Insight on The Future of Fashion

May 16, 2022

There are two big critiques of any art form: "It's not new enough" and "it's too new." There may be no form that endures this dicotomy more than fashion, a form that is both expected to innovate in design while also maintaing functionality. Imagine, then, the task entrusted to a young designer, to both reference the past, anticipate the future, and maintain form all at the same time.

This year’s FIT Future of Fashion showcase was at many points a jaw dropping and electric experience that addressed this task. The clothes and the ambition and experimentation behind them suggest a fearless future in fashion. The spectrum of what is possible and allowed in clothing making was picked apart and put back together in the form of beautiful garments by the crop of graduates. While not all garments attempted to reinvent the wheel, the energy and passion from each of the designers was evident and inspiring. The future of fashion looks bright.

Take a look at some of the looks from this year’s showcase.

Text by Saam Niami
Photos by Eric Mura

Above — Designed by Claire Greidanus

Fashion

T-Rex Is Spraying All Over I.AM.GIA

August 04, 2026

T-Rex and I.AM .GIA are striking aesthetic gold somewhere in a Los Angeles parking garage. Reimagining the clothing brand's signature silhouettes through his bold spray-painted artwork, the GIA GTA capsule collection is where the serendipity of the visual artist’s mixed-media and spray paint work meets the distinct fashion radicalism of I.AM.GIA.

Together, the two names have created a campaign around a hyperfemme, LA-based world that is glamorous, maximalist, and unapologetic. There are convertibles wrapped in cheetah print, hot pink stilettos, and fur boleros. Brightened by blinding car headlights and conspicuous bursts of flames, the scene created by I.AM.GIA and T-Rex is one that is both hot and liminal, taking place in a dark, empty garage.

This collection marks the second installment of I.AM.GIA's Gia & Friends series, where the brand invites artists, musicians, and cultural figures to toy with its iconic aesthetic. For this sophomore release, we talked to T-Rex about his work as an artist and his collaboration with I.AM.GIA founder, Alana Pallister.

Words and Interview by Selena Aiyla

Your style is rooted in graffiti art and mixed media work. How does your process adapt when the canvas changes from wall to paper to clothing?

Working on paper or canvas, I have a lot more planning involved. Every step is pretty premeditated. While airbrush and spray paint are a lot more explosive. Everything happens in the moment. I was really shitty at it when I started, and I loved that. I felt like a kid again. When classical brush works were feeling too polished, it was the raw style I’d been searching for.

Southern California is a huge part of your identity. What’s the most L.A. thing about this collection?

The snakeskin paisley print. I would get a bunch of black and white bandanas from Santee Alley and use them as canvases. The bandana, for me, has always been an L.A. thing to elevate an outfit. Adding the snakeskin texture really took it to another level.

Your signature Red Vixen makes an appearance in GIA GTA. What does that character represent for you, and why was it important to incorporate here?

Yeah, that’s ‘Her’. ‘Her’ represents a primal energy in all of us. Kind of an alter-ego at this point. Her image definitely aligns with GIA’s darker feminine energy, animalistic prints, and hyper-sexy silhouettes.

What’s your favorite thing about I.AM.GIA?

I love how they always go all out for the campaigns and the parties. How it really feels more like a family than a brand.

Alana was a fan of your work long before you got to collaborate. How did that shape the creative relationship? Did you have a lot of shared instinct from day one?

Yeah, it’s crazy how tapped in [we were]. Like one of the recent paintings I did for her home, the color scheme ended up matching the furniture and decor to a T, having never even seen that room before. Same with the collection, pieces were just flowing. There wasn’t too much back and forth needed.

Angelyne iconically built a career out of appearing on billboards, referring to herself as the “real billboard queen.” In this campaign, she sprawls above Sunset Boulevard in leopard print capris. How do bold iconography and larger-than-life characters fit into your work?

I want my work to be iconic enough to live on for generations, centuries even.

Your art is no stranger to themes like rebellion. What does this collection rebel against most?

I think just wearing the pieces could feel quite edgy for some. Like a superhero suit to literally step in and out of a character.

Fashion

EGONLAB x Eastpak Reinterpret Coquette Core

To solidify this sentiment, next summer’s collection interprets the feminine and soft “Coquette Core” through EGONLAB’s genderfluid silhouettes. The collection echoes a quote from Pierre Marivaux: "Negligence is a simulated renunciation of coquetry, yet at the same time the masterpiece of the desire to please.”

At the heart of the creative process lies the concept of liminal spaces — imaginary infinite surreal places that emerged within digital communities in the early 2000s. These monochrome labyrinths are often associated with a similar sense of anxious imposed wandering, but through EGONLAB, they become a canvas void of time or space where perceptual transformation unfolds, where past and future fuse to create the present.

The result is a collection of soft spoken colors and free-flowing forms within bold proportions and considered functionality. The silk and satin features are adjacent to sleepwear, which becomes midnight wear by the hands of EGONLAB. The most vital hour, where tomorrow is still today and possibility eagerly waits to be unleashed.

Fashion

Noah x Converse Return with a Reimagined Louie Lopez Sneaker

Earlier this Spring, Converse and Noah released their first collaborative Chuck 70 capsule collection. This time around, the two come together to hone in on a sport culture they contribute to just as much as they define the aesthetic: skating. Converse funded the fully skateable bowl that lives in Noah's Los Angeles storefront, reinventing the retail space into a gathering point for the local scene. When there's a true passion for the sport, the result is a product built with intention.

The Louie Lopez 2 features a green full-grain suede upper for durability, a perforated Converse Chevron along the sides, and embossed Noah branding on a white tongue. With borrowed lines from Converse's track, cleat, and tennis silhouettes, the foundation for movement remains preserved. Yet, the quiet branding and bold color lets the shoe stand out in the most humble and sophisticated way.