THE IT GIRL REIMAGINED IN ALEXANDER WANG PRE-FALL 2023
LN-CC CAPTURES IT-NESS, RIFFING OFF THE IRREVERENT SEX APPEAL AND EFFORTLESS BRAGGADOCIO OF ALEXANDER WANG PRE-FALL 2023
The It-girl is a necessarily nebulous concept; obsessively coveted by many, bestowed only to the few who simply have it. She is, as writer Raven Smith puts it, “pure zeitgeist, charisma incarnate, hard to describe linguistically…men want her, women want to be her, gays want to meme her.” But lately, with the inexorable rise of social media, the inflation of so-called it-ness has simultaneously squandered its once precious essence. In the face of this, we ask ourselves: does the it-girl still exist anymore?
Cue Alexander Wang’s Pre-Fall 2023 drop. Offering up bold, new styles alongside familiar favourites, the Chinese-American designer draws inspiration from iconic 1990s athletic silhouettes and the seductive sheen of Wong Kar Wai’s films In the Mood for Love and 2046. Translating this seamlessly into lace-edged slip dresses, boxer briefs peeping above low-slung trousers, full leather and faux-fur moments and red, croc-embossed stripper heels, nostalgia and innovation emerges in striking synchronicity.
Galvanised, LN-CC enlisted 3-D artist Pas 2 Keur to digitally reimagine the archetypal Wang girl. Where she once swaggered from club to boudoir in a hedonistic swirl, she now boasts a multi-hyphenate title and glides from business meeting to private jet to private party. Empowered not just in her dressing, but in her very being, she exudes magnetic sensuality and irresistible cool in equal doses.
For Pre-Fall 2023, Wang incorporates more wearable, toned-down options. Restyled shirting with built-in wrap details and clean-cut, boxy blazers are paired masterfully with oversized basketball shorts and the insouciant ease of matching tracksuit sets. Not one to refrain from the risqué, the voice of young New York juxtaposes this newfound sensibility with the introduction of ‘Dome’, an intriguing range of accessories fitted with metal hardware reminiscent of a certain object of self-pleasure. The combined versatility of these pieces invites a chameleonic day to night transition for the girl-on-the-go.
PLAYFUL EROTICISM MEETS IN UNINHIBITED SELF-EXPRESSION AS THE WANG GIRL APPEARS TRANSCENDS IT-NESS.
Serving the brand’s signature larger-than-life attitude, Alexander Wang Pre-Fall 2023 proves that the ultra-slick codes, glamorous overtones and subversive streetwear infusions that first won them their following are now making a mythical comeback at the hands of a future generation of it-girls.