The next American election, which has permeated many a New York Fashion Week show this season, is so important that even a Dutch designer who moved his show from the typical haute couture calendar to New York, advocates the vote. That is exactly what Ronald van der Kemp did to commemorate his tenth anniversary as a sustainable collection, while the curator’s motivations were far from political.
“I lived here a long time ago and have returned. I felt it was time to demonstrate my ideals in New York and spread positive energy. We have plenty of stuff in his world. “I didn’t make anything new; everything is already there,” he remarked, referring to the rack and grabbing a black bolero jacket decorated with matte gold lacquered things.
“This is all garbage,” he claimed, describing the accessories, which included misshapen PET plastic bottles, broken pottery, and what appeared to be old buttons.
He also mentioned that he came here to remind everyone to vote. Despite recent internet virtue signaling, the designer recreated a 2008 American flag collection for the anniversary collection. While using an actual flag technically breaches flag standards, many others have done it before, and for a European-born designer, it presumably doesn’t carry the same weight. Catherine Malandrino, a French-born New Yorker, made fashion history with her Old Glory designs, even though it wasn’t a real flag.
“Sure, flag-wearing is a bit hard, but I did it when Obama got elected,” he joked, adding, “To me, it’s positive; it’s about freedom and the ability to be who you are. But I’m also here to remind everyone to vote.
To that purpose, the first piece to walk featured a coiled and draped flag around an upcycled jeans and cropped tee design from a previous collection, as well as a ‘beanie’ reinterpreted like a milliner, resulting in a whirling cone form.
Van der Kemp’s motivation for the New York trip was also influenced by his experiences living here from 1990 to 1998, where he began his career at Bill Blass and later worked for the Pressman family of Barney’s New York, which shaped his luxury perspective.
“At Blass, working with all the socialites, I discovered that evening clothing could be comfortable. The image of Nan Kempner smoking with her hand in her pocket was it. “I did an event with her, and it changed my life,” he remarked of the late socialite who is thought to have inspired the social X-ray in Tom Wolfe’s ‘Bonfire of the Vanities.’
A Blass motif was shown in a black lace and green satin short party dress with a split leg train. As a playful tribute to the city, it featured an applique on the hip shaped like Lady Liberty’s crown. Dramatic black-and-white silk satins offered a graphic touch and referred to another 1980s socialite favorite, Christian Lacroix, as did the exaggerated ruffles and decorations throughout.
Backstage, van der Kemp described another detail: tropical birds that adorned the bodice of a sleek red dress worn by Brazilian model Tayana.
Following the first flag-bearing look, which included music, there were more flag looks and intermittent music in the shape of a boombox. Van der Kemp noted that it was done to honor the 9/11 anniversary, which coincided with the concert.
“I won’t ever forget, and my message is we have to do it together with respect for one another and why it’s a big mix, be aware of who you are in this world, and do something good,” according to him.
The Dutch designer, whose outfits are made-to-order and haute couture for private clientele, also stated that the runway’s silence in the solemn atmosphere of St. Mark’s Church in the-Bowery refocused attention on the clothes rather than the hoopla.
“In New York, the focus is too much on the celebrity front row rather than the product.” “I want the focus to be on the clothes,” he explained. What a refreshing notion.
For the finale, a male boombox-wielding model, strangely emulating Warhol Superstar Joe Dallesandro, dressed in the flag theme led a stream of models wearing more street-savvy denim and white T-shirts down the runway.
They gathered in a group in a multi-level pulpit to the song ‘I Love America’ by Swiss disco king Patrick Juvet, with van der Kemp joining them. If the designer’s goal was to relive his time here, when fashion was the excitement and shows were just a way to see it, he should consider mission accomplished.
