Nobody does whimsy like Thom Browne — FW23 was an ode to The Little Prince, FW22 hosted 500 bears in suits. There is always a sense of wonder that fills each of his shows. This season, stars like Janet Jackson and Queen Latifa were spotted in their own Thom Browne uniforms. But, a Poe-inspired show called for a much darker, Grimm brothers-style atmosphere. Ironically hosted on Valentine’s Day, the poem itself told the story of a grieving lover. And with fake snow and an imposing model on stilts dressed as a tree in a 30-foot puffer coat, the scene was undeniably spooky. Bewildered children emerged from under the coat, also dressed in their Thom Browne best. But, Thom Browne’s collection reminded us that Poe, while writing of grief, was still writing of love.
Jamie Anderson once said, “Grief is just love with no place to go,” and Thom Browne’s collection could be read as a lover’s tribute. The silhouettes were romantic and decadent — with crow motifs, hints of gold, and plush draping. Hair was gravity-defying, oversized pieces reminded us of what it was like to be a kid playing dress up in our parents’ closets, and Browne ended the otherwise heavy show by jogging over to his partner and gifting him a comically large heart-shaped box of chocolates.
How long have you been a stylist, and how did you end up a stylist?
I’ve been a stylist now for probably ten years. I was an intern at Interview Magazine – actually before that I was an intern at Us Weekly. I would do the ‘Who Wore It Best’s and I would just lie and choose for myself. Then I started working with Karl Templer for many years, and I started doing things on my own about a year and a half ago around when I started Look One, which was almost exactly a year ago.
So you knew from the beginning of your career that you wanted to be a stylist?
I didn’t even know what that was! I sort of knew the names of people from that book ‘Stylist’ [Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion] that Vogue put out but I didn’t really know what it meant. I remember people saying ‘oh, that’s good styling, or that’s bad styling’, and to me they looked exactly the same, – I didn’t have a trained eye. But I developed it over time, and really working with Karl, I always say that experience was an education equal to if not greater than going to college.
So right after working with Karl, you started doing your own stuff, pulling away from assisting…
I became the fashion director of Karl’s company around six years ago, and was doing a lot under the umbrella of the company. I would do fashion shows in China and Italy, and do a lot of consulting work… then I decided it was probably time to try something else, and from there I thought maybe it would be cool if I took the picture too. I’m such a chronically online person, so how do I turn that obsession into a healthy hobby, rather than a mind-rotting hobby?
Look One integrates a lot of familiar ideas of a fashion platform, but is unique and unlike other types of blogs or personal styling projects – Where was your head at when you decided to start this project?
I felt that everybody I knew was interacting with fashion photography first and foremost on their phones. So, even if you were someone who went to the newsstand, you were probably seeing the pictures before on your phone and getting into it that way. The other inspiration was really Wordle – you know the word game? I love Wordle, I still play it everyday, and I think the reason I still love it is because you can only play one a day. I felt there is this intrigue of, what’s gonna come next? Is it a model I know, is it a model I don’t know? What’s the look? What’s the style? And that was really the genesis of it. As I became more confident as a photographer, I became more ambitious, and started going outside, and making sets. But it was really to feed what I felt was an obsession with looks. Even when I go on dates with guys, they’re talking about fits and their fit-pics.
There’s something intriguing about it being a one-off thing.
And people are obsessed with it. People care so much more about the outfit than the photograph.
As a stylist, I’ve been wondering how you’re logistically pulling this off. Are you pulling from brands and PRs?
Yeah! I’m pulling from people. Almost everything in the show is from a designer that leant. It was harder in the beginning, and then it became easier as people saw the work. When I do a shoot, I typically do it over the course of a week, and do like ten models a day every day. I’ve actually only done five shoots, and that’s lasted me the year.
That’s crazy… and you’ve done how many looks total?
I’ve done 275 looks total.
And you're casting it…
Through Anita Bitton and her team at Establishment. And then every so often I see people on instagram who I think are cool, and I’ll ask her to look them up.
It’s funny, because I was under the impression that you were shooting way more constantly.
I mean when I do it, it takes up a month of my life. And there have been so many contributors that have been really helpful, but at the end of the day it’s really me. Like I’m really the only one, there’s no producer that helps. So it’s a full time gig.
