What we texted our friends:
“Whoopi Goldberg is sitting across from me!!!”
“Do you think I can I use this fake “Vaquera” credit card [a show memento] at Barneys?”
“And can I use it to buy that terry cloth ball gown?”
“What genius wrote these show notes?” (They read like a stream of texts sent during a late-night Adderall-fueled soul search. Sample lines: “My main dilemma was whether my outfit would read as surf when all I wanted was to be punk!!!!!!” and “I’m supposed to be authentic, but it’s not clear what that means!!!!!!”)
In the designers’ own words: Ahead of the show, designers Patric DiCaprio, Bryn Taubensee, Claire Sully, and David Moses explained that the collection was about identity crisis — a theme signalled by the body-engulfing shirt with “Who the fuck is Vaquera?” scrawled on the back. They were exploring subcultures from surf to punk to goth, and how those aesthetics evolve, assimilate, and become clichéd. See: the Hawaiian-print thong that emerged above a pair of pants, the shredded T-shirt that read “Fuck death,” and a series of Hot Topic-esque punk neckties.
Look we want now: The dress that was basically just a human-size bow made from what looked like PacSun gift wrap.
Model to watch: Casting guru Walter Pearce of Midland Agency walked the runway himself, in a knee-length Abraham Lincoln T-shirt and a chintzy cowboy hat that nearly flew off from the sheer force of his strides. Caroline Polachek of Chairlift also walked, in a pink hibiscus-print rash guard.
Best Instagram: This footage of a model in a dress made entirely from those fake Vaquera credit cards:
#Frow: Whoopi Goldberg. Also a cast of the designers’ friends and contemporaries, including India Salvor Menuez, Paloma Elsesser, Grace Dunham, Petra Collins, and Diego, the Creatures of the Wind team’s Brussels Griffon. There also seemed to be more mainstream magazine editors in attendance this season, perhaps thanks to Vaquera’s nomination for the 2017 CFDA/ Vogue Fashion Fund.
On the speakers: One of the greatest show soundtracks of all time, mixed by DJ Bebe. Highlights: a pared-down version of The O.C. theme song and the moody opening track from Big Little Lies, Michael Kiwanuka’s “Cold Little Heart” (a bittersweet reminder of everyone’s favorite but finished show).
It will be remembered as: One of the most imaginative shows of fashion week that forecast big things for the New York next-gen brand. And the time we sat in a boxing gym opposite Whoopi Goldberg.
