The Villains of New York Fashion Week
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer
New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 has been filled with many firsts this season. Designers have been wowing their followers and stunning industry experts with astonishing collections.
One of the most recognized design teams for their over-the-top original presentations time and time again are The Blonds. This is a truly artistic duo made up of designer, Phillipe Blond and Creative Director, David Blond. More than just about taking trend-setting style from the runway to the street, The Blonds strive for melodrama brought to life on the catwalk.
On September 7, 2018, the stage was set at Spring Studios in New York City. Right out of the pages of a fairytale, The Blonds introduced curious guests to VILLAINS x THEBLONDS, a collaboration with Disney, a NYFW dramatic season show, inspired by some of Disney’s most wicked characters, the most notorious villains. We saw the likes of Cruella de Vil, Maleficent, Evil Queen, the Queen of Hearts, Dr. Facillier, Ursula and her dark eel minions, Flotsam and Jetsam. Adorned in tight-fitting bodysuits, sparkling bodices and glistening coats, big furs and lots of feathers, gold and black crowns and the likes of which fashion has never seen, this presentation will continue to be the talk of New York Fashion Week.
“The Disney Villains style is iconic and has inspired us since childhood and throughout our career. The opportunity to collaborate with Disney and see these designs come to life on The Blonds Runway is an absolute dream come true,” said The Blonds. It was more than just a design dream for the team. Before beginning this collection, David and Phillipe toured the Disney Animation Research Library. Gaining insight into the mythology of the villains and the inspiration behind their iconic animation gave The Blonds fuel to ignite each piece brought to life on the runway. Villains were transformed into glamorous heroes of New York Fashion Week. The show was seen by millions, livestreamed at Disney.com, theBlondsny.com and NYFW.com.
Besides the leather, latex and metallic colors, fingernails stood out as the most fashionable accessory, requiring over 500 hours to complete for viewing on the runway. The craftsmanship took 300 hours of sculpting, designing and detailing. We saw Dalmatian spots with red Swarvoski crystals, green flames, horns, hearts with daggers and shards of mirror glass.
The very famous Paris Hilton took center stage playing the part of Cruella de Vil. Other models seen strutting their stuff down the runway included Dominique Jackson of the hit FX Show, Pose, Patrick Starr (YouTube Makeup Guru), Desmond Napoles (drag kid, LGBTQ advocate, designer, public speaker) and Shaun Ross (first male albino pro model).
VILLAINS x THEBLONDS was a spectacle, an entertainment masterpiece. This will be a story that goes down in the history books of fashion, the most fun-filled and frenetic Disney inspired production of The Blonds. Who is your favorite villain?
