02 12 2020 Vogue Notable Design from NYFW AAU

Vogue February 12, 2020 “5 Fresh Names To Know From New York Fashion Week” Designer Kenneth Nicholson, CFDA rising star, mentions studying at Academy of Art University. https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/rising-stars-of-new-yorkfashion-week

https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/rising-stars-of-new-york-fashion-week

Despite the shorter schedule, the absence of blockbuster New York Fashion Week mainstays – CFDA chairman Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger among them – this season has created additional light for a new generation of rising design talents. Rather than make overt political statements about the looming presidential elections in November and the

state of other current affairs, these designers have instead chosen to harness the power of fashion as a means of escapism.

From Susan Alexandra’s musical extravaganza to Kenneth Nicholson’s nostalgic tailoring and the divine comedy of Puppets and Puppets, five rising stars of NYFW share the inspirations behind their latest collections and the series of events that led them to a career in fashion.

Los Angeles-based Kenneth Nicholson regards himself as an artist who makes clothes, rather than a fashion designer. “It’s the most real way of expressing

art in the sense that it’s worn; one can [communicate] their internal [feelings] externally… the ultimate version of performance art,” explains the 37-year-old.

There is a widespread belief that great art comes from struggle, and that seems to be the case for Nicholson, who describes his upbringing in Houston, Texas as “difficult”. “I was bullied at school and my father – an army veteran – didn’t understand my desire to create fashion as a teenager,” he says. Nevertheless he pursued his calling and went on to study fashion design at San Francisco's Academy of Art University. Titled ‘Grandmas Couch’ – inspired by the “view” from his grandmother’s couch that encompassed “florals, crystals, figurines, sounds of gospel, sports imagery” – Nicholson’s AW20 coed collection presented during NYFW mens was a poetic collage of colours, textures and patterns. Think Seventies-style tailoring in pastel hues, refined frock coats for the 21st century renaissance man, a skirt suit cut from what looked like houndstooth carpet and sweaters and vests made using a latch-hooking technique passed down through generations.