EENK AW23
By the time Sunday arrived the entire city felt a little wobbly. Aside from the impending citywide strike, the endless fashion shows had me feeling a little run down. I walked through the gates and down the steps to the venue entrance and was greeted by a very helpful team who showed me to my seat. As soon as I entered the show every ounce of sloth I felt had left me. I was increasingly enthused as I saw more and more people file in. An electric blue haze was upon us, the entire room felt otherworldly. The blue made us all look the same, we were all wearing blue, we were all blue people, there is nothing but blue. There were two large sculptures, 3D archways by Korean artist Osang Kwon. They made this landscape look unearthly, as if we took the metro a few lightyears too far.
After about 20 minutes when everybody has settled in the blue lights started to fade away and we can see each other in our true presentations once again. Beautifully dressed attendees, socialites and starlets. Industry professionals with their cameras and phones ready. The first model in a long fringed blue capelet shredded through the sculpture and into the room.
For Autumn Winter 2023, X presents an unknown, an undefinable. X is used in mathematics when a piece of the puzzle does not exist. This collection reflects that spirit and is a departure from the borders of the old world and the old way of thinking. X makes it possible to reconstruct identities. The rules of gender and time do not exist there are no rules to how to wear clothing, how many layers to wear, what the actual piece even is. Is it a skirt or are they trousers?
Whatever the X stands for for EENK, to me as an observer it's the X factor. Each one of these pieces has that special something X that I would like to embody. Every single look is so put together yet deconstructed. Everybody just looks so damn cool. A new Gen X has emerged.