You cannot deconstruct unless you know how to construct. - Alexander McQueen

archive for October, 2015

Stella Jean’s Migratory Patterns

Friday, October 16th, 2015

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been in the Southwest, hiding out among the saguaros and pretending that the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) blimp suspended over the Huachuca Mountains isn’t the Homeland Security’s Eye of Sauron trained on those with nothing but hope trying to find their way to a better life, but a giant fish giving me a coy, silvery wink from his sky aquarium. This has apparently fine-tuned my tastes such that Stella Jean’s Spring 2016 show left me with more than just a passing impression, as opposed to most other Fashion Month collections.

It turns out that Jean’s show is doing double-duty as both a fiesta for my eyeballs and a political statement (I’d like to think that the safety glasses are a political, rather than fashion statement). Jean herself being of Italian-Haitian descent, the collection - as worn by a multiracial cast - comments on Italy’s migrant identity with a multicultural mix of prints and variations on South American traditional dress. As national identity and immigration are very hot topics both here and abroad, the collection is timely. And the fifties pin-up hair is a nice touch. Some favorite looks:

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