Uma Wang SS24
Upon arrival to the Uma Wang show there were already several lines forming. I stood behind a girl who kept getting pulled out of line to be photographed by streetwear photographers and they kept asking me to save her spot, which I happily did. After about 10 minutes of that, I was wondering if it would be weird for me to not take a picture of her? It was almost like a strange pressure to capture her with my own device for whatever reason, which I did.
This season Wang explorers how we view Venice once the playfulness and grandeur ceases and we start to notice the decay. The silhouettes of this collection plays off of the outlines of the architecture and dilapidated colors of the walls, frescoes and paintings inside the buildings and the pungent smell of laguna water accompanied by the signs of rampant decay. To portray this in the collection, volumes that fold, protrude, bend and gather are washed and stained. Hints of lace, jacquard silk (wrong side out) and vintage potato sacks appear within the garments. Each garment is meant to engage with the wearer, drawstrings and wires allow the structure to mold to and flow around the body.
This collection comprised mostly of earth and neutral tones with one splash of a dark neon coral which was quite extraordinary to behold. Starting from look number one the structures were angular but also rumpled. It was as if you took a sheet of paper, used it, crumpled it up and reused it. Although the disheveled clothes were unbalanced and even a bit haunting, they also stood to look quite polished, which seems to be a signature of Uma Wang's. The fabrics draped and gathered around the figures, skirts scrunched up to mid calf and dresses that resembled potato sacks that were nonchalantly thrown into the corner of a room. Textures were created using raw, ragged threads, draped together to form these undulating edges throughout the garment. Although undeniably beautiful, the collection upon first glance did feel very unsettling. And I think that was the whole point. All that is beautiful will decay, all that was once balanced will start to unbalance. When this happens, are we still able to see the beauty in it all?