What defines American fashion today? It’s a hot topic given how the Costume Institute seeks to explore that very idea with its In America: A Lexicon of Fashion exhibition that is running at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art from now till September 5 next year.
READ MORE: This Exhibition Offers A Snapshot Of Contemporary Singapore Fashion
Add to that the chatter surrounding American fashion representation at the Met Gala this year, as well as the diverse racial background of the country’s young designers. What you’ll get is an evolving fashion landscape that’s defined by new ideas of commerce, new approaches towards sustainability and a proudly immigrant identity.
Ahead, we shine the spotlight on some emerging labels that are slowly but surely shaping the fashion scape in the US of A.
Designer: Raul Lopez
Year started: 2018
Why know it: You might know Lopez as the former co-founder of Hood By Air. These days, the Brooklyn native of Dominican descent is better known as the New York designer with a star-studded fan base that includes Asap Rocky, Rihanna and Solange.
His predilection for camp and admiration of ballroom culture and fabulous couturiers like Christian Lacroix have greatly shaped his theatrical and gender-fluid aesthetic.
While he couldn’t afford to attend fashion school, he picked up the skill to create a garment from watching his mum sew. In an interview with CFDA.com, he said: “That was my real schooling. I wanted to go to a fashion school, but I couldn’t afford it. But I learned from the best. I had a free scholarship at home.”
Pictured: Luar Spring/Summer 2022 collection
What’s next: After a three-season hiatus from New York Fashion Week, Lopez returned to the runway to present his Spring/Summer 2022 collection earlier in September. It was a hotly-anticipated homecoming, judging by the presence of stars like Lourdes Leon and Pyer Moss designer Kerby Jean-Raymond in the crowd.
The outing was a showcase of Lopez’s cheeky-slash-glam hood approach to fashion. His trademark athleisure pieces came in the form of sweatshirts with caped sleeves. Meanwhile, the tailoring had a subversive quality, with cutouts and garters peeking from pants and office wear worn with cropped polo shirts and ties and belts darting across the bust.
Pictured: Luar Spring/Summer 2022 collection
Designer: Edvin Thompson
Year started: 2016
Why know it: Thompson, a former intern at Amanda Uprichard and Gypsy Sport, made headlines recently as one of the three black designers invited by Lewis Hamilton as a guest at his table at the Met Gala. (He dressed male model Alton Mason for the event, BTW).
Hamilton isn’t the only A-list fan of the Jamaican-born designer though: Theophilio designs have also been endorsed by the likes of stylist Law Roach and musician Chloe Bailey.
While he proudly showcases his Jamaican culture right and centre in his designs, he told Metal magazine that he prefers to go beyond the stereotypes of “Bob Marley, jerk chicken, yellow, green and black”. Rather, Thompson prefers to build on his lived experience of growing up in Jamaica – from the emphasis on embracing the body and its curves to the use of vibrant woven knits.
Pictured: Theophilo Spring/Summer 2021 collection
What’s next: His Spring/Summer 2022 collection, titled Air Jamaica, was a love letter to his younger years. Air Jamaica – it was the island’s national airline from 1968 to 2015 – was the first airline the designer ever flew on and what he took when he immigrated to America in 2002.
Describing the collection as an “endearing example of Jamaican pride”, Thompson went big with Rastafarian motifs. The collection also possesses familiarity and comfort, with its oversized denim jackets, louche co-ord pieces and crocheted cropped shirt worn with swim bottoms. Other items such as the slinky body stockings and gowns are available as made-to-order pieces.
Pictured: Theophilio Spring/Summer 2022 collection
Designer: Peter Do
Year started: 2018
Why know it: This former LVMH Prize winner’s first runway collection for Spring/Summer 2022 was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated shows at the recently concluded New York Fashion Week.
It is an industry endorsement of the Vietnam-born Do, who worked his way from being a former designer at Celine during the Philo years to becoming a well-loved contemporary womenswear designer in his own right.
His relaxed yet refined creations, grounded by razor-sharp tailoring, possess a cool downtown elegance, and are stocked at retailers such as Net-a-Porter, Bergdorf Goodman, Machine-A, Rare Market and 10 Corso Como.
