MARKGONG; ALMOST, baby

Fashion

THE SPECTATOR by UNIFORM Stages the Surveillance State

September 17, 2026

Betsy Johnson brought the bleak machinery of northern England to New York for THE SPECTATOR, a performance and installation that swapped the runway for the polling station. Presented through UNIFORM, Betsy rebuilt the sort of fluorescent lit council buildings we all know: queues, clipboards, plastic chairs and the general feeling of waiting around to be told what to do. The cast was pulled together by Studio DAX, who have always had an instinct for finding people on the street rather than through the usual agency circuit. It meant the room was filled with people who actually felt like they belonged there, rather than models playing the part. Hidden beneath hair sculpted by Charlie Le Mindu, the anonymous moved through the space wearing existing UNIFORM pieces alongside one offs, passing through the motions of democracy like people moving through a system. As we do.

There’s something particularly English about the bleakness of it all. Municipal furniture, bad lighting, repetition and the strange seriousness of mundane spaces. But underneath that familiarity is something less comfortable. THE SPECTATOR looks at the gap between being given a voice and actually having any power, and the point where watching, being watched, following and choosing start to become difficult to separate.

As Betsy herself asks: “Who is watching, who is being watched and at what point does observation become participation?”

The sound of it pissing it down filled the room. News reports from the UK and America played alongside moments of “American Idiot” on violin and “Policy of Truth”, pushing the whole thing somewhere between local authority ritual and post-punk performance. Nothing really resolves, and perhaps that’s the point. You watch, you wait, you participate. Then you go home.

Words by Madison Minton
Photos by Krischan Singh & Dani Aphrodite

Fashion

Advisry’s “America, Still” Looks at a Nation on the Edge

September 17, 2026

Advisry returned to New York Fashion Week with America, Still, a collection by designer Keith Herron that examines the current state of the nation through the lens of 50 years ago. Narrated by the voice of James Baldwin from 1969, the show unfolded across three acts, moving from reaction to dignity and, ultimately, transformation.

Herron’s latest collection documented the tensions of a country approaching its limits, exploring the characters that emerge in moments of collapse; those who react, those who cope, and those who transcend.

On the runway, sequined basketball shorts and evening gowns came together in a collection that moved between sportswear and the more theatrical dressing that we’ve come to know. The brand’s familiar hand-shaped pockets brought a nice detail to the collection while furry gloves and pearl masks covering the models’ faces offered something more surreal to the looks.

Accessories played an important role, too, with models carrying beautiful bags that stood out alongside the clothing. Across the collection, familiar American references were reworked through Advisry’s distinctive approach to craft, sartorial precision, and cultural storytelling. Casualwear, formalwear, and exaggerated accessories existed side by side, bringing a sense of contrast to the collection without feeling out of place.

Founded in 2014, Advisry has grown from Herron’s teenage project into an established New York fashion house. With America, Still, the brand continued that approach, using clothing as a means of examining the cultural and social pressures of now while looking to the past for context.