Utopia Dystopia, 2018
for Abasi Rosborough. New York Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2018
This collection started with a question –– where is all of this technology taking us?
In November 2017, Apple released the iPhone X which unveiled facial recognition technology to the masses. In July 2018, the The New York Times and Wired both reported on racially-biased surveillance software being developed by Amazon to be sold to US law enforcement. SpaceX and Virgin Galactic were preparing to launch people into orbit. Cryptocurrency became a thing. Volcanoes were erupting in the South Pacific. The new Blade Runner movie came out.
With all of this as a backdrop, our team’s goal became to channel that energy into a collection. Bright primary colors inspired by the work of James Turrell and Clyfford Still were an important part of the story and influenced the design of our team’s first runway show, and were counterbalanced by zen-like kimonos and Japanese silhouettes.
