This past Saturday at Downtown NYC’s Industria SuperStudio, industry icon, Jill Stuart, presented her Fall / Winter 2016 collection in full psychedelic regalia.

Featuring kaleidoscopic oil-art light installations by Joshua Light Show, the runway event was fast, colorful and reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s cynical, urban aesthetic.

Along with cultural counterparts on the west coast like the Merry Pranksters, Warhol popularized the psychedelic oil-and-art effect as part of his over indulgent art and music presentations of 1965 and 1966, then dubbed the “Exploding Plastic Inevitable. Featuring the Velvet Underground and Nico playing live behind models and performance artists, it’s come to represent a very specific time in New York’s fashion industry.

Jill Stuart captured this collection’s rock and roll origins without relying too heavy handedly on any linear fashion chronology. Flashing lights, burning guitar sounds and a pulsating kick drum drove, but didn’t overtake, the collection itself. And in spite of the maximal inspiration, the show actually presented with a sleek and driven character.

Featuring metallic dresses, studded fabrics and mod sheer tops, the show was wild yet driven. Rhinestone collars and red fishnets continued to engage its palpable rock and roll influence. Dark bell bottom trousers, and black off-the shoulder-gowns looked far more familiar to Max’s Kansas City than the Summer of Love before it; the collection’s rough and tumble glamor was confident and self-calculating.

Long silhouettes, and a series of red metallic boots cemented it as very much a New York show.

What fashion trend do you predict for these coming seasons – 60’s boho with its flowery ornamentation (as many designers are suggesting), or the fierce rock and roll spirit that gave New York it’s once-tough repute?

XoXo LenLenStyle