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RUNWAY: We look forward to September all summer, not just for the New York shows, but for the scene outside the shows. Street style tells us equally as much about what’s trending now as the runways do, and every September brings a new class of fashionable people to watch.
The next-gen street style stars we’ll be following are relatable. They’re shopping at vintage stores for archive Japanese pieces and scouring new season collections for the next ‘it’ item, be it a Miu Miu shoe or a Collina Strada tank. Yes to individual style, and goodbye to head to-toe looks.
Keep coming back all season long as we document the street style scene at the spring 2023 shows.
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I live in downtown New York and it’s pretty important to me to be wearing things that are really functional. I love to walk around and I’m always doing stuff with my friends, so I feel like my clothing reflects being able to run around and be very active. I’m also from Portland, Oregon, and I carry around kind of like a ’90s old-school energy that the city has. I’ve also always dressed in more of a tomboy fashion, and I like clothes that are bigger and have loud prints.
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Does your fashion month wardrobe consist more of pre-loved pieces, or newer in-season pieces?
I love vintage and pre-loved clothing. It’s really interesting because we get these one-of-a-kind pieces and it’s also good for the environment. So when I’m actually shopping, that’s definitely where I lean. But when you’re going to the shows, you end up wearing a mix of the pieces that the designers that you’re sitting for have, and it’s really fun to mix the two because I think the most interesting outfits come from a mixture of old and new.
Do you focus more on accessories or the clothes when picking your fashion week outfits?
I like to start with the main piece, whether it’s a pant or a shirt, so generally the clothes. When I accessorize, that feels like a second step to building to see how I want to make it a little more interesting, or add my flair to it. But when I approach an outfit, it’s not necessarily even about the piece. It’s more about the overall energy and how I feel that day, and some days I want to play around with my makeup too. So for some outfits, I feel like I look really good bare-faced with my hair down really curly, or sometimes it’s a bit more elegant and I put lipstick on and I approach it energetically.
Can you name an item you’re excited to style this upcoming season?
I’m just really excited to see that there’s a space for people to wear whatever they want and we’re breaking down barriers of what’s expected in the fashion world. There’s endless acceptance and opportunities for people to just style anything they want and that’s what I find most interesting. It’s not a specific accessory or trend, but that’s what excites me.
Is your style at fashion week representative of your style in everyday life?
I would say the only thing representative of my fashion week style is that I tend to still dress for my body type. I’m conventionally skinny, but for a model I’m a little shorter with being 5’6. So I’ll still dress for my body type. And if I’m being dressed by a designer, like I was with Tory Burch in February, I will try to go for something out of the box and something that I don’t have access to in my normal closet, because it’s an opportunity for me to like experiment.
What is a key must-have in your fashion week styling?
I always have my accessories like my Salem gold chain necklace. I always bring my chain with me everywhere and a good pair of boots. I think it’s so important to have boots because you’re going from show to show or from show to event and I really like a comfortable shoe that is elevated and sexy.
Does your fashion month wardrobe consist more of pre-loved pieces, or newer in-season pieces?
I think it’s more pre-loved vintage and maybe stuff that I bought when it was new-season at the time. I have this tendency to sort of save clothing for the perfect moment, but then that perfect moment never comes. So, when fashion week comes along, I’m like here’s all that stuff that I never wore because I was waiting for the day to wear it.
Do you focus more on accessories or the clothes when picking your fashion week outfits?
I’m more of a clothing girl. I feel sometimes that I can be a bit intimidated by accessories and that’s definitely one of my goals to incorporate more this season.
Can you name an item you’re excited to style this upcoming season?
As a birthday gift, I bought myself a Marni jacket in May. And it was right before what I consider to be the hottest summer ever. I don’t think I’ve worn a jacket in three months. So I’m really excited to finally wear that. The other thing that I’m excited to style are mid-length skirts which are on trend right now. So as we transition into fall, I’m saying bye to my minis and moving onto my midis.
