Drew Curry has for the past couple of seasons been working off the theme of clothing as protection.
“I felt a nice way to wrap it up was actually to think about the protector,” he explained. “I felt like that was optimistic. It’s the hero’s journey.
“But the secret is that there are people around the world that are everyday heroes,” Curry continued. So Airei worked with Dunlop, the protective footwear maker, and Matter of Trust, a nonprofit using human hair to combat oil spills.
“I loved contrasting those different types of protection, but also the different everyday heroes,” Curry said.
The designer also teamed with Churchill, a 130-year-old glove manufacturer.
“Workwear has always been an inspiration because I come from an industrial city,” Curry said. “I really wanted to lean into that this season but still have the sensitivity that makes Airei something interesting.”
Durability and fragility were top of mind. He thought about the refugee crisis, which led to thinking of the ocean and the use of dark blue.
Fashioning fabrics traditional to Airei, such as handmade khadi, silk, organic cotton and denim, Curry continued to artfully combine fragile and sturdy materials.
This was another textured lineup, with denim jackets with unfinished seams and edges, asymmetric cuts and loose-gauge knit sweaters.
“I’m always trying to push what can we do with the hands,” said Curry, pointing to freehand embroidery in chain-link jackets, pants and shorts. A white hoodie had “Peace” sewn into it with black hair.
Fascinated by plaster’s durability and fragility, he showed his collection in a room containing five upright rectangles of plaster, which two men chipped away at as models walked by.
