Andre Walker Has Seen It All, and Still Keeps Looking
Andre Walker is a New York classic—the kind of person who is anywhere anything cool is happening. The Ditmas Park-born fashion designer was a star of New York’s downtown fashion seen in the ’80s and ’90s—his wry collections included styles with names like “Boring wrap dress”—and has been a longtime friend and onetime consultant to Marc Jacobs and Kim Jones. Pre-pandemic, he was a familiar presence at art fairs and galleries, in his tank top with his drawstring knapsack on his back. I’d never seen someone look at art the way he does: leaning and bobbing before a canvas, like each piece might be three dimensional. Like each painting might be hiding something.
If designers often point dilettantishly to the same slate of obvious references, Walker is of the rare breed that works like a sponge. He is a mover but not a shaker, endlessly eager to wring out some
Vogue is a term that often applies to a prevailing mode of expression, but very often applies to a private mode of expression which will or might not apply to all. The digital disappearance of French vogue houses in the course of the struggle led American designers to discover their own creativity. Designers like Bonnie Cashin and Claire McCardell were instrumental within the creation of sportswear, that singularly American look featuring coordinated separates that could be worn in layers or in numerous combos. The trend not only gave women increased options and made it appear as if they’d extra clothes than they really did, but also blurred the line between couture and ready-to-put on by showing women they might be both …