Everything I wear, everything that I own, I base off of intuition. You know, the clothes that I have, it’s kind of a wide variety. I mean, I love the color black. I love Comme [des Garçons]. But for the most part, I wear clothing as a kind of armor. So it’s kind of how I feel for the day. So my wardrobe is a bit all over the place. I don’t base it off of anything and just my gut feeling.
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Is your style at fashion week representative of your style in everyday life?
I’m in Atlanta, people ask me, are you going somewhere? And I’m just like, I’m just going to work. I dress up a majority of the time and I feel so much better when I’m wearing real clothes. I love my wardrobe, so I wear it. I don’t understand buying things, and not wearing them.
What is a key must-have in your fashion week styling?
Combat boots. I’m not a high high heel person. What’s so hard about fashion week is you get dressed up and then you go outside and if it’s winter it’s freezing. So combat boots are always good—or Oxfords. And, you know, like great tights, long sleeve shirts, and turtlenecks that I can wear under just about any kind of big fashion piece.
Does your fashion month wardrobe consist more of pre-loved pieces, or newer in-season pieces?
It depends on what I’m feeling. I have a person that archives my collection. So I kind of look at the screen, and I just kind of base it off on what I’m in the mood to wear. And of course, size matters. Like some pieces can be huge, and I have to decide whether or not I want it to take up that much space, as getting the pieces there is quite an ordeal. I wear a lot of Iris Van Herpen and sometimes you have to ship stuff and deal with the chaos of all that. It depends on the logistics of what I can get there.
Do you focus more on accessories or the clothes when picking your fashion week outfits?
Clothes, clothes, clothes all day long. I don’t really carry purses. I’m not a purse person and I’m not a big jewelry person. It’s clothes, clothes, like even more clothes, more than shoes, and more than anything else. I would go barefoot if I had to.
Can you name an item you’re excited to style this upcoming season?
I just got a lot of Noir Kei Ninomiya. I got several looks from Kei Ninomiya and I’m definitely wearing that cause it’s Comme! I get so excited about all the Comme shows like Comme, Noir, and Junya, so you’ll definitely see me wearing those. And my interest in Japanese fashion started in 2004 with the Junya Wantanabe fall 2004 collection, which completely changed my life. Nowadays, kids come into the store [Antidote] and are wearing super expensive ready-to-wear and accessories. My family would’ve never let me do that. Before, I was into making my clothes and going into Goodwill and kind of remaking things. I was into old denim and Japanese streetwear but was still in the mentality of not being willing to pay for it. But then I saw that show and it completely transformed me; I literally saw it, called Jeffrey, which was the only luxury store in Atlanta at the time, and it was over.
Describe your personal style.
This is really silly, but if I had to describe my style I would just say it’s weird. I was born and raised in Austin, Texas, where the slogan is “Keep Austin Weird,” and as a kid I really took that to heart. My idol was ATX icon Leslie Cochran who only wore crazy women’s clothing. I didn’t dress like him exactly, the only bottoms he ever wore were thongs, but I wanted to just have fun and be weird in all the amazing ways he was and that’s still how I think about clothes and dress today.
Is your style at fashion week representative of your style in everyday life?
It’s definitely representative. I also love to support my friends, and that’s very evident in what I’m wearing. Like everything that I have on right now is either vintage from a friend, or pants from Collina Strada, and all my jewelry is my mom or grandmothers. Everything I have has a story to it. During fashion week specifically I will dress up more than I do on the everyday. And maybe I’ll wear things that are a bit more over the top than what I’d wear to the office as a set designer working behind-the-scenes for fashion shows. But it’s still very much my style and an excuse to dress up. So I will go the extra mile with what I’m wearing.
If I’m going to a show and it’s for somebody that I know I will wear something from that brand, but it’s not straight from the runway or a full look or anything like that. I know Puppets & Puppets is coming and I’m obsessed with those cheese wedge shoes. I immediately got those and I’m already thinking of how to style them for the show.
Does your fashion month wardrobe consist more of pre-loved pieces, or newer in-season pieces?
