie adaptation. Katie Holmes is in an argument on her phone outside the elevator. Charli D’Amelio tells me, “Prada 100%. I love Prada. I am only doing Prada this fashion week.” Reese convinces Annie Hamilton and I that there's a secret extra special smoking room in the back. This, of course, is not true. Security guards yell at us for smoking in the green room. We are quickly becoming persona non Prada. As we leave we get goodie bags of a silver clutch with their new refillable lipstick.

I admit it shamefully, I too am writing a diary. It’s a deluge of diarists.

At the Vaquera x Pornhub party PR legend Kelly Cutrone manned the door. It was held at a strip club in Midtown. A resigned security guard told Liv when she showed him her camera “just… try not to get nipples.” Reader, I saw no nipples, not even my own! This was my first time in a strip club (blushing) and the leopard print interior extravaganza bore a striking resemblance to my own apartment. I did, though, see writer extraordinaire Ludwig Hurtado and writer extraordinaire Rachel Rabbit White and writer extraordinaire Nico Walker (who published a brilliant except from his forthcoming novel in Granta last week). Writer party at the strip club. A partygoer asked Liv and I if we were models. Unfortunately, this is the one week a year that line really doesn’t work. Nothing like partying with six foot gazelles to make you feel your height.

My former roommate’s boyfriend was at Eckhaus Latta which was great because he thought I was unemployed the entire time we lived together. Suck it Ian. Across the room actress Ruby McCollister wore skin colored eye patches.

One of the best games to play during Fashion Week is “What’s in my bag?” My bag is from Aynie-Bsas. Clara, the designer, started an accessories label based out of the back of her father’s leather store in Buenos Aires. She makes these perfect pouches and leather bags inspired by Argentine Gauchos and professional polo players. When you visit her showroom, you pass by rows of bespoke riding boots and saddlery. My homage to the upcoming year of cowboy and country. “What’s in my bag?” is an Hourglass lipgloss in Slip, an Armani lipstick in a color I can’t remember because the label has rubbed off, a tiny photo of Messi and unfortunately not my keys!

Eckhaus had party mules, covered in stubby glitter, a black tank with slashes at the rib that opened like an accordion as the wearer moved. Casting was typically fantastic — Bella Newman and Paloma killed with Alek Wek closing. Loren Kramar sang in the back. A live singer, while creating opportunity for mistakes, goes so much farther emotionally. Eckhaus, one of the remaining exciting NYC brands, held its line this season, with clothes that reminded me of both the joys and imperfections of having a voice. You go farther, you risk more.

At FFORME I took BTS of the models for Hommegirls (look over here hunny, to the left, to the right). Photographer Matt Weinberger, who I ran into, is looking for a Nice Jewish Girl. Natalie Miano’s client Anastasia Coope performed on a stage to the right.

I am an extremely biased party but Sandy Liang was my favorite show and I got to write the show notes for it! I saw the collection early, which gave me a head start at obsessing over the collection. Devon Lee wore my favorite, a tweed brown skirt set with a square neckline that reminded me of this one MNZ look I’ve been trolling TheRealReal for. Sandy is the most fun show of the season because there’s a real connection to the enjoyment of fashion, i.e. dressing up for the hell of it, because you can and because you want to and because it makes you feel good. Sandy feels like shopping with all your best friends. It feels like the nicest girl at your high school telling you she loves your outfit. The bows and ballet flats were out to stomp, yes, but so were perfect leather bags and structured boots and sweetly tailored skirt suiting. I went earlier in the week to the store to pick out an outfit — I know… The sweetest part of the show was watching the Sandy Liang team led by Sarah Brown poke their heads out over the crowd and watch the show. Sandy Girl Forever.

Olivia and I sat behind Marc Jacobs at Ludovic de Saint Sernin. He hit an elf bar the entire time. I wasn’t quite close enough to sniff out what flavor. Anyway; the clothes! There was a freaking grommet dress. Silver knuckles. Corset bags that recalled Galliano Dior. Anne D. shoes. A saucy studded hankie tucked in too-tight pants. Gimp masks. My favorite by FAR were the cheeky bum bum pants. They were so serious to me. I’m not one for collaborations with the dead (the collection was in collaboration with Robert Maplethorpe’s estate) but it felt more ode to a moment in New York, creatively and sexually.

Olivia and I sat behind Marc Jacobs at Ludovic de Saint Sernin. He hit an elf bar the entire time.

On the heels of Jessica Testa’s excellent NYT profile of Carly Marx where the designer announced her imminent move to London and pivot to accessories, the final Puppet’s runway was all people talked about. What would this show be like? Most striking to me were the shoes – Carly’s typically whimsical heels were subbed out for muted black Manolos. The styling was business haphazard, fur coats belted on at odd angles, pointless anklets hovering over stilettos. All in all, the show felt deliberately unfinished, as in unfinished business, as in a ghostly reminder of our failure to support new designers, of fissures in a cracked up industry. Read Danya Issawi in New York Mag PLEASE. Carly Marx will haunt NYC! And she will be back.

Back home I scrolled through TikTok and ate a weird almond flour tortilla situation. Between Mob Wife and Ballet core, it seems we’ve sartorially landed on Little Edie. A Grey Gardens revival is my prediction of the year.

Luar was at SAA in Bushwick. This means taking C to the L and then an 11 minute over an icy bridge over a train track in the dark. As Liv and I stumbled over the stairs I wondered if everybody else was doing this schlep. The answer: “no.” We arrived at a parade of black town cars. Inside Ariella Starkman commands a headset like no other, and in kitten heels no less. Vogue’s Hannah Jackson claimed she saw a glittery cowboy hat arriving… and it was BEYONCE! In BUSHWICK! Call your chiropractor, because the necks were craned. I had the pleasure of sitting next to the one woman show that is Liana Satenstein and her Stanley cup...

Luar served luxury payes, “fat shoulders” (Liana), and skirts with modern bustles. I LOVED it!!! 80’s silhouettes met Brooklyn Hasidim to revamp the sexy metrosexual. There was a gasp so loud when Colin Jones walked I couldn’t tell if people were reacting to Col or Beyonce. What a walker! One thing I adored about Luar was the vocal appreciation from the crowd. Even before the after-party it was a party! As soon as the show was over Beyonce, a silver hat in a mob, evaporated.

A fashion show is a show and I felt brands wrestling with that this season (magic, live performances, etc), especially hard to reckon with at a moment where fashion can feel inconsequential relative to the suffering currently going on. Within media and fashion, the frantic reshuffling and layoffs generate nausea. Personally, it felt like with standouts (for me, Luar and Sandy) designers committed to not just creation of spectacle, but enjoyment of vision. And there should be enjoyment in creation.

Just like Beyonce, NYFW’ 24 came and went. See you next time!

Love,
Nicolaia

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.