AREA covered a lot of ground this season. Opening the show with a houndstooth knit leotard pronounced by deep cuts and high angles, designers Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk established territory right from the start. Without a doubt is their fashion provocative but not for attention or trends sake. Their ambition is far more authentic.
Joining the runway was a sponge printed, tiered leather skirt and matching cropped cape accessorized by a custom Preciosa crystal brooch and mask. A duality between the conservative 1960s working woman’s silhouette and the mask that veils her, modernizes an image for unified female identity.
And what isn’t AREA without a little sparkle and glitter? An iridescent skin-tight party dress shimmering of magenta and sapphire outfitted with furry moon boots share a 1970s influence from the disco. The costumes and energy of the people from the time capsuled in the clothes.
Charged with volume and movement, true New York style puffer jackets, winter accessories and fringe hand-knit sweater dresses turned fashions from the refrained etiquette of the 1960s and risqué of the 1970s, into a protest. Utilizing laser cut discs, “Apocalypse Soon” read hanging from belt loops, and the statement, “Powerplay” weaved into knits. The political riot of the referenced periods brings us to current day.
As almost to redefine themselves, the brand released a statement on how their conglomerate forms of inspiration fit together to present a new brand statement, “All these contrasts collide together into the new world of Area where a Neo-cyber bohemian meets sleek modernism.” The clothes too beautiful and the statements resonating too strong for us to wait to journey with them.