Definitely, vintage. I’ve always been into vintage, even as a middle and high school student. Austin, Texas is a very vintage town and I used to intern at a vintage store there. My grandmother had all of her dresses custom-made back in the 1970s in Japan so I have all of her dresses that I like to wear.
Do you focus more on accessories or the clothes when picking your fashion week outfits?
Clothing more than accessories. I kind of have this thing with accessories, I wear almost always the same. I rarely change them out. Like earlier, I mentioned those cheese wedge shoes, but honestly I have two pairs of shoes I wear. A pair of Converse in the winter, and a pair of Chinatown crocs that I wear in the summertime. And that’s it. Oh and my jewelry is always my family jewelry, but with clothing I’m constantly looking for new things that are more my taste.
Can you name an item you’re excited to style this upcoming season?
We’ve had some big losses in the Japanese designer realm in the last few months between Issey Miyake and Hanae Mori, and I have stuff from both of them. I’ve been kind of thinking about how I would like to pay some tribute and maybe wear them this season. Hanae Mori has been one of my favorite style and designer icons and she has done so much for the fashion industry in Japan. And I scour her stuff all the time, but it’s so hard to find, and rightfully so expensive.
Describe your personal style.
As someone who likes colors, I always use colors and I think that clothes should represent your personality and should be an extension of your personality. I try to put a little bit of my personality in every one of my outfits and the patterns on my fabrics. My style is dependent on the way I feel and sometimes I’m more masculine and sometimes more feminine.
I think it’s a bit different. In my everyday self I am more comfortable. Sometimes I want to be more lazy but I always try to have colors on me because I like colors and a lot of accessories like jewelry and sunglasses.
What is a key must-have in your fashion week styling?
My jewels. Always my necklace. I always have on a lot of necklaces like every time. Necklaces are the best.
Does your fashion month wardrobe consist more of pre-loved pieces, or newer in-season pieces?
Well I try to do a bit of something new with an old fabric. I use a lot of traditional African fabrics, and try to make it more different and give it a new style and make it more fashionable and accessible to people in everyday life. I have a style which is a mix of old and new.
Do you focus more on accessories or the clothes when picking your fashion week outfits?
I don’t believe that the outfit is complete if you don’t have any accessories. But I am really focused on the fabrics, patterns, and colors of my clothes. And this is really important if you want people to see you, if you have some colors, accessories, and patterns every time.
Can you name an item you’re excited to style this upcoming season?
I make all of my creations the day before I go to the shows and it’s really an instant instinct. You know sometimes I see a jacket, and a shirt that I love the sleeve of. And then I will mix them to create something new and this is how I work. I experiment.
My personal style is quite minimal, but with an artistic twist. I’m big into volume, draping, and layering. I quite like clothes that are elevated and have a contemporary touch but with a spin like an unexpected texture or embellishment. You know, I love brands like Jil Sander for that reason. I think in general, I feel that clothes are kind of a vessel or type of art or at least that’s how I think of clothes when I buy them—as a form of artistic expression.
Is your style at fashion week representative of your style in everyday life?
I don’t really switch things up that much for fashion week. I have quite a sustainable mindset in buying clothes that I tend not to buy something that I’ll only wear for an event. I try to think of all the different ways I could wear something before I buy it.
What is a key must-have in your fashion week styling?
A very comfortable pair of shoes. I do lots of walking between shows and I try to avoid the cab to get some steps in. So I’m looking to invest in a new pair of sneakers soon, and they’re kind of a must-have at the moment.
Does your fashion month wardrobe consist more of pre-loved pieces, or newer in-season pieces?
I have quite a big collection of old Celine stuff. So I tend to mix in a bit of Phoebe in there. I do tend to fixate on past collections quite a lot and buy into them. I use Vestiaire and eBay a lot. I’m an avid kind of secondhand shopper, so lots of vintage. And when I’m in Paris I love going to the Japanese secondhand stores there in particular, because I love that element of sculptural design, Issey [Miyake] pieces in particular. So I do heavily rely on secondhand. And I’d say I tend to look at what I’m going to buy ahead of the season, because of the job and work I do at Karla Otto. I look at all the fashion shows, so I pick out two to three things and if I’m still thinking about them six months later when they hit retail, I’ll probably invest in a few new things.
