Studio 189 - Spring Summer 2020

The explore page on Instagram is a magical place. It’s a curated collection of all the types of things and people that you like and follow. Needless to say, mine is filled with a lot of Black men, mostly half-naked… However, as I scrolled the page one fateful day, I immediately received a big, warm hug  from the Studio 189 SS20 show. The worldwide protests were in full swing and I was doing a deep dive into Black art as an act of self-love and self-care; so, this show was right on time. Everything about it captured and enraptured me: The music, the models, the exuberant tone of the show. As look after look walked the runway, I couldn’t help but smile.

On the brand’s IG, they write “We can learn from the past and work together to build our shared story for the future and create opportunity for generations to come. We celebrate all of the characteristics that make us different and also all our similarities through mixing prints and patterns and by encouraging the uniqueness of all the people that wear the brand.” Looking at the show, the mixing and blending of patterns, prints and people is apparent. Aside from the clothes, featured is a beautifully diverse model casting: There are gender non-conforming individuals, Black people and people of all ages and body types! The large and vibrant floral prints as well as the barefoot models show the earthiness of the collection and instills an organic ease and flow into the garments.

There’s dancing from start to finish which also lends to the collection’s message of reaching back to and learning from the past while facing and embracing the future. A tribal dance opens the show, there’s modern choreography by a young group of dancers in the middle, and the show closes with all the models and designers dancing to Pierre Kwenders. It is truly a show paying homage to the past; but also one that reflects the beauty of where we are today and where we’re headed tomorrow.