Christian Cowan on his Triumphant Fashion Week Return and Party Girl Aesthetic
The enigmatic designer speaks to L’OFFICIEL about his Spring/Summer 2022 collection and hotly anticipated NYFW in-person comeback.
Through slinky sequin separates and high vibrato runway presentations, Christian Cowan has cemented himself as a perennial favorite of New York Fashion Week. Cowan’s two most recent presentations have been released virtually—Fall/Winter 2021 and Spring/Summer 2021—and featured high-profile cameos from Lil Nas X, Paris Hilton, and a handful of other stars. “I missed the shows, but doing [virtual] campaigns was really fun,” Cowan tells L'OFFICIEL. “You can do things you normally can’t do on the runway. To have Marc Jacobs in my campaign was a dream come true and also Helena Christensen—people who would never do a show but they're down for a shoot.”
Despite this foray into new media, Cowan has been eagerly anticipating his NYFW return. Like everything the British designer does, the brand’s Spring/Summer 2022 runway show was a delightful melange of notable house codes, fabric interplay, and unbridled glamour. Inspired by New York nightlife and club kids, the collection featured full-throttle party silhouettes that Cowan has become known for. “The main inspiration was mixing what I love about New York,” the designer tells L’OFFICIEL. “That club kid heartbeat, which generates from the city and young creatives, and then fusing that with our customer, which is the Saks woman, it's the woman who wants to spend on her outfits and feel confident and cool.”
Stemming from criticism that Cowan’s collections lack cohesion, the designer displayed an energetic mix of mismatched prints, glittering rhinestones, and risque silhouettes to poke fun at the aforementioned commentary. With models blowing kisses, twirling, and even mingling with the star-studded front row, the collection felt equal parts runway show and buzzy New York City party. “It’s my Mom, Amanda Lepore, and club kid culture fused together” Cowan says.
It’s a very eclectic collection. The vibe is a bunch of different women going to the same party.
Another highlight this season are two collaborative partnerships that Cowan undertook. The designer enlisted the help of emerging creative Yung Reaper—whose buzzy designs have been seen on Kylie Jenner and Ariana Grande—to craft two eye-catching looks. Also sprinkled throughout the collection are hints of Fiorucci, the Italian heritage brand that Cowan partnered with this season. “It felt really natural because they have such eye-catching campaigns that they've been doing for decades and decades,” Cowan says of the collaboration. “It was about taking that signature aesthetic that is so iconic—the angels and the font—and then doing my eveningwear spin, because they mostly do daywear.”
Not only showcasing cut-out separates and rhinestone mini skirts, Cowan also incorporated interactive touchpoints to the collection, like a sprawling multi-color gown with scannable QR codes. “We worked with Yahoo to create these QR code prints that you can scan. And then it gives the person at home a designer walkthrough of the collection, like they’re an editor,” Cowan says. “It’s always a fun way to deepen the customer experience and make it more interesting.”
Closing the show was Winnie Harlow, a glamorous end to Cowan’s long-awaited NYFW comeback. Sporting an off-the-shoulder rhinestone dress with cascading feather plums, Harlow fully embodied the Christian Cowan party archetype seen throughout the dynamic collection.