I’m instinctively more of a clothes person, but I do find myself being more drawn to accessories. I don’t know if it’s getting older, but I’m investing a bit more in accessories. I think with accessories they’re a little different from clothes, I feel more of an emotional connection to them. If I see it and fall in love with it, I’ll get it, otherwise my accessories are fairly paired back.I would say that I tend to invest more in classic pieces every day.
Can you name an item you’re excited to style this upcoming season?
I do want to get new Loewe sneakers. I’ll be shopping around everywhere this season. And I just bought a gorgeous archive Marni top that I’ve been searching for for years.
Describe your personal style.
I used to always describe my style as future romantic sport or whimsical with an edge, but really, whenever I put an outfit together, I ask myself, is this giving BDE? The most important thing for me is to feel strong and confident and bring out the masculine and feminine in my personality.
Yes, absolutely. For me when I first started going to fashion week, I would maybe wear outfits that I wouldn’t normally wear in everyday life. But now I just want to be comfortable. So everything I wear are outfits that I wear everyday.
What is a key must-have in your fashion week styling?
One main thing are Miu Miu earrings because I love sparkly earrings.
Does your fashion month wardrobe consist more of pre-loved pieces, or newer in-season pieces?
It’s a mixture. I’ve been collecting vintage for as long as I can remember and I love mixing vintage and current season pieces.
Do you focus more on accessories or the clothes when picking your fashion week outfits?
More on the clothes. I feel like accessories, I don’t like to pack too much so I just bring a few pairs of shoes and it’s not a crazy amount. I don’t actually focus too much on accessories at all, and generally I only have a few purses. I’ve actually used a lot of the same purses throughout the years, because for me it’s not always about having something new and different. I like to promote the few things I actually like and keep wearing.
Can you name an item you’re excited to style this upcoming season?
I’m excited to wear a vintage lace blouse I recently thrifted and I’m excited about my Miu Miu platform sandals.
Describe your personal style.
I’m a Gemini so I’m very much battling between being a princess and dressing better than my boyfriend. I would say I’m very eclectic. I’m definitely more maximal than minimal but also this kind of boy-girl and that’s just how I like to dress with no in between. My friends said that I’m either like a really expensive prostitute or a teenage boy.
Is your style at fashion week representative of your style in everyday life?
100 percent. I’d say more. So, maybe my teenage boy comes out on my lazy days or when I’m at home in Canada. But it depends on the environment and mood. I’m such a mood dresser. So if I’m feeling hot that day, we’re going to dress hot.
What is a key must-have in your fashion week styling?
I’m definitely big on shoes. I can almost rewear clothes during the week, I don’t mind doing that. But I need different shoes for everyday. Shoes are definitely my weakness and where I spend the most. You can change up an entire look just by changing the shoes. And it’s definitely not about comfort. It’s based more on my mood so I can go from a cool sneaker to the highest platform, which is fun.
Does your fashion month wardrobe consist more of pre-loved pieces, or newer in-season pieces?
I like to keep a 50-50 mix, because that’s my style in general. I don’t like consumerism, or at least I like consuming, purchasing, and building a wardrobe over a long period of time versus just consuming, purchasing, and consistently getting new stuff. I’m a big diver into my grandma’s closet which is where I get a lot of my old and vintage pieces and the quality is better.
Do you focus more on accessories or the clothes when picking your fashion week outfits?
The accessories come after for me. I’m not huge on accessories. I’ll wear my usual earrings, rings, and everyday stuff but I’m not so into jewelry. It’s really the last thing I think about.
Can you name an item you’re excited to style this upcoming season?
I’ve been obsessively wearing my mom’s old biker boots from when she used to ride the Harley with my dad. They’re these black zipper boots and they kind of remind me of the Balenciaga Cagole. I’ve been obsessively wearing those everywhere and I have a feeling I’m not going to take those off this September. And I’m obsessed with my Blumarine fur bag right now.
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By Irene Kim
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