KidSuper, Diotima, Zankov, and Aknvas

Another glorious day of September weather took advantage of outdoor venues, skyscraper locations, sunbathed lofts, and the famous Apollo Theater.

KidSuper

Fashion shows are just as much an exercise in brand building as a tool to unveil a designer’s new collection. In fact, with the emphasis on the social media content gathered for a brand from the runway images, some would argue that’s its only purpose. After all, in theory, fashion professionals such as buyers, editors, and other press can just see it in the showroom.

For Colm Dillane of KidSuper, his MO has always been about brand building. The self-funded designer—who has been lauded with LVMH Prize and CFDA nominations and earned a coveted guest design gig at Louis Vuitton men’s just before Pharrell Williams was announced—has always relied on sponsorships and brand collaborations, which have ranged from Canada Goose, Sony PlayStation, a Marvel Spiderman video game, Meta and next week a Uniswap Café tie-up.

His latest partnerships include Puma, an obvious pairing thanks to the streetwear crowd appeal of KidSuper, and LoveSac, a 21st-century evolution of the 1970s bean bag chair concept seating cushion that actively campaigns to be aligned with fashion. Dillane is a big believer in multi-disciplinary corroboration; himself exploring other creative mediums such as

Part of Dillane’s MO has been challenging fashion norms. So true to form, the designer staged a show at the famous Apollo Theater to unveil his new offerings, which included riffs on his now signature patchwork and embroidered men’s suits, flashy faux-furs, deconstructed overcoats, tracksuits, all accessorized with colorful bags and scarves.

Instead of a traditional runway and models, Dillane recruited seven comics—DC Young Fly, Earthquake, Sam Jay, Deon Cole, Jeff Arcuri, Sam Morril and Kevin Herrera— and plucked Marlon Wayans to MC a comedy show on the legendary stage, outfitting each comic and Wayans several making ‘fit’ changes as he introduced each comic in between acts.

The comics made plenty of jabs at the more-white-than-usual crowd, along with guests such as Paul Wesley, Paris Jackson, Jaylen Brown, Ozuna, Taylor Momsen, Oshae Brissett, Malu Trevejo, Joey Bada$$, Westside Gunn, and Kordell Beckham with raucous and raunchy sets that were seriously funny. It made the 90-minute spectacle at the end of day six of the NYFW shows a pleasure versus a burden.

The show opened with the latest installment of Dillane’s own scripted cartoon called
‘Scram’, which centers around a bunch of New York City kid archetypes, including a young Colm and a scrappy cat and the hijinks they get into around New York. It was also a way to introduce some of the Puma merch too.

As the last comic exited the stage, Dillane appeared wearing a new Puma-motif-infused tracksuit to reveal a special guest surprise, Jim Jones. The 90s and Aughts-era rapper sang his popular ‘We Fly High’ baller-friendly ditty while Dillane and comics grooved along on the stage. It was an apt tune for the young designer who has flown high by charting his own course.

Diotima

Rachel Scott of Diotima is the forerunner for New York rising star to watch. Since launching her collection in 2021, which leans toward supporting artisanal craft in Jamaica (she was born in Kingston, Jamaica), the Brooklyn-based designer has already received an Emerging Designer of the Year Award from the CFDA.

Thus, the fashion crowd, both old-school journalists, retailers, and new-school digital fans, were pleased to discover another beautiful outing from Scott in the Chinatown studio on Monday afternoon. In a sizeable window-filled studio swathed in sunlight and white paint, the designer lined up the models in two series on the sides of the rooms, with models frequently stepping into the crowd at large that milled around the room blasting a reggae-centric soundtrack that was decorated in red-painted wood and red burning candles by artist TK meant to symbolize ritual, according to Scott, who spoke to the press in the corner of the room (though largely inaudible on the recording thanks to the loud music).

In show notes, Scott described the collection of a summer memory recreated “of a place, of an idea,” that emerged from a “vivid Caribbean dream.” 

This included revivalist ritual dances, Sunday church scenes, and dancehall street parties. According to the release, Jamaican ritual culture was evidenced in “blood red crochet headscarves, opaque tights worn under white dresses, and exposed slip hems reveal interior worlds.”

What was incredibly enticing about the collection was the elevated use of embellishment in Scott’s deft hands. (According to one editor, wearing a piece of the collection gives ASMR vibes, too).

