It's been a popular complaint this past fashion week that things have become repetitive. Not in the "New York Fashion Week is dead" sense, but rather that the designers seem to be presenting similar things. You would be hard-pressed to find a runway show without PVC or faux fur this year. "Edgy" flair seemed to be all the rage, but it was just that: flair. Nobody fully committed to the concept of being edgy, or the idea of breaking into a territory that maybe not every single person would want to go into. That is, of course, until The Blonds' show last night.
"THIS COLLECTION IS INSPIRED BY THE PRIMEVAL AND ETERNAL CONFLICT OF GOOD VS. EVIL AS A DRIVING FORCE IN ART, LITERATURE AND FILM," the show's press materials read. The brand enlisted Yeha Leung, also known as CreepyYeha, to create leather harnesses for it. Marilyn Manson played through the speakers as models walked down the runway.
The Blonds succeeded in something that many designers presenting at fashion week tried their hand at and failed. The collection wasn't about little acts of everyday rebellion. It wasn't about rebellion as an accessory, or as a quirk. This collection, in red and black with 3-inch spikes, with leather, with lace, and yes with pvc, embraced both darkness and light in a way that wasn't even about rebellion. Rather, it was about accepting that darkness and light exist in us all. The Blonds drew from art to make its newest collection, and in turn made its newest collection art.
Oh, and Daphne Guinness performed and walking the finale look.
Photos from the show are below, courtesy of Lecca.
