Shortly after Billy Porter wafted backstage in a marvelous magenta Ashish sequined gown—and made the whole room scream—the designer observed: “people who wear my clothes always say to me ‘My God, that made me so happy. Everybody said I looked amazing.’” We were close to the conclusion of a chat in which Ashish had said that, after a period of block about the direction and nature of this collection, he’d seen the light and determined to focus upon what makes him happy, which is making clothes that bring his customers pleasure. “And I also wanted to be totally unpretentious about it: just beautiful clothes to spread joy.”
A powerful dose of wearable anti-depressants sounds like just the tonic for troubling times. Here Ashish administered a lifetime’s supply of serotonin boosters all worn below an outrageous array of marabou wigs, pleated topknot towers and fiercely straightened princess cuts heavily inspired by Sweet Charity (hat tip to Sam McKnight for the hair tip). Ashish is a sequinist, and although there was a paillette diversion here he mostly stuck to what he loved. Through it he articulated leopard dots, polka dots, gingham, zebra stripes, Lady Miss Kier swirls, a floral arrangement (worn by an older street cast model named Fern, who was great), jungle greens (in a dress worn well by regular Ashish model Richie Shazam) and more, more, more. The gowns were cut classically, closely, with a fondness for an open back and shimmy-generated shimmer. The low shoes were scattered with stones as if dropped from a pillaged treasure chest. Pleasure is precious and this collection struck a rich seam of it.