One dilemma many designers face is how to seamlessly mesh a strong point of view with wearable styles. SKINGRAFT began in the mind of performance artist and costume designer Jonny Cota, who had to focus both on wow-ing the audience and wearable, functional clothing.
The FW14 line more than addressed the aforementioned equation, appearing totally badass while at the same time, super-cozy.
Fun fact about the video of the show, which you can watch here. You can also see me in the front row if you look to the right. 😉
The name SKINGRAFT hails from the brand’s early years when limited resources found the designer salvaging leather jackets from thrift stores. Along with his brother, they would slice up their thrifted finds on the worktable to create epic works of fashion and art. Thus, a brand was born that specializes in collaging fabrics into sleek looks and making the most of resources.
The hats-with-ears were covetable on both the male and female models. I love how it adds something cute and playful to what would otherwise be “I’m here to kick your ass”-style outfits.
I felt a bit of ThunderCats excitement well up in me when I spotted wolf and tiger face motifs coming down the runway on embossed, textured jackets. There were big hoods, oversized draped hems, shimmering punctuations of hardware, adjustable drawstrings, and high collars.
The men’s styles were quintessentially masculine, with a post-apocalypse warrior aesthetic. The women’s styles, though equally badass, had very feminine concepts woven in.
Is it even a cool-brand-runway-show if there’s no oversized hoodie going down the runway?
Another show in the books!
Once I commuted home to Brooklyn, I reclined with my pink VAIO and my take-home Starbucks vanilla latte. Not quite as good as the over-the-counter, but just fine for late nights of writing and photo editing.
This season’s round-up of coverage is coming to a close. Just a few more rounds of runway magic to share with you before I move on to embracing spring style!
Until next time…
