Fittingly, the first runway Faith Connexion show under Nikola Vasari’s creative direction took place in an underground club. Come back on the right night, and you might very well find people wearing the brand’s “street couture” looks, which this season consisted mainly of lustrous minidresses, statement outerwear, and treated denim. Backstage, Vasari said he was inspired by music icons, and he name-checked the usual suspects—Grace Jones, Stevie Nicks, Lou Reed, and David Bowie. But those references represent the past, and, as Swizz Beatz (who collaborated on a capsule last year) declared in a recorded message before for the show, “Faith Connexion is the future.”
For the most part, though, the combined men’s and women’s lineup landed in a glam-rock limbo: nothing new, yet well-executed. Slinky dresses in embellished mesh or embroidered in wisps of silver, tuxedos in puckered bronzed brocade, and myriad pieces with rips and holes that had been filled in and outlined with sequins and chains attested to the brand’s luxe positioning. Leather looks offered some noticeable novelty: finely fringed on a jacket, or skirts with tearaway flounces. Elsewhere, there were echoes of ’80s Paris through tiers of printed chiffon trimmed in feathers, while graphics on the guys’ clothes suggested a very faint undertone of Asian influence (Vasari said his travels inevitably seep into the design). As usual, the lineup resulted from several specialty collaborations, including NTMB (Never Too Much Basic) and Pisco Logik, plus newcomers Rockins, Schott, and Kaimin.
There was little to bridge all the going-out/onstage attire and the tailored coats and tricked-out jackets. But what seemed like an absence of daywear might actually be relative. The show proved an opportunity to scope out the Faith Connexion crowd; it took place at 1:00 p.m., yet many had dressed for midnight.
