Spring 2022 Commission Ready-to-Wear Collection

The emotion that permeates the collections of the Commission can sometimes be hidden in their clean and elegant images. The trio of designers behind the brand, Dylan Cao, Jin Kay and Huy Luong, are thoughtful pragmatists whose lookbooks and other projects, like a gorgeous book of portraits of Asian men put up for sale this summer to raise funds for the Asian American Legal Defense Education Fund and Apex for Youth — have a straightforward honesty with them that, to new eyes, can’t always be interpreted as passionate. So know that under the precision cuts and elegant lines, what Cao, Kay and Luong have put forward for spring 2022 is loaded with emotion.

In their Garment District studio, the trio described spring as a continuation of the ’70s themes started for fall. But rather than continue the short-sightedness of Western fashion over the decade – all the spiritual awakenings, crochet tops, and hippie jeans – the designers connected Western appropriations of Eastern philosophy and religion to what was happening in their parents’ lives in Korea and Vietnam at the time. . “In the East, the reality was darker,” Cao said. “In Vietnam, my family picked up the pieces after the war; in Korea, they were recovering from a civil war.

Do the voluminous ruffled skirts evoke styles of the Woodstock prairies or a beautiful war-torn heritage? The designers bridged the two realities of the 1970s with their characteristic elegance: the seams of the midi dresses are on the outside and the edges are left raw, the bodysuits are half in conflict with the flowers and the coats. are open at the back to reveal a cascade of ruffles. Cute new things, inspired by school uniforms, are in the mix for guys, like gym style shorts and top buttonless blazers inspired by a tradition in Korea and Japan where girls give boys a button of their own. jacket they love. Knit bras and sexy draped jersey dresses add a touch of daring to women’s fashion. As their fit model tries on outfits, she imagines where she would wear them: dinner, on a date, after the divorce. She wouldn’t have to imagine too hard: Days later, some of New York’s chicest women were at a Nordstrom event in their full board looks. If the mark in The Met’s emotional new show – ahem – the word given to their piece would surely be community.