backstage buzz | nyfw ss20 pt. one

THREEGUN SS20. Photo by Ashley Gallerani.

It seems like only yesterday that we brought you backstage for New York Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019. But as the days get shorter and we unpack our jumpers, it’s nice to think about what we have upcoming for the Spring/Summer 2020 season, and there’s no better place to do that than New York. Schön! was, of course, on the ground getting behind-the-scenes shots of the best of the beginning of the week. Join us as we look through the eyes of photography duo Andee Maher and Ashley Gallerani to get an exclusive view of what’s hot on the New York runways.

Kicking off our coverage is THREEGUN, a brand featured as part of the Tmall China Cool portion of NYFW. Tmall China Cool, sponsored by Alibaba-helmed premium Chinese retailer Tmall, highlights designers from China who innovate and create high-quality, interesting designs. This series is now in its 3^rd edition and THREEGUN shows the strength of Tmall’s mission with this series.

While unfamiliar to many in the west, THREEGUN is a heritage intimate apparel label in China that has been producing top-quality sleep and loungewear since the 1930s. For this collection, the brand collaborated with designer Chuang Qu, who centred the works around the Chinese character for “tailoring.” While THREEGUN has been in the past known for incorporating science and technology into their work, its showing at NYFW seemed more relaxed – an easy yet pleasant start to the week.

Songta/i-am-chen SS20. Photo by Andee Maher.

Moving swiftly along, the second label we’ll be taking you backstage for is i-am-chen, also featured as a part of the Tmall China Cool section. Led by founder Chen Zhi, a former student of both at the London College of Fashion and the nearby Parsons School of Design, the luxury label filled its collection with unexpected and occasionally arresting colours in an effort to catch viewers off-guard. Influenced by the work of photographer Kourtney Roy, the collection has a strong retro feeling, incorporating vintage silhouettes with contemporary style and machine-coded craftsmanship.

Along with i-am-chen was SONGTA. SONGTA is a very new brand, born from the mind of Chinese conceptual artist Ta Song only four months ago. For these pieces, he mixed the influences of youthful middle school uniforms and Gen Z culture more generally with the city of Shenzhen, a large tech hub frequently thought of as on the bleeding edge of science and technology. These two fast-moving, high-spirited influences made for a dynamic collection.

Last but not least, we bring you backstage at EDGII. Founded in 2015 in Sydney, Australia, EDGII was established as a brand for the young generation and its SS20 collection, rife with The Powerpuff Girls motifs, is the perfect proof. Complete with bedazzled makeup, models strutted down the runaway in monochrome streetwear pieces, making up for the perfect out-there, functional staples. But the monochrome also led way to pastel pinks and lime statement pieces. The citrus frenzy coloured palette perfectly reflected the affordable luxury label’s innovative ethos and youthful stance. As expected, EDGII’s trademark down jackets and parkas, though revamped for the summery months, took centre stage on the runway.