Last night, Alexander Wang dragged us to 146th street in Manhattan. His show, presented in the beautifully dilapidated – a sort of Harlem Grey Gardens – RKO Hamilton Theatre, was out of the way. In fact, it was so far uptown that many editors considered not going at all. But they did, and in a beer-soaked hall with trap music booming, Wang presented his A/W 17 collection inspired by 'no [official] after party' to a crowd that was 'standing room only.'
The concept was straightforward - these are the clothes that you wear to a late night party that isn’t corporate, isn’t organised and is in no way 'officially' affiliated. The offerings? Crisp tailored blazers and jackets with outsized silver buttons, a black jumpsuit, off the shoulder and slick to the body, leather pants and Western-influenced fringed shirting, and chain mail netted, embellished mini dresses. Almost everything was black. In essence, this is pure after-hours wear. It was all very downtown and while not exactly pushing anything forward, the collection did feel authentic to Wang’s ethos. These looks weren’t trying to be anything other than what they were. And maybe there is some success in that.
Of course, after the show there was no after party. Just a long ride downtown.
