Pole dancers swang amongst the designs at Pier 94 for Alexander Wang’s 10th birthday celebrations.

First things first

With this season marking the 10th anniversary of Alexander Wang, the actual clothes took a backstage to the evening’s more in-your-face facets: a star-studded front row including Kanye West and Lady Gaga; a retrospective film following the designer’s transformation from angel-faced Parsons grad to Balenciaga Creative Director and beyond; and of course, the afterparty to top all afterparties.

The experience

Guests gather in cavernous Pier 94, a dimly lit hall reminiscent of an airplane hangar with stadium-style seating. Thirty minutes after start time, once everyone has been corraled to their seats, the lights flicker. A long LED screen forms a bright-white runway backdrop, then after the passage of the last model, flashes frenetic glimpses of Wang’s bright 10-year tenure. The screen displays Wang’s now-iconic logo, and Wang himself comes running out, just as an enormous gate on one side of the auditorium scrolls upward to reveal a reveller’s paradise: red lights swirling over an array of pole dancers and Hooters waitresses serving buffalo chicken and unlimited drinks.

And the clothes

Following his brief time at Balenciaga – a period marking a shift toward a greater sense of refinement in his eponymous collection – Wang re-asserted himself with clothes that couldn’t have been more Wang. No gimmicks here, just wearable pieces in his signature street-luxe style: a satin bomber jacket, tank dresses with boxing glove laced details, and plenty of bustiers and mesh. All in all, a triumph 10 years in the making.

Words: R.J. Hernández