Spring/Summer 2023 Collection – The Stars Don’t Look Bigger, But They Do Look Brighter

This collection is the third and last chapter of an introspection Nicholas started two seasons ago. His “Go West Young Boy and Become a Man” SS22 Collection was an acceptance of the man he had become, his “Meet Me By The Bleachers” FW22 Collection explored false nostalgia and jejunity archetypes.  

Flipping the script from his past 2 seasons, the Spring/Summer 2023 projects an optimistic future, imagined from a somehow/somewhat, still uncertain, present. Set in a fictional retro-futuristic spaceship hotel bar, Raefski frames an assured future: one of promise, adventure, and endless frontiers.

The 12 Look collection, divided in 4 divergent archetypal groups – the crew of the ship, the guests of the ship, the robots of the ship, and the “other” – is grounded in the aesthetic of the optimistic 1950-60s. Nicholas scaffolds his current uncertainties with the discipline of retro-futurism; a critical time period where optimism triumphed over hopelessness; an embodiment of the design philosophy behind the label itself.

The future may not always be as straightforward as we envision it. But there is value to be had in the feelings and emotions it evokes. In unwinding the complexities of nostalgia and the cosmos, Raefski sees a guiding light:

“This collection is very closely tied to where I am personally. I’m at a point where I face a lot of uncertainty on a day-to-day basis, but I have the utmost confidence that, in the future, everything is going to work out.”

About Nicholas Raefski

Nicholas  Raefski  currently lives in New York City. He graduated from Fordham University in 2021 with a degree in economics and a master’s in media management. Without a formal education in fashion and design, Raefski  has put together a team of autodidacts, with a learn-as-you-go moto, and launched his namesake label out of his dorm room in 2020. “The Stars Don’t Look Bigger, But They Do Look Brighter” is his third full-scale collection, and second appearance on the NYFW official calendar.

CREDIT

DESIGN | NICHOLAS RAEFSKI

ART DIRECTION | GIANCARLO CIPRI

STYLING | JULES WETTREICH

SET DESIGN | SUPERIOR METAL AND WOODWORK

PRODUCTION | TREW PRODUCTIONS

CASTING | TREW PRODUCTIONS

HAIR | ORIBE led by key stylist, CHRISTIAN CEJA-COMPIN

MAKE-UP | JESSICA MARISOL on behalf of AOFMPro using Dermalogica

MUSIC | LIAM MONAGHAN

PRESS | REP AGENCY

SPECIAL THANK YOU | ERIN HAWKER and the team at AGENTRY PR

PLATFORM ONLINE jtdapperfashionweek