Advisry FW22: Sometimes Dancing
As the lights dimmed and the show began, a musician strummed a cello as a fluttering ballad was sung. Models stepped out wearing funky button-ups, buttery bouclé jackets and slacks, and a range of knitwear and versatile outerwear. Herron even debuted a few shoe silhouettes, including sandals, boots, loafers, and an original, more utilitarian spin on the UGG ankle boot.
Even though the collection brought a menagerie of textures, colors, and materials to the runway, the silhouettes were all tied together through their symbolic motifs. The garments were graced with imagery of idols such as Donald Glover, Erykah Badu, Kobe Bryant, Virgil Abloh, Tyler the Creator, and more, Black Panther Party emblems, as well as collaborative artwork by Herron and artist Atticus Torre.
office sat down with Keith to learn more about the deeply integrated ethos behind the ebullient collection and how he has learned to take life as it comes, sometimes dancing.
The return to shows after the past couple of stressful years is definitely something worth celebrating. What are you celebrating today?
Well, it's my first show. So I'm celebrating that. My first show ever. I'm just celebrating the opportunity to be able to do so. I mean, I thought it was impossible to do this. Both in the conception of it, but also due to the pandemic, logistically. So to be able to be here today — it's 60 degrees, the mask mandate was lifted — it feels like a dream.
Today really was the perfect setting for this.
Literally, everything fell into place. I've done digital before — that's the only thing I have done and I really like to elevate each thing I do. I don't want to do the same thing twice, ever. But in November of 2020, not on the calendar, I did my first runway show in hopes to catch the attention of CFDA and New York Fashion Week. And luckily it did. Now I'm here, but we literally had no goal of anything and that's why we did it independently. So I'm very grateful this could happen.
The collection is called 'Sometimes Dancing' — can you tell me a little bit about what that means and the inspiration behind the pieces?
The name 'Sometimes Dancing' is this idea that throughout all the bullshit of life, of being a Black American, we tend to find joy in moments that seem almost impossible to have. But I mean throughout any hardship we've gone through just as a culture, we've always been the people to find joy within it and also put forward culture at the same time with our joy. Even though it may not make sense that we should be, that's probably, I would say, Black people's biggest superpower and why they inspire me so much as a Black person. The title itself comes from this song. These are actually lyrics from the song — 'Sometimes dancing can make you fall in love.' In the actual collection ethos, I feel like sometimes dancing has a double meaning in that, yes, it can make you fall in love, but also sometimes dancing could be that thing that brings you joy.
What are you hoping people leave with today after the show — maybe a certain emotion?
Well, the emotion is love for sure. That's what we want is for that emotion to be evoked, through people seeing that, obviously, this was a labor of love. We want people to feel loved as well.
Are there any highlight pieces you’re most excited about?
This collection's my first time doing tailoring. So there's four different tailored suits. There's one double-breasted, cropped coat with three waists on it. I love that set. We have the bouclé suit with the bell bottoms. Super good. I mean, we have a bunch of cool looks in there, so it's really hard to tell. I feel like this is easily, the most I've ever done, as far as the type of pieces in one collection. There are almost 40 looks.
As you said, your first independent show wasn't on the calendar, but it was your first time jumping into all of that and now you're here. So how do you think you've evolved? Personally, as well as creatively?
Well, the one really tricky part about doing things on certain scales when I'm someone who started my brand when I was 14 years old is, it's really easy to get put into a box early. And just kind of stuck there. So that's one thing that I definitely did not want — I didn't want anyone to have the wrong impression of my intentions — even though everyone takes their own interpretations naturally. But I just hate how the weight of certain decisions I made when I was like 18, can still hold on the brand. So I wanna say this collection, I want to show people that I'm really going to get into more contemporary fashion, luxury wear. Because right now, I feel like it's more categorized in a streetwear box. So that's how I would say it's evolved. And obviously I've matured. I'm not a high school student anymore, and what comes with that is different tastes.
View runway photos and exclusive BTS shots below.
