Bobby Abley’s 90s childhood nostalgia took us back to Star Wars. Timed perfectly with the franchise’s latest release, “The Force Awakens,” Abley treated the subject matter with his signature lighthearted streak. His childlike curiosities were both novel and commercially sensible. It was as if the brief each season was to go viral. The “Chewy” on a Chewbacca inspired outfit, “Princess Slayer” closing the show (both a reference to Princess Leia and the couture-style tradition of closing a show with a bridal look), and “Super Duper Storm Trooper” slogan t-shirts – all exemplify the Insta-fashion genre. It’s a vision of fashion made to be regrammed. Abley gives his audience precisely what they want: novelty and humour that is easy to digest – and he seems to have made that his very edge. Abley joins a league of designers like Jeremy Scott at Moschino, who toys with the forces of mass consumption and social media. The first to ride on the wave of statement neoprene sweatshirts, Abley is a digital age designer who continues to subvert the traditional fashion system with his instant appeal.
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