All bad controversy brings good publicity; well, sometimes. At Los Angeles Fashion Week, Nicholas Mayfield took the bull by the horns. “A black man created all this commotion,” stated Khyran Shank, local multi-talented artist. Leave it to Nicholas Mayfield to never shy away from art that best explains his life revelations.
“Nicholas Mayfield will be debuting the piece that was copied by Gucci” whispered Ann, an LAFW volunteer. 2019 is promising to be the year that high end luxury brands and designers have challenged consumer loyalty. Mayfield’s bold contemporary designs and “happy art” create a worldwide vision of intent and purpose. #SupportTheRealArtist. After a recent Instagram clapback at Gucci for stealing his designs, Mayfield debuted a collection that spoke volumes to the artists who have, and still are, having their work copied without proper recognition.
Nicholas Mayfield’s fall 2019 collection was by far the most anticipated show at Los Angeles Fashion Week. Not only a designer, but a true artist, Mayfield’s unique and diverse form of expression is an ode to kaleidoscope colors, graffiti aesthetic and Afro-American culture. From artistic canvas, furniture and unconventional pieces, Mayfield’s front row access included quirky social messages, an acrobatic performance, and his twenty-plus eccentric guests.
Mayfield has made a statement in the fashion industry for his diverse interpretations and pop culture hand-paintings. Revealing the evolution of past generations, Mayfield’s repurposed pieces embrace diversity, the “15 minutes of fame” era, Black History Americana, and the American Dream.
Photos courtesy of Nicholas Mayfield
As the hottest old school jams played in the background, Mayfield transformed the runway to the ultimate experience; integrating his intimate behind the dreams preparation and widescreen fashion film. Leaving no color untouched, Mayfield’s color palette was colorful and fun with the focus on his first love as a kid, art.The first look of the collection featured a popular-by-demand oversized streetwear puffer coat. As the collection continued, his evolution evolved to hand-painted models as butterflies and head-to-toe prints and patterns.
—Courtney S. Wilkins
Gold hardware screamed hip-hop culture and was fit for a Cardi B music video, while jewel tones, sequins, and sparkles were fit for Vegas showgirls in the absolute best way. The line-up of celebrity and influencer models also included Lion Babe, Karrueche Tran, Aquaria, MJ Rodriguez, and the Clermont Twins.
The selected celebrities really spoke The Blonds’ client base—super sexed-up musicians and influencers, glamorous drag queens, transgender, and gender non-conforming who want a lot of sexy sparkle and sequins. The show was closed by none other than one of the originators of hip-hop, Lil Kim.
Lil Kim who strut the runway in a gold sequined jumpsuit with a plunging neckline as she performed “Go Awff” and her classic hit “The Jumpoff”. As always, The Blonds show was a party fit for a music video. It’s no wonder pop and hip-hop stars continue to gravitate toward the brand, they complement each other well.
It was unclear as to whether or not Zang Toi’s fall 2019 runway show was supposed to be a fashion show, a fundraiser for the RNC, or an homage to Donald Trump’s America. It would be easy to assume the latter, given that Donald Trump Jr. was seated front row at the show along with Trump Sr.’s ex-wife Marla Maples. Affluent Republicans at fashion shows where the clothes are marketed toward Upper East Side society women and Texas oil wives is nothing new, but what followed was a runway show almost fit for Mar-A-Lago.
Once his efforts to appeal to millennial consumers fell flat, Zang Toi moved on to what he does best, evening wear fit for a gala. The color palette for this season’s collection was red, white, and blue in honor of the American flag. Models walked the runway to songs including “God Bless America” and “God Bless the USA.”
The audience could be seen singing along to “God Bless America” as though they were at a political rally. Gasps and awes began when a dress with a sequin pattern of an American flag on the skirt made its debut, and the fanfare of the audience could be heard when the finale look, a black dress with a floor length, sequined American flag shawl attached, closed the show.
No fashion brand gets more inclusive than Chromat. However, sometimes that is not a good thing. Chromat has made a statement in the fashion industry because of their architectural, geometric, revealing collections that embraces sexual diversity, fetish, and the avant-garde with a fashion-forward sensibility. For the past several years, Chromat founder and creative director Beca McCharen-Tran has really sought to include models of all body types, sizes, and sexual distinctions in the brand’s runway shows. For the most part that projection has been successful; however, for the fall 2019 collection McCharen-Tran’s attempt at an all-inclusive runway show was a dramatic fail.
Inspired this season by tropical locales, this collection looked more like a swimwear collection or at the very least a spring/summer collection. Still, this collection does make sense if a consumer is looking to transition some of the garments in this collection from workout gear to a breezy cocktail party in the tropics. Fortunately, this is what the design team at Chromat intended. And in that respect this collection was credible.
Bibhu Mohapatra is back!! After not showing during New York Fashion Week: The Shows (NYFWS) last season, many wondered if Bibhu Mohapatra would show for the fall 2019 season and if there were adjustment at his brand that caused Bibhu to opt out of showing for the spring 2019 season. (Fashion insiders were aware that were some shakeup at the brand with a change in Bibhu Mohapatra’s PR team.)
