Fashion Month is here, and like always, it all begins with New York Fashion Week! With all the runway shows, we get to see lots of new trends and creative ideas, but what about the designers behind the collections? Who are they?
CARLOS CAMPOS
WHO IS CARLOS CAMPOS?
Carlos Campos credits his decision to become a fashion designer to his father, a master tailor. He decided he wanted to follow his father’s footsteps and create his own American dream by studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). He then became a fashion consultant for brands such as Zara and PVH. Campos also worked on Broadway shows.
Campos’ own brand, Carlos Campos New York, came to life in 2007. He gained recognition from US and Latin American communities because of his Latin twist on classic American fashion and earned the title of being an international rising star for menswear.
Campos has collaborated with architect Santiago Calatrava on costumes for the New York City Ballet. He has also collaborated with an Italian footwear house, Louis Leeman, on a sneaker range and worked with Spanish artist Ricardo Cavolo for Jose Cuervo’s 22nd anniversary to create limited-edition bottles. In 2017, Campos was able to open Hondura’s first design school, the Carlos Campos School for Fashion and Design.
THE SPRING 2020 COLLECTION
Campos said this collection was inspired by popular Pop Art-style colors from the ’80s and ’90s. The main statement colors used were turquoise and fuschia, but there were other muted options. The bright hues made their way into tailored trousers, buttoned shirts, and trucker jackets. Together, it created a fun throwback look to what would be normally traditional. I personally really liked the simplistic tailored look with pops of color.
See the whole collection here.
PYER MOSS // DESIGNER: KERBY JEAN-RAYMOND
WHO IS PYER MOSS?
Launched in 2013, the designer behind Pyer Moss is Kerby Jean-Raymond. He was born in Brooklyn and attended The High School of Fashion Industries in Manhattan. During his studies, he worked with names such as Kay Unger, Georgina Chapman, and Karen Craig and freelanced for Theory and Marc Jacobs before creating his own label.
Jean-Raymond describes his brand as an “art project” or “a timely social experiment,” as seen in his shows over the last few years. Within his presentations, he not only reveals his designs, but brings along with it a theatrical flair by incorporating storytelling and activism into the runway.
His brand is pronounced “Pierre,” which is a combination of his parents’ names; he also tends to feature a dedication to his parents within his designs, such as using small initials. Jean-Raymond’s designs are a celebration of black culture in America and typically shows bold designs alongside political, cultural, and personal messages.
Jean-Raymond returned to the runway this season after a year-long hiatus and has also become Reebok’s artistic director.
THE SPRING/SUMMER 2020 COLLECTION
Jean-Raymond’s show was the third installment in the Pyer Moss trilogy called “Sister.” It paid homage to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who was a popular singer-songwriter in the 1930’s and ’40s and was also well-known for being the godmother of rock ‘n roll. However, her legacy has been brushed off by music history books and Jean-Raymond wanted to bring attention to the fact that “rock and roll was invented by a queer black woman in church.”
Speaking of churches, his show had elements of a church with a choir singing songs from famous female black artists and a sermon delivered by writer Casey Gerald.
The runway was filled with bold colors, prints, and patterns. Specifically, I noticed the use of primary colors red, blue, and yellow in statement outfits or mixed together. From then on, you see references to music with piano and guitar details. Jean-Raymond also collaborated with artist Richard Phillips, who spent 45 years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit and was recently acquitted. Phillips created figurative designs that were blended into dresses and tops, which added more playfulness to the bright designs and highlighted Tharpe’s homage.
The more I learned about this designer, the more impressed I became. From the messages he delivers in his shows, to how every small detail doesn’t go unnoticed (such as collaborating with Phillips and using chunky gold beads to mold into singers like Lauryn Hill), I truly believe Jean-Raymond deserves more attention for his art and for the social dialogue he is trying to create.
See the whole collection here.
And those are the designers I wanted to highlight from New York Fashion Week! If I’m being completely honest, not too many collections caught my eye at this fashion week this time.
In addition, I’m currently trying to figure out how to balance my time between 3 jobs and this blog; 2 out of my 3 jobs is writing-heavy, so you might imagine that the last thing I want to is write even more, haha. But ever since I started covering Fashion Weeks, I’ve become more and more passionate about it and I love learning about new designers. I know I’m already late on this NYFW post, so these are the only 2 amazing designers I could cover since I need to move on to London Fashion Week!
If you’ve made it to the end, thanks so much for reading and I’ll see you lovelies soon! ?