The girls walk out in the printed tube dress, the product most associated and recognised with the brand, contrasted the couture and experimental runway looks presented afterwards. It highlighted the struggle myself and many designers find in this industry - the push and pull of wanting to be artistic and needing something wearable and sellable on a large scale. That at the end of the day, these fashion shows might be performative events, but fashion is at its core a business. I also wanted to point out and pay homage to the fact that for years, selling these screen printed products has allowed me to hold events at this scale.

It is a natural way of working for me. Because I was not trained in fashion design, I use deconstructing to learn how garments are produced.  My process usually started going to second hand stores and finding an article of clothing I feel inspired by. Most of the time, I can find the exact same piece over and over again, making me realise how much of these clothes are just produced and thrown down the pipeline until they end up at a thrift store in Brooklyn. It made me realise that instead of working with a factory, why not cut out the middleman and take advantage of the overproduction. The difference between luxury goods and fast fashion has collapsed - I see them as essentially part of the same problem. Clothes that are worn and discarded season by season.

I am always challenging myself and the audience to see sexiness in new ways. In the beginning, the brand was rooted in traditional signifiers of femininity - fishnets, sheer shirts, tight dresses - but I wanted to elevate these elements, putting them into a high fashion space and making the models look bold and intimidating while wearing them. With this collection, I worked with silhouettes that weren’t as form fitting, elements that were made to cover up the body or men’s sportswear, and less traditionally quote unquote pretty makeup. These clothes are made to surprise you in how sexy they are. Sexiness is all about how confident you are - anything can be sexy, and I’m always trying a new way to show that.

New York City itself definitely inspires me. You can walk around looking totally unusual and out there and no one cares. You see every type of style, every type of person being their individual self. It gives you that freedom - you are just one of many people a day that stand out, and so you aren’t nervous to be bold and unique. That plays a role in myself and every collection I make.

I wouldn’t define my brand as “basic hot” - in fact, the whole point of my original designs were trying to figure out a way to look hot without being basic, simple, or safe. There were a lot of interesting designs happening in men’s fashion at the time, but none of it felt sexy to me. I would describe the clothes I make as a challenge - they take courage to wear, and challenge the world to decode them or think twice about fashion in general.

For this season, I wanted everything to be pushed to the extreme. I wanted the show to be larger than life, inspired by experiences that provoke an emotional response by the intensity. The venue we held it at provided the space we needed and the set was designed to provide a dramatic setting. This came from a general underwhelming feeling coming from the fashion world. These runway shows require a lot of resources - if they aren’t going as far as they can, what’s the point.

I find mixing textures, materials, and shapes in untraditional ways - for example, leather with plastic, sportswear with evening wear, etc. - creates contrast within the outfits. A lot of fashion design is made without a box of what factories will produce, however my garments cannot be made by anyone else because they are put together with a large percentage of found materials. Therefore, they are very specific to me and my surroundings. I never let the traditional rules of construction hold this process back.

Yes, I would like people to start thinking about what these runway shows are for, who they are for, why we keep doing them.

I’ve never wanted to create a separate account for my brand for multiple reasons. I find that with the amount of small fashion brands appearing, it becomes hard to decipher the meaning behind them without knowing about the person creating it. I find some of the most interesting parts of fashion history come from when there was a story of the designer themselves as well. I want to take my audience along with me, to see where I started, and what happens next, whether it’s success or failure.

I’m always working on what's next.