Pyer Moss S/S '20

September 10, 2019

On Sunday night, Pyer Moss presented its second installment of “American, Also,” a three-part series of ready-to-wear collections which highlight the identity of African American influence in mainstream culture.

With the fading of overhead lights and the first few keys of the pianist in Brooklyn’s King’s Theatre, the Pyer Moss’s S/S ‘20 show began. Entitled “Sister”, the collection paid homage to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who is widely considered to be a fundamental founder of rock and roll, but is culturally under-acknowledged for her impact within the musical genre. However, in this moment, she was recognized, she was celebrated, she was worshipped.

Featuring Reebok by Pyer Moss, models glided down the catwalk in bright colors and bold silhouettes as a choir filled up every inch of the theatre. Creating a celestial combination, which quite literally took the crowd’s breathe away, one could hear awed gasps and cries alike. Performing a latitude of music from Tina Turner’s rendition of “Proud Mary” to Cardi B’s “Money” the 3,000 person venue seemed to quickly morph into an intimate party.

Text by Caroline Brown
Photos by Sheridan Telford

Unanimously hailed as one of the best show of the NYFW S/S ‘20 season, attendees couldn’t help but to leave with passages from writer Casey Gerald’s opening sermon ringing in our minds: “Four hundred years have passed since they brought our people to this land . . . and I’ve come here to say you can’t hurt us no more. They knew that no matter how their master treated them, no matter how the world treated them, they had freedom on the inside that the world could not take away . . . . And we are here tonight to claim our wings.”

Fashion

Gaetano Pesce teams up with doublesoul

This year, Pesce has collaborated with Gen-Z sock brand doublesoul to create socks that are comfortably confident, playfully considering the question, "What if our socks need some love too?"

Pesce creates a springtime of colours in all his work and here, distills his imaginative style into wearable ornaments for the everyday. Floral forms stem from the rim of the socks. They look like upturned tulips on fuzzy black stems. Gesticulating with the wearer, the red-hearted bulbs provide a visual ‘pop’ that keeps the hearts and knotty stalks unobtrusive and fun. You can wear these to work, on a date, or when tucked into bed.

The austere cut from doublesoul allows Pesce to play with the visual and external makeup of the sock, bringing an ecstatic vibrancy to the utilitarian everyday.

I think the socks, like a lot of things, need to express. So I thought that the socks can talk and say 'I need affection.'

Pesce shows us how a pair of colourful socks can add a touch of quirk to an achromatic sole. And in this collaboration, Pesce’s animated abstraction comes to life, fitting in the world like a glove (or a sock…lol). As part of the collection, Gaetano's studio produced 100 handmade resin heart charms that can be threaded onto the socks on rubberized strings.

Dappled hearts on socked feet. Shop calzacoure here.

Fashion

Denim Tears Opens Flagship Store "African Diaspora Goods"

Curated by Lee and Whitney Kaplan, owners of the Culver City art bookstore Arcana: Books on the Arts, the African Diaspora Goods library was assembled from the libraries and collections of numerous collectors, academics, art dealers, and publishers over the course of nearly four decades. The collaborative initiative was also partially inspired by Gates’ dedication to elevating and democratizing the public’s access to Black archival images and objects throughout his practice and career. The store location promises to bring cultural programming later this year in partnership with Emory’s budding media company, with a commitment to using fashion as a vehicle for education, storytelling, and community engagement for the African diaspora.

You can visit African Diaspora Goods at 176 Spring Street.

Fashion

Axel Arigato in a New York Minute

Axel Arigato in a New York Minute

With Axel Arigato's latest release, it's all about New York. The Onyx sneaker collection calls back to hip-hop and basketball culture with its 80s and 90s court-shoe silhouettes. And, with the brand readying for its summer launch of its first US store in NYC, who better to showcase the sneaker family than New York photography legend, Tyrell Hampton? Known for his candid snaps of New York life, Hampton has become synonymous with the carefree spirit of the city. Taking to the streets with "Bottoms" actress and model Havana Rose Liu, Hampton and Axel Arigato's collaboration paints a picture of the New York here-and-now.

Shop the collection here

Birkenstock in 1774 New York

Birkenstock's latest collection, brings us two new styles, 33 Dougal and 222 West that look like derivates of the classic Boston. Also, a very New York campaign courtesy of photographer Max Farago. Portraits of icons such as Louis Mueller, the Postwar and Contemporary painter, along with artists Coco Gordon Moore, Cassi Namoda, and Rafael Prieto, the visionary artist behind Savvy Studio and Casa Bosques, capture the essence of the city’s creative heritage. As they explore iconic New York locations, the campaign offers a glimpse into both their daily experiences and Birkenstock's heritage, with traces back to 1774.

Shop the collection here

The DNA Runs Deep: Slam Jam x Ubro

Slam Jam and sportswear brand Umbro take their partnership to international heights, blending street style with Umbro's signature Football DNA in their highly anticipated new collaboration. Featuring masked hoodies and essential anorak staples, the language of their SS24 collaboration speaks volumes, as their "Penalty Culture" capsule campaign is modeled by unidentifiable characters in a way that makes us feel like we're behind the scenes witnessing something we aren't supposed to see.

Shop the collab here

Burberry Gives Us FOMO

For all the New Yorkers who didn't immediately flee the city in the face of sub-thirty degree weather, we're right there with you, longing for the summer. And Burberry is making us want it even more. If you're not already in the tropics, Burberry's Summer 2024 campaign, set on the shores of sunny Jamaica, is going to make you wish you were. Captured through the lens of Tyron Lebon, garden flowers, summer fruits, shields, and buckles are sure to catch your eye on models Karen Elson and Sang Woo. Curated by Chief Creative Officer Daniel Lee, the campaign brought things home. Lee describes Burberry Summer 2024 as a celebration of the rich culture and influences that constitute Britishness today.

Shop the collection here

A Futuristic Fusion with Maison Margiela x Gentle Monster

By now, it's no secret that Maison Margiela and Gentle Monster make a great team, so it's only right that they give us a second collaboration. Their latest sunglasses collection brings us seventeen designs of that futuristic feel that we've come to love so much — from leather-wrapped frames to Gentle Monster's trademark silhouettes. With a campaign shot by Jordan Hemingway, we're pulled into a hyper-realistic, almost dream-like setting inspired by the transatlantic voyage that serves as the backdrop for Maison Margiela's Co-Ed SS24 Collection.

To celebrate the launch of this new line, five activation spaces worldwide are opening, serving as pop-ups for a closer look at the collection. Featuring performances between robots and humans, (not easily differentiated), the pop-ups are sure to blur the lines between reality and fantasy in the world of Maison Margiela and Gentle Monster.

Shop the collaboration here