Still though, you’re pumping out so many looks in that short time period of a week or so… how do you avoid creative burnout?
Without sounding cocky, that isn’t a challenge for me – that is the easy part for me. There are so many outfits, there are so many styles… it's exponential! And everything is changing constantly. Even at an event like tonight where someone turned up who had never heard of me before but saw it on instagram from Miami and just happened to be here… I have a lot of people who are inspiring me in this process. I saw somebody on the street in fucking Disneyworld, and wanted to copy that outfit.
To me, you’ve created a sort of dream scenario as a stylist, because you have a creative laboratory that you get to experiment within.
It’s purely selfish. It’s so indulgent. I look at the walls [in the exhibition] and I feel like they’re just little pieces of candy. I’m so thrilled in that sense, and it’s delicious – that’s the best word I can think of to describe it.
Where did you start – what was your first LookOne look?
I know exactly what she was wearing – a black asymmetrical MM6 dress, and she had a glove going through the dress. I did around thirty days of it before I really told anyone, so then when people looked at the account they would think ’oh, shit’. The launch day was Alex Consani as a bride, and then from there it more became this process of doing looks. Sometimes when you’re doing a shoot, you’ll like the fitting picture against the white background more than you like the actual fucking shoot. So at first I was going to print the pictures out, scan them, number them, write the credits on it. But then I started to get more ambitious because I’m a Virgo, and I wasn’t just going to leave it at that if I could get better.
So from your first look, because you have been experimenting in such a large capacity, do you feel like your style in your other work or personal style has been influenced?
Not really. The way I dress is so uniform, I have a silhouette that I really like, and I only wear Alaïa – that’s my thing. In my other work, still not really… I think it’s very instinctual, and I’m always thinking about what’s going to make an interesting picture. What’s helpful is being so inspired by the cast. There’s a symbiotic relationship of Anita and her team sending me all the models that are in town, then getting to fit those people into my little fantasy world. I’m so lucky that so many people have wanted to partake in it.
What is one look that you felt was a turning point for LookOne?
I think the biggest turning point was when I started shooting outside. Originally all the looks were being shot against white, but when I started going outside I thought ‘Oh my god, this just got so much easier,’ because I could work better with natural light, and didn’t have to be so concerned with getting the lighting right.
How did you decide to curate this exhibit and showcase everything in this way?
So, I knew I wanted to do an exhibit, and putting it on the wall made me realize – it kind of is a moodboard. I didn’t want to treat it too preciously in part because I love the feeling that I’m walking into a teenager’s bedroom. Also because a lot happened because of naivete – I’m not a trained photographer, so this is the first time I’ve printed anything, I had to learn how to size things correctly. I think it suits the nature of what I’m doing.
So what was Devon’s role as curator?
I’m friends with Devon Lee Carlson – I love her vibe, and I think she is a curator in so many senses of the word. She’s so thoughtful in that sense, and she is so much more than an influencer or model. She has her finger on the pulse in a very exciting way. From there we had a dialogue and whittled it down to 200 pictures texting back and forth. It was really about having the conversation of who are her favorites, what excites her, and inspires her. She has been a supporter from day one, before Alex [Consani].
Does she have a look?
Yes! Her print is up downstairs. That’s coming out, probably in a week. There’s a print of Sydney as well, her sister.
Talk about the community that you have built around LookOne working with so many people in such short spans of time.
The community has been the most unexpected joy of this entire thing. When I do this, it’s just me and the model a lot of the time if we go out on the street, and we get thirty minutes to an hour of uninterrupted face-on-face time. I’ve met so many people with so many different and amazing life stories. Another great joy has been meeting a lot of women who are older, and getting to hear about their lives as models when they were much younger, if they shot with Avedon, if they shot with Newton… I also have tried to make a point of shooting women of different ages and women of different sizes in ways that maybe other people haven’t tapped into, making sure that they are being seen through the lens of fashion with a capital F just like everybody else. The whole thing has been about fashion with a capital F, that’s what I like.
What do you see coming next?
I feel the sky's the limit, I won’t rest until I have complete world domination. A lot of people tonight have been giving me a lot of inspiring ideas about whether I should do a book, or if I should take this on the road, and I’m open! Give me a call.
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.
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.
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
