Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Designer Alexander Wang doesn't want to be associated with the word "sporty" anymore. His latest collection is a complete 180: no body-conscious dresses, no bra tops.
Wang, like many other children of the nineties, grew up during Hot Topic's heyday. The mall chain was a refuge for the alt crowd, where kids went to stock up on black pants, clompy black boots, chains, and studded accessories. Hot Topic's been languishing lately, but from the looks of things, its original aesthetic is back.
Models, their hair falling in bedraggled, dirty-looking clumps across their faces, stomped along to The Prodigy song "The Day is My Enemy." It was music to scream to, conjuring memories of nineties Prodigy hits "Firestarter," "Breathe," and "Smack My Bitch Up." The models, by the way, didn't look happy. They weren't supposed to.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3410932/JanisIan.0.jpg)
It was all-black everything, save for a few maroon buffalo check coats and then, at the end, some lamé outerwear. Pants were cropped, necks were high, and there was plenty of leather. Every single model wore the same sort of Frankenshoe. It's what Janis Ian, Mean Girls' resident outsider, would stock her closet with if she had the cash.
Wang's shows always attract boldface names. Tonight, Kim, Kanye and North West (in a baby-size Wang ensemble) were in the house, seated between Wang's super-stylish niece Aila and Nicki Minaj. The grand spectacle of Kanye's presentation for Adidas yesterday is proving hard to top, but Wang certainly gave it his best shot.
Photos: The Fashion Law