Digital NYFW 2020: Cynthia Rowley, Collina Strada, Chromat
Cynthia Rowley
The Show Must Go On
Cynthia Rowley shined a light on small businesses and captured the current state of the city in an enthusiastic, inspiring film around the idea of “New York Strong.”
Cynthia Rowley Spring 2021
“Here’s to all the small businesses and creatives that found a way to carry on”
Cynthia Rowley Spring 2021
It’s September 2020, six months amidst the COVID-19 pandemic — in a new world of working-from-home, Zoom calls, and digital fashion shows. Cynthia Rowley reminds us all what fun and enthusiasm is all about through her collection. Rowley has never been one afraid to shake things up, especially when it’s fun. I still remember sitting in her February show as models sprung up from within the audience and strutted down the catwalk. Or the time her show was staged in the middle of a Tribeca alleyway — she knows how to make a crowd smile. For this season, she brought her clothes to the streets of New York once again, only this time the video was staged to shine a light and capture the current state of New York City.
Staging impromptu photo shoots with the city’s many outdoor restaurants as backdrops. For a collection video titled, “The Show Must Go On”, we see socially distanced outdoor diners sitting at tables along 7th Avenue — as Rowley’s purpose for the September season wasn’t solely new fashions. In the collection film we see playful looks of beautiful dresses, modern-sporty sets, sneakers, and of course a striped shirt with the slogan “The Show Must Go On” — as each model displays outfits, a local jazz band called the East Village All Stars play and dance alongside them.
Rowley noted that her label has been doing well even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Rowley has specialized in for several seasons now, elevating sweatshirts with zippers or adding prints. Customers putting those polished casuals in their shopping carts will also like Rowley’s cropped sweatsuit sets and gold embellished sweatshirt dresses.
Collina Strada
Change is Cute
Models are seen in a utopian virtual world of tie-dyed cornfields, sprouting carrots, floating gardens and a Collina-print rainbow waterfall. Spring Summer 2021 will be a series of looks reworked from classic Collina styles in fresh prints and sustainable fabrics. Have a farm-tastic day!
Collina Strada Spring 2021
“I was going through quarantine thinking how do I approach a show in a digital format and thought: ‘You know what?’ Challenge accepted.”
Collina Strada Spring 2021
With outdoor events capped at 50 people due to COVID-19 restrictions, designers are debuting their new collections via live streams and digital collection books. A digital show for this 2020 digital era and Collina Strada designer Hillary Taymour jumped into this short film virtual world. The idea of presenting a runway show completely digitally has been an abnormal but creative display this season. For spring 2021, the eco-conscious New York designer prepped a range of colorful and fun pieces. The playful tie-dyed cornfields and branded rainbow waterfall backdrops host a bevy of colorful jackets, shirts and trousers, most of which are recycled from past collections to avoid typical fashion waste.
The designer also partnered with illustration artist Sean-Kierre Lyons to create a 3-D floral world — a utopian world of inclusiveness and joy as models are seen in tie-dyed cornfields, sprouting carrots, floating gardens, and rainbow waterfall. There are a few pieces that standout amongst the floral world such as alluring bright yellow/red patterns, psychedelic orange dresses ad pants, and my favorite hand-drawn floral pants.
Chromat
Teams sports & athletic Joys
Sports have an incredible way to bring people together and offer powerful opportunities to be creative and alive. We are in a moment where so much is happening around sports that reproduce a world we don’t need or deserve. It is in that context, JOY RUN models the ways that sports can be a force for fun, for uplifting teammates, and enjoying our bodies.
Chromat 2021
“Listening to their stories, it’s such a huge loss not only for any other trans athlete who’s been pushed out of their sport because of their gender identity, but for the whole community.”
Chromat 2021
“Joy Run,” a film by activist and filmmaker Tourmaline to show the digital fashion week Chromat collection centered around activewear and the joy of equality in sports. The show was followed by a panel discussion with transgender student athletes Andraya Yearwood, Terry Miller and transgender rights activist Chase Strangio. Recently, Miller and Yearwood became defendants in an ongoing Connecticut lawsuit by fellow high school runners’ families who sought to block them from high school sports, citing “unfair advantage.” The Chromat film displays an empowering interview between them all discussing their work advocating for transgender inclusion in sports. Therefore for the Chromat collection, though it was previously inspired by gender-inclusive athletics due to the now-postponed Olympics, McCharen-Tran knew spotlighting the ongoing topic was more important than ever — bringing us the spring 2021 collection.
Not only does the collection showcase joyful and colorful neon-looks that works well even when wearing a face mask — the collection portrays a new normal of gender fluidity through the makeup. The vibrant eyes of neon looks, mixed with geometric liners, striking shadows, and dramatic yellows/blues amplifies the message of this collection.
