Collina Strada Staged a Self-Empowering Wedding for NYFW
As guests took their seats at in a Chinatown loft for Collina Strada’s Fall 2018 show, one thing was clear: It was about to be a wedding.
A diverse cast of models walked the runway one by one, before lining up on the white stage. Two flower girls emerged from backstage and surrounded the audience with petals, and eventually, before a spoken word performer took the stage, Sasha Frolova emerged with a crystal bouquet.
This wasn’t your tropical wedding though—the model bride was committing to love herself for eternity, rather than a partner. While the cast of models stood facing the audience (including a baby wearing a look that matched the father model), Frolova declared her vows, which she wrote herself. "You cannot start to love another until you love yourself, so why not marry your higher self?" declared the show notes. "I vow to love myself everyday, I never fear that this may be misconstrued as vanity," said Frolova, reading her vows to a captive audience. "It's really hard to promise to love yourself forever," she told us, backstage after the show.
Designer Hillary Taymour was inspired by the #MeToo movement but also the concept of every human dressing in a way in which they feel safe. Thus, there were long-sleeve yoga tops, silk skirts and translucent organza, gauzy pants and tops, along with crystal embellished shoes covered in nylon flesh-toned socks.
“I wanted to create a certain mood and have a more uplifting loving presence during fashion week with everything that has been happening in the press lately,” she told L’Officiel USA. The performance was definitievely one of the most culturally profound shows of the season so far. See all the looks from the runway below.