Shells cascaded down the front of gowns, beaded fringes swished on hemlines, crinkled silver and gold metallic paillettes trimmed waist cut-outs on sleek snug knit dresses or thigh slits on and metal grommets enriched a deep V-front dress bodice like armor.

Other collection motifs included “broderie anglaise reminiscent of palm trees or weed leaves or both” infused on denim or as a hemline crisp cotton dressing, sheer styles, and a mesh netting fabric turned up as a beaded deep V-neck gown or a layering piece under a white suit. Overall, the collection was a breath of fresh air in the week.

Zankov

Henry Zankov leaned into the paddle-sports trend sweeping the nation, which Manhattan is not immune to, by showing at Hudson Yards at the Reserve-Padel club. He used the courts—dotted with large-scale glazed raku ceramic Stonehenge-like totems made in collaboration with artist Ben Mazey—to stage his Spring/Summer 2025 collection. Lest you think it was all tennis skirts and polos, think again. Zankov was thinking of Sonic Youth rather than the US Open.

See catwalk

“This collection was about rebelliousness and being unruly, of the mixing and subverting preppy glam. I saw Kim Gordon in May, and it brought me back to high school and college when I listened to a lot of alternative rock and grunge. It was my first introduction to American culture when I first moved to America. It was an impressionable moment for me,” said the designer.

He said seeing her brought back those feelings and memories because it formed his taste in fashion and music. With a styling that recalled Nineties-era Grunge, Zankov also leaned into the dichotomy of the urban-ness of New York juxtaposed with its nearby shoreline.

“It’s living in a city but being by a beach. Some things felt beachy but also city-like. It’s the idea of a preppy mesh polo shirt or jacquard windowpane checks inspired by vintage wallpaper matte and shine with transparent sequins, so it’s a glam twist sequins. I wanted to introduce more playful shine,” he continued. The latter was indeed reminiscent of a Grunge-style flannel. He made oversized shorts from Merino wool that resembled lambswool in pointelle inspired by vintage socks and applied giant paillettes that recalled the sea.

The designer teamed up again with jewelry designer Presley Oldham—nephew of Nineties-era designer Todd Oldham— on sea glass and Murano glass jewelry and added sunglasses thanks to a new friendship with Selima of Selima Optique. In a further ‘90s nod, one pair was a replica of a style made for Carolyn Bessette.
New categories aren’t the only way Zankov pushes his brand forward. He is exploring the use of more wovens, too.

“I am a knitwear designer, so I usually just do this, but I always wanted to do wovens to stretch and grow the brand and the visual language, pattern color, and texture. One piece is a trench coat in bonded vichy cherry red and yellow trench coat, which is neutral to me. Every piece stands on its own. The styling is very eclectic, and I wanted the wardrobe to be able to be taken apart and mixed up.”

Aknvas

Held in a glass-walled space on the 37th floor of 10 Hudson Yards, the Spring/Summer 2025 collection was high up there literally in many ways. The brand teamed up with lux THC edibles and rolled goods store The Travel Agency, which left guests with a goodie bag full of products to sample. Post-show backstage designer Christian Juul Nielsen was elated without the aid of cannabis products, thanks to a fun and exciting collection filled with fresh and interesting items.

See catwalk

The outing, called ‘Nordic Midsummer Camp,’ was presumably a trip down memory lane for Juul Nielsen.

“It’s divided into three sections;’ Urban Scout’ is first arriving at the camp, and as they begin interacting, the girls start to borrow the boy’s practical belts as bra tops,” he explained of the crisp shirting bralettes worn with teeny bloomer shorts.

“The second part is them playing in the Danish summer flower fields; the flowers get stuck in the boy’s shorts and on the hot pants,” he furthered, referring to a group of floral pattern eyelets in white and bright colors of monochromatic separates that looked inviting and commercially a hit.

The designer said that shimmering sequin styles and studded and pierced denim styles recalled the sky’s reflection on dew drops glistening on one’s body.

Of course, every camper needs a satchel, and the brand launched its first bag, something Nielsen was pleased about. “It’s a big deal with the amount of work that went into this. We want to dive further into this category,” he added.

Building out the brand into more categories will surely aid in bolstering his current and future wholesale clients which include Saks Fifth Avenue, Fwrd, Revolve, and Harvey Nichols in Hong Kong.