Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne present a larger than life collection for DKNY.
The Storm Before The Runway Show
It was a madhouse outside of the DKNY show. Skylight Modern was the venue, and once you turned down 27th Street traffic was backed up, street style photographers were running up and down the block snapping pictures of street style stars “peacocking” in cropped pants and Stan Smith Adidas, and the sidewalk in front of the building was chaotic. After a successfully taking the DKNY reins and presenting a well-received Spring 2016 collection folks were excited to see what Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne would show for their first Fall collection since becoming the Creative Directors for the iconic brand.
All Oversized Everything
For Fall 2016 Chow and Osborne were inspired by 90s girl bands and they wanted to continue to expand on what they showed for Spring but make it more whimsical. If playful meant oversized then, the duo hit the nail right on the head. Deconstructed menswear shirts, baggy pants, long satin bomber coats and denim tees all came in large proportions. Basic slip dresses underwent makeovers with thick red lacing that tied around from the front to the back of the garment. A nylon puffer scarf was an exceptionally neat piece that paired up with a matching anorak and track sweatpants. The funky scarf was easily a highlight and outshined the rest of the accessories, especially from an editorial standpoint. A scuba jersey shirt here and a well-tailored blazer there that were normal sized, but those didn’t impress as much as the other looks seen — bigger is truly always better I guess.
Bright future ahead
For the finale, all of the models walked the runway in limited edition DKNY sweatshirts that read “Don’t Knock New York” and “Designers Know Nothing Yet.” It’s apparent that the Public School boys are getting the hang of designing for two labels and from the looks of this DKNY offering they can count on keeping this gig for a little while longer.
Words: Nigel Isaiah