Alexander Wang, Hood by Air and others take inspiration from the street

Reporting From New York —  Alexander Wang celebrated the 10^th anniversary of his namesake fashion label Saturday night with streetwear, stripper poles and a star-studded front row, including Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj.

Among a certain set of new American designers, Wang, 31, is a success story, launching his business in 2004, and building it into a global brand appealing to a generation raised on extreme sports, sexually suggestive imagery and social media.

Over the years, his runway collections have referenced off-duty model chic, “Miami Vice,” Bruce Weber sports photos and fetish wear. Meanwhile, his T by Alexander Wang line of T-shirts and covetable handbags has sent sales soaring. Wang became as famous as his famous pals, who never miss his killer after-parties.

European luxury conglomerate Kering even bought into the hype, hiring Wang as creative director for the Balenciaga brand in 2012, a short-lived gig that will end when he presents his final collection for the French fashion house next month.

Photos: Celebs at NYFW spring 2016

So Wang is back in New York full time, focusing on growing his own brand, starting where it all began, on the street.

In recent runway seasons, he seemed determined to prove he could elevate the aesthetic in his namesake line, perhaps to justify his Paris perch, by showing near-couture level techniques, such as hand-pleating and draping on his sneaker-culture-inspired spring 2014 collection.

But this season, he rebooted, hoping to remind customers of his original design codes and build on them once again. Trouble is, we’ve seen slip dresses, pajama tops, moto jackets and varsity sweaters with lacing details from Wang before, and these 2.0 versions, even paired with today’s maxi-length skirts and cropped, gingham flared pants, seemed so watered-down, they failed to excite. Where was the so-bad-it’s-good humor and naughty innuendo that distinguished his brand DNA? Without them, the clothes just read like those of any other sporty contemporary brand -- Vince, Theory, take your pick. (Then again, maybe that’s the point -- fewer design details to bring down the price point and scale the business.)

Nevertheless, what Wang seemed to be missing was his edge. Where that’s concerned, several other designers are nipping at his heels, vying for attention from ballers, pop stars and other cool kids.

Hood by Air’s DJ-turned-designer Shayne Oliver is one. Gender-bending, zipper-convertible pieces dangling straps and buckles, and sports jerseys and track pants plastered with HBA logos have always been part of the game at the rising underground New York label. But for spring 2016, Oliver joined generation Miley, Rick Owens, et al, in playing with the cultural taboo of nudity.

He sent his first model walking out backward, in backless pants, bare cheeks for all to see, and continued with a host of gender-neutral looks that revealed and concealed in interesting ways. (A straight jacket-meets-moto jacket was scooped out to reveal tattooed shoulders, jeans were cut into strips up to the naval over tightie whities, and skirts came structured like cages revealing everything underneath).

It was not particularly new (Jean Paul Gaultier was doing the fetish thing back in the 1980s) or shocking. And the question still remains: Now that Oliver has our attention, what next? Where Wang is in danger of going so commercial he’s no longer interesting, Oliver is risking a flame-out if he doesn’t become more commercial.

Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osbourne of Public School seem to be finding the magic formula. Their spring women’s collection continued to blur the lines between masculine and feminine, Eastern and Western dress. Chow and Osbourne also dipped into the preppy canon, with polo shirts, dresses and great-looking rep striped pants.

But mostly, their vision was about keeping cool in the heat, with light, louche layers that put a modern spin on sportswear: a bird-embroidered mesh flight jacket over a romper; an elongated knit pullover vest over a breezy maxiskirt; and a weightless trench over a sheer skirt over a sheer dress, for example. (There’s such a fine art to layering for spring, we’re all going to need our own stylists.)

Downtown L.A. based-designer Jonny Cota turned to the desert as inspiration for his spring Skingraft collection. (Because what is the desert if not SoCal’s street?) His survivalist look was all about unisexy cargo pants, paratrooper vests, leather harnesses, chain mail sleeves and some wild-looking gold leaf body paint.

“The reason Burning Man started is because the desert is a blank canvas for radical self-expression,” said Cota, who launched Skingraft in 2006, earning a reputation for cool leather outerwear, before moving into ready-to-wear. The designer recently opened an expanded flagship on Spring Street in L.A. “We have new partners, we’re expanding our manufacturing. ... We’re more mature. But we’re still offering that indie downtown L.A. spirit,” he said. “Six years ago, it may not have been as appreciated, but it definitely is now.” A new brand on the rise.

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