For the brand’s 10th anniversary season, Bibhu Mohapatra was inspired by his sojourn to Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland. Experiencing the beautiful gardens that were designed by the Marchioness of Londonberry in the early 20th Century, Mohapatra was able to marry the intricate beauty of the gardens with the textured fabrics and embroideries inspired by the paintings of Peter Beard.
With this collection Bibhu Mohapatra is bringing glamour back to NYFWS, something has been sorely missed from NYFWS for several seasons. And Mohapatra’s distillation of glamour and youthful charm is what fashion should always be, now and next. And this collection has now and next to spare.
For fall 2019 Dennis Basso was inspired by and dedicated his collection to that vibrant New York City fashion girl. Every woman, at one time, wanted to be her; wanted her style and charisma. And though the song that celebrated her came out in 1977, the New York City fashion girl is still an industry icon, setting a standard of fashion-forward sensibility and innovation.
Dennis Basso’s fall 2019 collection is perhaps his most youthful and vibrant collection without abandoning his design aesthetic. Known for his acumen and craft when it comes to manipulating fur pelts, Basso’s collection can easily sit more comfortably with a more seasoned consumer. For his spring/summer collections, Basso admirably attempted to redirect his design aesthetic for a younger consumer; however, Basso’s fall/winter collection often lack the youthful vim and vigor found in his spring collections. Many fashion pundits identify his use of fur as the dowdy culprit.
That said; Basso has not left his base in the dust. There was more than enough luxury stimulus in this collection to satisfy his tried and true customer. And if leopard print gets your heart racing, Basso had more than enough to satiate your palette.
Standout looks in this fall 2019 collection include Basso’s tweed trench coat with fox fur, crème shearling jacket with zip sleeve, mink and nylon leopard coat with hand-embellished mini dress, sienna python jacket, and cashmere coat with floral and python applique.
Self-Portrait designer Han Chong, otherwise known as Mr. Self-Portrait, has created a brand best known for its femininity, floral patterns, colors, frills, and ruffles. The brand, perhaps, is fashion’s ultimate feminine expression. While it didn’t quite tread the line of maximalism, the fall 2019 collection was definitely colorful and fun. However, for fall 2019, Chong scaled back the brand’s design aesthetic quite a bit and decided to do his take on minimalism.
This season, Chong worked on streamlining his silhouettes so that garments had a more classic projection. A tuxedo lapel collar jumpsuit in black suit happily married the world of the vintage with the modern tastes. A sequin cocktail dress was on trend, with sequins ruling the runways this season. That said; Chong didn’t completely throw out his old aesthetic, as he had to make sure he kept his longtime consumer base satisfied.
After almost a decade in fashion, Laquan Smith is hitting his stride. And his fall 2019 collection demonstrated that the path Laquan Smith has chosen for himself is the right path for his brand.
For this eponymous fall 2019 collection, Laquan Smith was inspired by Hilary (Karyn Parsons) from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and what she would be wearing now if she were a fashion diva. Realize that this is Laquan Smith’s version of what a 2019 Hilary of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” would be wearing. (Hilary character might be wearing garments along the line of Proenza Schouler, Bibhu Mohapatra or Cushnie.)
Laquan Smith found an ingenious way to make plaid and trench coats look sexy. With the trench coats there was no need for a sexy reveal. Smith’s trenches were tailored to an inch of the life of the garment, really highlighting a woman’s curves.
If there was one drawback to this collection, and there were a few questionable moments, it was Smith’s placing this collection solidly in the area of urban fashion. Lots of women want to be sexy and attention grabbing, but Smith’s hyper sexy collection may not appeal to women outside of urban or international fashion markets.
Diversity and inclusion have become keywords for many of the collections this season. The Fall 2019 season will exceed other seasons with respect to inclusion of models that represent ranges in size, racial and ethnic diversity, and gender fluidity.
As Hunte has proven in previous collections, outerwear is his collections’ strongest point. There was a significant amount or reworked denim jackets and coats, as well as shearling, leather and some nicely worked trench coats. Some of these jackets will do very well in the retail market. Unfortunately, in this collection an androgynous design aesthetic is not Hunte’s forte.
Glam Rock is back!! If you are old enough to remember the New York Dolls, Ziggy Stardust (early 70s David Bowie), the Glitter Band, Gary Glitter, or early Elton John, you know there was time where rockers had long hair, were lots of glittery stage makeup and wore shiny, sparkly tight clothes while they sometimes sang in a falsetto or screamed loudly about love, sex, and rock n’ roll.
Not a stranger to New York Fashion Week, this was Hakan Akkaya’s third outing at NYFW: The Shows (NYFS). And in this fall 2019 outing, Akkaya demonstrated that he has the ability to take a retro trend and elevate it a modern distillation of style with a fashion-forward sensibility.
There was lots of silver metallic and shiny black in this collection with touches of pink and other pastel colors through in to balance out the looks. There was also a range of black and white and bold-striped faux fur coats in the collection.
