A Journalist’s Diary of Threaded: A Men’s Fashion Week
Model Chris DeLoatch (middle) walks for Angelia's Couture by Angelia Cooper at Threaded’s Men Fashion Week Finale Show last Sunday at the Historic Hofheimer Building
This is an opinion editorial.
A Men’s Fashion Week – Sounds like a pretty closed-off invitation-only event exclusively for the fashion industry, right?
You scroll down or swipe left to pictures and videos of hot models, invitees and sponsors on social media. Models stoically parade down the long runway, showcasing the latest designs while everyone takes out their iPhones to capture the intricate details of the clothing. It can feel like you’re missing out or the envy takes over that you’re not a part of the clique.
This picture I painted may exist in other cities, but Threaded’s founder and executive director, Darrian Hewlett, made the stereotypical fashion season the opposite for the ‘soft-launch’ or ‘inaugural’ launch of Richmond’s first men’s fashion week.
I’ve been privileged to be invited to a handful of fashion shows in town throughout my time in journalism. The fashion community may seem exclusive and pretentious, but these shows emphasize a lot on hyper-locality and connecting with individuals outside of the digital sphere. After all, fashion designers are small-business brands who want to showcase their hard work. While it is glamorous and fun to create a production, the return on investment is often low. It’s not easy designing a piece of clothing that fits the brand and selling it off to consumers, who often seek out sensible and wearable wardrobes for an everyday lifestyle.
Regardless of the tribulations, these are some of the highlighted designs I’ve had the pleasure to witness.
First Fashion Show – The Eclectic Evolution
Models walk out the runway parading the first act of The Eclectic Evolution.
The Eclectic Evolution marked the first fashion show of the week at the Randolph Community Center last Saturday afternoon. I hurried home from a busy day at work and quickly put on my makeup and a rarely-worn Banana Republic green jumpsuit with some Sam Edelman rose gold heels topped off with giant gold hoops – shoutout to my mom who has the same shoe size as me!
The fashion show’s location was at the community center’s gymnasium, which for some odd reason, the gymnasium stitched (no pun intended) structurally with the show’s theme, streetwear. Models walked out head high, straight ahead expressionlessly posing at three angles around the gymnasium.
I’ve always admired emerging fashion designers’ who showcase their creations to the world, especially in a field where creating designs is time-consuming and criticisms are often harsh. As an audience member who’s been involved with the fashion scene for a while, not a lot of designs stood out to me. From what I’ve seen, there were a lot of denim jackets and pants with sewn-on embellishments, leftover cut fabric sewn onto outerwear items and statement pieces like ‘Ghetto C.E.O.’ plastered across a model’s hoodie. Despite not many pieces being too significant, streetwear fashion always serves some sort of sociocultural symbolism in light of starting conversations on issues such as BIPOC individuality and representation, equity and emphasizing a lot on community empowerment.
I will give grace and praise to these emerging designers who showcased their work; it takes a lot of courage for designers to put themselves out there. The silver lining is that these types of shows are for them to learn from the experiences and feedback and grow from them.
Emerging Designers Roll Call
Maiden Name by Chloe Allen — Honorably mentioned on local CBS6 WTVR-TV
Brendin Avents by Brendin Avents
Etrnl Aluér by Jamir "8" Sartin
Nubati Industries by AbdouMoumin Sanda
High Hands Hemma by Kris Tweedy
Ravez Collection by Ryen Harris and Josh Nkan | Creative Director Ciara Joyner-Plata
Makai Kamil by Makai Gillis
Official Marcus The Artist by Custom Kou
Finale Fashion Show – A Menswear Affair
Models in pantsuits parade down the runway during Threaded’s finale show.
A Menswear Affair threaded together (ok, I need to stop with these puns) at the Hoffmeier Building this past Sunday. I was a big fan of every pantsuit the models wore parading down the narrow bar, which served as a runway for models. To my surprise, some women modeled designs hinting that menswear can also be unisex, which seems to be a top fashion trend for the past couple of years.
The final show had more avant-garde designs and formalwear by seasoned designers who have more experience in curating high-style looks for the runway. The intricate details and stitching of the pantsuits were tailored to fit the model – regardless of how physically in shape they were – to their body. These are details highly expected out of formal or professional menswear since they need to highlight or enhance the silhouette of the model. Plus – tailored suits overtime would not require further alternations and last much longer. The finale did emphasize the gentleman – the one in the tailored suit charming those around him and wherever he goes.
As Threaded keeps posting memories of their big week on Instagram, I sit on my bed – exhausted from working all afternoon – placing the final touches on this post, I think to myself of the amount of dedication and commitment it took for everyone – designers, Threaded’s production team and Hewlett’s leadership – involved to curate something that sticks by the mission of Threaded.
Finale Designers Roll Call
Rumors by Ronald Abangan in collaboration with Abangan’s brand, h3aven_08
Fashionable Que by Dennis Jones
Angelia's Couture by Angelia Cooper
Dapper 7 By David Harrell
Matveeva by Sofiia Matveeva
RJ Brands Customs LLC by Ralph Gregory Jr.
Threaded Stylists Show by Kat Henson, Suong Han and Erin Dakota | Creative Director Ronald Abangan
This is only the beginning for Hewlett.
— Paula J.P. Author’s Note: More details regarding the list of fashion designers have been listed for clarity purposes.
