KROST X FILA Renno Gives Back

November 12, 2021

KROST— as cool as they are stylish, is also generous. Krost teams up with a household name in the sneaker community, FILA, to formulate comfort for your feet for a great cause. The KROST X FILA Renno is the second collaboration between the two brands that searches to keep their independent and intricate design styles.

The newest sneaker on its roster holds a silhouette that's familiar to many that are fans of the consistent collab, they first debuted this February in an altering colorway, but this time around they're inhabiting the winter aesthetic. The glacial dark blue and grey combo makes for a great staple pair in your closet, but stands out with the intricate sharp stitching around the toe of the shoe. The KROST x FILA Renno unisex sneaker was styled in mixed materials of nylon, leather, and suede, welding comfort with style. Sleek and sustainable, this colorway features recycled sock and an inside liner.

Text by Tiana Randall
Photos courtesy of KROST X FILA

The KROST X FILA Renno sneaker is just the gift that keeps on giving — KROST and FILA are vowing to donate 10% of every purchase Good Sports. Good Sports is a non-profit that aims to give all kids the lasting advantages of sports and play through providing equipment, apparel, and footwear to those most in need.

The KROST X FILA Renno Sneaker is available for purchase on November 12th at KrostNewYork.com and retails for $118.

Fashion

Inside the "Amazing Mostro Show” With Heiko Desens

February 09, 2024

Setting the stage for PUMA’s return to New York Fashion Week, on Thursday night, the Park Avenue Armory was transformed into what felt like an abandoned amusement park. Guests were welcomed into the storied New York locale by Eartheater’s haunting vocals setting the tone for what PUMA’s global creative director, Heiko Desens, described as a “moody vibe” backstage after the show.

Celebrating the reintroduction of the brand’s iconic 1999 Mostro sneaker, the presentation felt like a throwback — brimming with reimagined classics from PUMA’s archive — and an acknowledgement of the brand’s newer, more progressive audience. Energy crackled from the sway of the old-school swing ride to the sneaky spikes of the runway’s Mostro soles. As the Mostro took its bow on the runway, so too did the unexpected ensembles punctuated by elven ears and horns hinting at a world where fashion meets fantasy.

We caught up with Desens afterward to delve into the makings of this renaissance. Read below.

By Sahir Ahme d
Photography by Spencer Stovell

When you attend a show these days, so much of it feels the same. There was something about this presentation that made people curious. We had no idea what we were walking into — what part did you play in having that come to life?

We are a small group of creatives working together to come up with this entire concept — the music, set design, location all of it naturally comes together because of how closely we step on each other's territories, that's the fun part. It's really an exchange of ideas. I try to contribute to every conversation when I feel I have something to offer — I have no idea how to build a stage so in that case, I keep my mouth shut!

It must be an exciting time for you. In the presentation today, there was this exploration of identity that went beyond PUMA's legacy — every person could find something that speaks to them.

Over the last couple of years there have been big trends, all pointing in similar direction — naturally, everybody jumps at the same. We realized rather quickly that we’re so much stronger as a unit and so much more appealing as a brand if we focus on who we truly are. This is the best embodiment of that; nobody has done a shoe like the Mostro and it's such an obvious link to our legacy. We actually know who we are and we love it, we love the absurdity and the fun. That's what we feel was showcased here today.

I see that. What elements of the original design were important to preserve?

The shoe really is an authentic bring-back. Honestly, we didn't switch much up besides changing the process a bit. We looked various models from the past, and upped it in some ways — particularly with the knee-high boot, elongating its spikes. It wasn’t the biggest success back then, but that's irrelevant, we felt like it would resonate with our times; it’s a one-to-one with a–slight–tweak on engineering.

How was that ethos carried on by the 56 looks presented tonight?

We have a couple of tracksuits and apparel pieces which were initially launched in the late sixties and seventies — it’s all about maintaining the clean design, the skeleton of the body, and then adjusting that model by extending a sleeve here, making the silhouette really long and narrow or the legs really wide so they sweep the floor there.. It's all in the details, the minor tweaks. That's what makes it contemporary while keeping it timeless. You look at it and feel really good because it's a classic but it's still updated for the right audience.

Last question before I let you run off — what synergies did you find between Alastair Mckimm's styling direction and your own perspective?

Oh, that's a good one. I didn't know what to expect because when creatives come together that's what usually happens. I don't know if he would agree but he might, I felt like we have a very similar understanding of aesthetics. We looked at things, saying, “No; yes; no,” until figuring out exactly what it was we wanted to say. It was very natural, fluid even. He's very structured, he's not a messy creative. For him, a structure paves the way for great ideas, and I'm the same. I noticed that in the first hour of working together and knew that it was going to be a lot of fun.

Major, congrats again!

Fashion

A New York Love Letter, Signed By Women's History Museum

February 09, 2024

Positioned down the street from a glorious Gothic church and the heady financial institutions of Wall Street, Women’s History Museum’s propensity to surprise was on full display for their FW24 presentation. Preoccupation with covering the body was the unspoken rule of the night. It’s a central tenet of Mattie and Amanda’s observations of life in New York, “suiting up to protect those they adorn from real and imagined hazardous materials” as show notes read.

Following visual and sensorial themes of the city, the collection was soundtracked in a flurry of deep-techno by friend of the brand Amber Bradford, an ER nurse who moonlights as a muse and creative influence. Other musical heavyweights included Sausha in the front row and Club Eat walking in a bright-green ensemble and a dramatic up-do. From skin-hugging corsetry to artful bodysuits bearing script (Brisket, Loin, and Soupbone on one set), and an expansive cape connecting two models, the range of fabrication was complex. The text across pieces explored the rare dynamic that the creative team shares — a long-term female design duo in the New York fashion space.

Words Sam Falb
Photos Emma McLoughlin

“The connected dresses were inspired by our relationship, codependency, and what it means to be a merged entity,” Mattie and Amanda shared.

There was a clear exploration into the realm of the animalistic, with headwear combining feathers and other decidedly birdlike silhouettes, along with models bathed in the uniquely bright orange hue and black stripes of a tiger. A beekeeper’s headpiece was adorned in a delicate, lace veil, with the rest of the ensemble culminating in slitted tights and deliciously dramatic high, white boots. “We love to explore the aspect of being othered in society, highlighting marginalized genders, and deconstructing a living being,” the duo noted.

The brand brought together a spirited throng of longtime supporters and new converts across New York’s culture ecosystem: (artist Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo was a seat-mate, and writer Whitney Mallet was a line-mate), stylists Marissa Baklayan and Haley Wollens were present, and a splash of Hollywood talent à la Hunter Schafer and Amandla Stenberg were sprinkled in.

Barring any notion of the stoic, certain looks were greeted by impassioned cheers, and the clubby bass of the music was welcomed with head-bobs and light movement throughout the show. In a cavernous, raw space with open-floor seating and a sweeping wooden balcony around the periphery, Women’s History Museum did what they do best: creating a world that is both entrancing and welcoming, promising and suggestive of something entirely new.