FALL 2022
The Fall 2022 collection entitled "Fancy' is an homage to the 1969 Bobbie Gentry hit song bearing the same name. The song, reinterpreted over the years by the likes of Reba McEntire and Orville
Peck, tells the story of a poverty-stricken family living in the "outskirts of New Orleans."
The single mother, unable to feed her eighteen-year-old daughter, Fancy, and newborn, sees no other option but to spend her last penny on a red satin dancing dress, velvet-trimmed, of course, for her daughter, whom she turns out to charm "a king, a congressman, and an occasional aristocrat". Her mother then sends Fancy off to make her way uptown, eventually living her own rags to riches story.
The story Gentry sings in her country tune fascinated me for numerous reasons. One of those
reasons is the sheer provocative nature of a country song written decades ago not-so-shyly alluding to the
topic of sex work-an often taboo topic, especially in the South. I was also moved by the fact one simple
red satin dress was the pivotal piece, leading Fancy into her new life. And oddly, I saw a little bit of Fancy
in myself. I too came from humble beginnings in the South, child to a single mom trying to make ends
meet. You could say a red dress, or a portfolio of dresses, was also my gateway ticket to NYC, a place
where I could reinvent myself into the person I always knew I could be. Like the lyrics say: "I might've been
born just plain white trash, but Fancy was my name. In a heartfelt homage to the song, the collection sets out to tell the story of the humble southern girl turned city-street queen, while empowering the wearer, whomever they may be, to feel "Fancy".
The collection draws clear inspiration from both the South and sex. Historically-southern silhouettes and
latex gloves and masks, are seen throughout the collection. The collection's color story consists of both
black and white, while an emphasis on red at the beginning of the collection transitions to blue. This is
both a tribute to the red satin dress which began Fancy's journey and a visual representation of her
geographical journey from the red, conservative, south to the blue, liberal, north. The reference to politics
does not stop there, as the ties between sex work, bigotry, politics, male hubris, and a woman's body, are
far from vague. Menswear suiting elements are incorporated into numerous pieces within the collection.
The political references are present until the last look in the collection: an ass-out, full-skirt wedding gown
inspired by First Lady Jackie Kennedy's wedding gown-a reference to the Madonna-whore complex that
plagues modern, Western society.