Pictured: Peter Do Spring/Summer 2022
What’s next: The vibe for Spring/Summer 2022 is carefree, elegant and practical – with Do’s staples such as the four-piece suit, jeans, draped pieces and trench coats rendered in new proportions. There was a touch of romance too, as seen in the interpretation of his grandmother’s traditional ao dai which was made into a coat or the soft watercolour prints of flowers that delightfully appear on jackets and shirts.
Pictured: Peter Do Spring/Summer 2022
Designer: Kim Shui
Year started: 2016
Why know it: There is a reason why the Bella Hadid, Cardi B, Nikita Dragun and Hailey Bieber camp are drawn to this brand: its clothes will make you feel sexy AF and look great on Instagram.
The US-born, Rome-raised, now New York-based Chinese-American designer has quite a colourful background. After graduating with an economics degree from Duke University in 2011, she landed a job in merchandising at Rick Owens and Helmut Lang.
Shui’s unadulterated embrace of the female form and brilliant use of colour means you can expect plenty of skin-baring looks like mini skirts, hot shorts and faux snake prints in her repertoire. Plus, her irreverent approach to fashion is commendable. She once described her collection to Forbes as “Ming Dynasty meets Eurotrash”.
Pictured: Kim Shui Fall/Winter 2021 collection
What’s next: For Spring/Summer 2022, Shui wanted to use fashion as a medium for unity and creativity – much-needed ideals in a fractured American landscape today. The cast was comprised primarily of models of Asian descent while the collection featured traditional Chinese silhouettes and chinoiserie jacquards and lensed through a Y2K filter (she name-checked Britney in the mood board!).
She told W magazine that her intention was to reinterpret ‘Asianness’ in the way we dress. “Fashion has a history of Western designers fetishising Eastern perspectives. Just look at Galliano. This season, I wanted to turn it around in a playful way—what if we’re taking these Western things and looking at them from an Eastern perspective?.”
Pictured: Kim Shui Spring/Summer 2022 collection
Designers: Alix Freireich, David Le and Susan Lee
Year started: 2019
Why know it: The multi-disciplinary brand is reinvigorating the way we define the retail experience in the digital age. Freireich is a Parsons-trained, former shirt and blouse designer at Ralph Lauren while Le is an academic (with a Ph.D. to boot) who went on to be an arts editor. Freireich’s former colleague Susan Lee joined the brand to work in the design and production team.
Naturally, Maiden Name melds the founders’ knowledge of tailoring and tasteful curation of artisanal and emerging brands from the art world. The curatorial objects like handblown vases and fashion merchandise are sold side by side on their maiden-name.com which feels less like a run-of-the-mill e-commerce space and more like an arty magazine.
The clothes are all designed locally and best described as contemporary with a nod to the vintage ’70s aesthetic thanks to their frequent use of patchwork and knits in the designs.
Pictured: Maiden Name Fall/Winter 2021
What’s next: Maiden Name continues to expand its design vocabulary for Spring/Summer 2022 with luscious knits and flowy dresses and skirts, done in a muted and earthy colour palette of mint green, cream and khaki brown.
Pictured: Maiden Name Spring/Summer 2022
Designers: Chenghui Zhang and Qi Wang
Year started: 2018
Why know it: The Parsons-trained duo are known for their newfangled interpretations of workwear that boast a ’90s grunge vibe and their penchant for referencing youth culture.
There is also an emphasis on giving their production process a human touch. For instance, their e-commerce site contains a database that lists the name of the worker who created the piece as well as the number of hours taken to complete a design.
In an interview with Highsnobiety, Zhang, who interned at Ralph Lauren and 3.1 Phillip Lim, said: “No one is talking about the people who work behind the scenes, like the factory workers or the seamstresses. So we wanted to focus on the overlooked in the fashion industry.”
Which explains why they turned to their staff from Dongguan in China to model the Spring/Summer 2019 lookbook and created a mini-documentary about them – way before other European fashion houses made headlines for doing so.
Pictured: Social-Work Fall/Winter 2021
What’s next: For Spring/Summer 2022, the brand explores the idea of tailoring and elevating wardrobe staples. The outing comprises well-cut pants, crisp shirting and separates with plenty of details. Cue a leather midi skirt with a bubble hem or a cerulean blue deconstructed tuxedo jacket with detachable zipped sleeves.
Pictured: Social-Work Spring/Summer 2022