This year at the 2017 New York Fashion Week, the Rhode Island School of Design showcased their Annual Alumni runway show featuring the artistic vision of 13 recent graduates.
Sponsored by Tommy Hilfiger, designers Lauren Perea, Rachel Yoo, Atalanta Shi, Redat Davison, Kylie Mara, Noah Pica, Maya Samach, Coleen Chan, Abigal Griswold, Taylor Goldenberg, Lucille Crelli, Jamall Osterholm, and Teagan Lindsay unveiled 10 looks from the recognized apparel design program at Rhode Island School of Design.
The diversity and variety of pieces were abundant in this year’s RISD Runway Show. Designer Abigail Griswold melded athleticism with minimalism in her simple take on athletic apparel. The futuristic patterning and textures of her pieces, gave her collection a clean, “Matrix-esque” quality. Designer Kylie Mara also created her collection around the simple and understated delicacy of an all white color-palette. Her soft and wispy designs created a collection for the contemporary woman. The women’s apparel collection goes from work to play in an assortment of precise and sophisticated pieces.
Recent graduate and designer Teagan Lindsay utilized the same simple and elegant white color palette to create a refined and polished collection. Yet what was the most interesting aspect of the collection came instead from the models. To introduce her collection to the world, Lindsay chose to use models of all ages. This gave the collection depth that was different to any of the other designers. Lindsay showed the range of her collection’s ability to translate to women of all ages.
In contrast to the all-white color scheme of Griswold, Lindsay, and Mara, designer Lauren Perea chose to create a women’s collection based around the richness of dark tones. True to form, the black theme was the epitome of smooth composure. With pieces that teetered between day and evening wear, Perea’s collection are the staple pieces any woman would want in their closet. With her keen eye for layering soft color tones, Perea’s collection is ready to wear.
Yet it seemed that the highlight of the runway came from the reflective textures multiple designers utilized in their collections. Designers Noah Pica, Taylor Goldenberg, and Atalanta Shi crafted collections based entirely around their fabrics unlike other designers. Noah Pica’s men’s collection was an ode to the essence of androgyny. His masculine perspective on this sheer and colorful palette were inventive and awe striking. As models floated down the runway, the pieces spoke for themselves. The collections use of reflective material, mixed with sheer and matte textures was a clever take on modern men’s wear.
However, Goldenberg’s ornate collection was nothing shy of luxurious. The soft, yet outspoken designs were reminiscent of the baroque style of the early 1700’s. Everything from oversized belle sleeves to cascading trains atop leather mini-skirts gave the classic period a stepping stone into the modern age of apparel.
Atalanta Shi’s clothing line was entrancing. Shi drifted in out of this world to the next, as she created some of the most abstract looks on this year’s runway. The use of stark graphics alongside soft textures was as much eye-grabbing as it was jaw-dropping. The punk rock theme of Shi’s collection inspired the rebel in all of us.
In true artistic fashion, designers such as Coleen Chan and Redat Davison used understated pattering to hit the runway. Models glided down the runway draped in pieces adorned in jean patching and 3D flower embellishments in Chan’s clothing line. Davison’s collection of stark and sculpted a-line pieces redefined the meaning of the little black dress. With a touch of red in each of her pieces, Davison showed up and showed out with an all black collection of different fabrics and textures. Everything from sheer fabrics to soft rouching created an elegant collection that had the audience in awe.
Much to the notoriety of RISD, designers created collections that were, to say the least, a little out of this world. In Jamall Osterholm and Lucy Crelli’s collection, avant-garde is an understatement. James Osterholm recreated the meaning of fine lines and precision. His collection seemed to create entirely new dimensions draped across the strong masculine silhouettes of his male models. The new collection was a nod to the new-age of fashion in the 21st century, with abstract dimensionality and unadorned edginess.
When it comes to designer Lucy Crelli’s newest collection, one might get the sense of being in the presence of a modernized goddess. Each model was wrapped in radical wiring on top of sheer cloth. Nothing came close to the abstract perspective exhibited in the formless silhouettes of each piece. It goes without saying, Crelli’s collection might be a little ahead of her time.
We couldn’t go an entire runway show without one ode to 90’s vintage. In Maya Samach’s collection of pieces, there was a sense of recreation from 90’s cult classic, Clueless. Everything from gauzy fabrics to plated leather skirts were present on the runway. The urban twist on oversized collard jackets screamed the newest trends awaiting 2018. Samach’s color themes varied from vivid to understated in each piece.
Yet there was one trend that many designers did not utilize, oversized jackets. That was until Rachel Yoo’s entire ensemble billowed and flowed down the runway. Each model was dressed in enlarged coats varying from windbreakers to thick parkas. As each model sauntered through the crowd, they were dressed head-to-toe in nylon jackets paired with thigh-high socks and patent leather loafers.
“This year’s graduating cohort proved that there is a powerful movement of designers emerging from American schools,” noted outgoing Apparel Department Head Neil Gilks.
Get ready, because this is the new face of fashion.
