September 11th, 2022 – New York City, New York – at 608 Fifth Avenue For Spring/Summer 2023 season at New York Fashion Week, Global Fashion Collective (GFC) proudly highlighted twelve international designers across three different showcases. The GFC I showcase featured designers from Japan, the United States and Canada.

GFC aims to spotlight emerging designers and provide them with a platform during the most prestigious fashion weeks in the world. This organization has previously presented at New York Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week and Tokyo Fashion Week.

Unserten

Unserten was founded in 2021 after the global COVID-19 pandemic caused the rapid change and led to new levels of “uncertainty.” This collection was inspired by the black and white photography of famed Japanese photographer Moriyama Daido and the harsh blurry “Are-Bure-Boke” style. The 16 cohesive looks come together as an artistic yet wearable collection; avant-garde elements like hardware and ruffled asymmetry are applied to blazers and trousers.

This Tokyo-based brand is helmed by an international team of creatives and the collection is in collaboration with a Japanese photographer who provided the images seen printed on various tops and the poem embroidered onto the sides of blazers and lace layering pieces. The showcase closed with a suit that leaves thread hanging from the embroidery, the first foray into this technique for the brand.

Samantha Darryanto

Samantha Darryanto is an eponymous brand created by an MIT mechanical engineer alumni who currently also works as a derivatives trader in New York City.

Darryanto’s garments often draw from her Indonesian heritage, like utilizing custom-designed black and white patterned batik fabric to create the robes and tops in the latter half of the collection.

This collection was two years in the making and a departure from her typical feminine and flowy style. While maintaining that softness with her fabric and silhouette choices, Darryanto juxtaposes them with tech elements and streetwear styling. The fourth look is an asymmetrical greige blazer set with two black buckles on the jacket in an homage to Thom Browne. Darryanto also doesn’t shy away from unconventional materials, using a blue quilted moving blanket to create the first two looks.

Kylie Michelle

Kylie Michelle is a recent Parsons School of Design graduate who showcased her senior collection inspired by the five senses. Designer Kylie Michelle Miller uses bright colours to stimulate the eye and textured fabrics to entice viewers to feel the garments. The red coat from her third look utilizes a paper raffia technique and the multicoloured 3-dimensional element on her closing dress was actually created from cut-up elastic bands.

Look six features a cropped pastel green vest with lavender inside to incorporate an element of the “smell” sense. The next look taps into sound and hearing, with Miller sewing shells onto rounded sleeves that jangle with every step. This inventive collection with experimental styles is for a fun and funky consumer who is unafraid to proudly showcase their truest colour.

LUNALEE

LUNALEE was created by Parsons BFA graduate Luna Lee, a Korean-American designer based in Los Angeles. This collection showcases her unique take on American sportswear and features her brand classic padded ZIGZAG panel technique, seen in look one’s tank top dress and look three’s oversized hoodie with chest cutouts. Besides the bright pop of mustard yellow, Lee uses a simple and neutral colour palette. An array of corsets were also showcased, bringing trendy and youthful energy to the runway. This collection is cozy and wearable, pairing baggy tops with shorts or asymmetrical tank tops with a long skirt. The closing look is the epitome of this aesthetic, featuring an oversized brown hoodie with long drawstring ties and styled with white shorts.

Dr. MAAYA

Dr. MAAYA is a colourful and happy label created by a Japanese neurosurgeon who later studied fashion design at Central Saint Martins. This collection was inspired by a familiar problem: opening up your closet and wanting to wear everything out of indecision. This inspiration can immediately be recognized from the first look alone, with a poofy dress that uses smaller dresses as a cap sleeve and layered to create a skirt. There were two “clothesline” looks, where the model walked with their arms outstretched to reveal a hanging assortment of miniature hoodies and rainbow garments on tiny hangers. The closing look is inspired by Dr. Maaya’s real closet, which features a circular hanging rack. She also designed special rainbow shoes that pair perfectly with every look. This label’s larger-than-life silhouettes and playful aesthetics brightened up the runway.

