FADER NYFW, Spring 2014
There are 40 million shows during NYFW, all with the goal to create a moment and make a lasting impression on their audience. But most will vanish into thin air as soon as the season's over—how many over-produced experiences are worth sharing space in your memory bank with more authentic nights from your actual life? It was against those odds that last night, on the day of September that had previously been given over to the melodramatic insanity of Fashion's Night Out until it was finally cancelled this year, Highland pulled off a presentation that felt really real.
The Brooklyn-based menswear brand transformed the basement of Santos Party House Thursday night into, quite magically, a chill zone. The drone of Donnie & Joe Emerson's "Baby" looped and models in Highland's hippie finest rolled their heads in a meditative chant. The clothes were great, that particularly Highland mix of hiking gear and streetwear where the blue plaids and oversized sweaters could have sprung as easily from the outdoor weightlifters on LA's Muscle Beach as they could from a crunchy co-op in Vermont. But it was the mood that meant the most: models milling about like entranced monks, DonChristian, the heartthrob first act on Le1f's new label, casually performing a short set in silky Highland gear, guests rolling cigarettes and actually enjoying themselves. Amidst all the madness, it's nice to be reminded that there are NYFW moments worth remembering.
(photos Patrick Spears, videos DIS Instagram)
