As Alexander Wang did his signature post-show run down the catwalk last night – hair flying, face beaming – silver confetti rained from the ceiling and the words “ALEXANDER WANG” glowed on a screen behind him in 6-foot-high letters. Marking ten years since his brand began, this run was even more celebratory than usual. And it was directly followed by the after party to end all after parties.
Victory lap finished, a curtain parted to reveal a cavernous backroom filled with uplit pole dancers on glittery podiums. They wore stretch-knit booty shorts and bras with “AW” on the butt and “10” on the boobs. Nothing was not Amazing, capital A.
Waitresses in Hooters T-shirts gave out sliders and wings from plastic baskets. There were Jell-O shots and endless cocktails (with incred names like “Wang10derloving”). And Tinashe, Lil Wayne and Ludacris performed. Even the dancers’ spray bottles were covered with dollar bills customized with images of the designer’s face. (Later on, Alexander threw handfuls of the bills into the crowd from the stage — he also told the audience he’d lost his wallet, so the Wang dollars were the only cash he had.)
The party, like the runway show, was about having fun and giving the people what they want – two things Wang knows a lot about. Speaking about the collection backstage, he said, “There was no high concept, no singular idea. It was a love letter to all the girls and guys that have supported me over the years.”
“We start every season thinking about what’s innovative, what’s new — the idea of modernity, what’s in front of you today,” he continued. “We wanted to reject innovation and just do clothes.” And he did. The collection felt authentic, unfussy and, above all, super, super cool. Nothing was overwrought or over-thought, the garments were simply things you wanted to have in your wardrobe – or they were much more luxurious versions of pieces you already own.
There were glossy red and blue leather moto jackets, peach satin pajama tops with cutout backs, low-slung striped grey-and-black pants and oversized hoodies (think Kanye’s goth prom look). One look paired a mesh T-shirt with a frayed floor-length denim skirt and latticed sandals covered in metal studs – and somehow it just made sense. The effect was more “Give me that now!” than a discernible story about inspirations and ideas.
Without a narrative the clothes felt timeless but also immediate. Wang himself said he wanted them to be “iconic” — something which, ten years since its founding, his brand has become. If you needed proof, sitting front row were Kanye, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd (with rumored bae Bella Hadid) and Nicki Minaj. And testament to their love for the designer, some of them stayed late, late into the night.
Credits
Text Alice Newell-Hanson
Photography Jason Lloyd-Evans