Ay Lelum

Ay Lelum is a Coast Salish design house from Snuneymuxw First Nation in Nanaimo, B.C., Canada. Aunalee and Sophia Boyd-Good are a sister design duo who hail from a multi-generational artist family. This label consistently highlights the beauty of Coast Salish culture and aesthetics through gorgeous fabrics, vibrant colours and elegant silhouettes. Their flowy outerwear and array of gowns came in muted greys and tans but also hot pink, electric orange and a rich scarlet. The show opened with a fashion film about their label and models strutted to Coast Salish with vocals sung by the designers themselves. The closing look was a stunning yellow column gown that featured a blue capelet.

TheRealB

TheRealB is an India-based luxury fashion label and the brainchild of Binal Patel, who studied at the Istituto Marangoni in Milan. Her brand emphasizes bold styles through bespoke fashion that empowers women.

This collection highlights femininity through flowy silhouettes that move beautifully down the runway. Patel is not afraid of colour, using bright reds, pinks and oranges to create vacation-ready maxi dresses and trendy sets. Look four features an electric orange dress that hugs the waist perfectly, with black flowers hand-embroidered on and scattered across the skirt. This collection also features two bags handmade by Patel using khatli work techniques: the shimmering silver clutch in look five and pink-tasseled bucket bag in look seven.

MetaMarsTowns

MetaMarsTowns is a company that hopes to build the first city and self-sufficient society on Mars. They made their runway debut this season with Z, a subsidiary brand that presented an innovative new-age collection. The seven looks were inspired by mathematical equations used to calculate chaos on Mars. The third look features a bronze bodysuit with a swirling mass of shiny copper wires surrounding the model. This unique element was created with boning traditionally used in corsets, which was then wrapped in fabric and interconnected by hand. The fourth look features an orange and pink mohair coat with yellow details, mixing futuristic styles with organic and traditional materials. The closing look features a flowing train of sheer grey fabric over top a tight white dress and a computer-generated silver chestpiece.

Alex S. Yu

Alex S. Yu is an eponymous Vancouver-based label that was launched in 2014. Yu creates colourful and minimal garments with a dreamy and fantastical aesthetic. This season, he presented a collection in three parts, starting with his first childrenswear pieces to hit the runway. Models walked down the runway in darling gingham dresses, tulle slip dresses and comfortable sets in varying shades of pastel pink, light gray and pops of lime green and purple. The showcase then transitioned into casual womenswear, with harness elements layered over neutral maxi dresses.

The opening look was a unique cream coloured three-piece set that features a stunning cutout skirt with pops of sheer pink fabric peeking through. Lastly, Yu presented his take on more glamorous womenswear, including a show-stopping metallic blue oversized dress to close the showcase.

Ruby or Not Ruby

Ruby or Not Ruby is a label based in Los Angeles, created by Jiarui (Ruby) Cai after she graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. This collection, “The Moon and Sixpence” is inspired by the novel of the same name, written by W. Somerset Maugham and loosely based on the life of French artist Paul Gaguin. The novel discusses a stockbroker who gives up a comfortable life to pursue painting in a new city. Cai similarly decided to forgo a career in accounting to pursue her passions in fashion design. Her garments draw from hip hop culture and the freedom of LA style. She uses huge googly eyes, oversized mittens with reverse- stitching details and a bright colour palette of peach and yellow to create a playful vibe. Look five features a unique ruffled lantern skirt, a reference to the “moon” in the novel’s title.

Carlton Jones

Carlton Jones is an eponymous New York City-based label that showcases elevated resortwear in masculine and feminine styles. This season, Jones presented 15 laid-back looks in a universally-flattering colour palette of white, tan and peach. Dresses and button ups also came in a brown and orange natural pattern. The garments are free-flowing and move beautifully down the runway, bringing relaxed energy to the show. The third look is impeccably styled, featuring a cream coloured sleeveless top and loose fitting trousers. Look seven was a high-low yellow tank top paired with tan shorts.

Jones also created multiple gorgeous matching sets, like the canary yellow cropped long-sleeve top and matching skirt with a high thigh slit. The closing look was a luxe silky tan jumpsuit with a sheer cropped jacket layered on top.

All images courtesy of Global Fashion Collective / Imaxtree

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