Alexander Wang Celebrates Immigrant Americana
Veering away from the traditional Fashion Week calendar, Alexander Wang took to a rooftop at South Street Seaport last night to embark on his new June/December show schedule.
For the first show of Wang's new chapter, dubbed 'Collection 1,' the designer presented his own version of "Immigrant Americana," which included Axl Rose-inspired bandanas, references to Chinatown, a ton of safety pins, and yes, Childish Gambino.
Though immigration may be a controversial topic in America right now, Wang's inspiration came from more of a personal standpoint rather than political. The collection was inspired by his parents, who immigrated to the country in 1973. Though they've been separated for 20 years, the designer reunited the two of them recently for a Californian road trip where he asked about their immigration story.
"I was inspired by them coming here and not speaking English, going to the grocery store and not knowing how to buy food, and all the jobs they had to do to build a better life for me. And taking that story and infusing it with pop culture Americana references that I grew up with like American football, motorcycle Harley Davidson culture, and rock ’n’ roll music. And then taking Chinoiserie and my heritage and infusing it into that world. I wanted to find a new way to express inclusivity and create a new narrative of what that might look like," Wang said backstage after the show.
Making the collection even more special, last night marked the first time the designer's dad attended one of his runway shows. For the occasion, he was decked out in head-to-toe Wang logo, of course.
As for the runway itself, the show kicked off with some heavy rock music blasting on an all-white rooftop overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge and New York skyline. Models hit the runway in Axl Rose bandanas, biker shorts, leather jackets, safety pin designs, Hawaiian leis, and even Wang's take on football jerseys.
The lineup included plenty of members from the #WangSquad like Bella Hadid, Anna Ewers, Kaia Gerber, and Behati Prinsloo in her first runway appearance since giving birth. In the front row, Jourdan Dunn, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, A$AP Ferg, and Pusha T watched on.
With heavy metal, Chinoiserie, and Western influences (along with cheeky 'Made in China' decals), the collection made for a giant melting pot of Americana culture-and that was precisely Wang's point.
The powerful finale was set to the backdrop of Childish Gambino's "This Is America," which perhaps summed up Alexander Wang's take on Immigrant Americana best.
A post shared by Harper's BAZAAR (@harpersbazaarus) on Jun 3, 2018 at 6:18pm PDT
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