Illustrator Joana Avillez captured Chloë Sevigny, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson and more fashion folks in the latest collections from new and emerging designers.
It’s easy to romanticize social life in New York City: gatherings in people’s exquisitely-decorated apartments, sharing food and stories with the most interesting strangers you’ll ever meet. It’s not a total fantasy — this does happen (sometimes, some in more cramped spaces than others) — but it’s one of those things that make you think, “Only in New York.”
Bergdorf Goodman wants to capture that energy, and celebrate the people who make the city — and, specifically, its fashion industry — so special. So, on the precipice of New York Fashion Week, the iconic New York retailer tapped illustrator Joana Avillez to imagine a dinner party between a selection of creative New Yorkers, wearing the designers that represent its new vanguard. On the guest list: Linda Fargo (in AnOnlyChild), Dara Allen (in Proenza Schouler), Hailey Benton-Gates (in Khaite), Deeda Blair (in The Row), Laila Gohar (in Luar), Gabriella Karefa-Johnson (in Diotima), Gaetano Pesce (in Zankov), Antwaun Sargent (in Bode), Mark Ronson (in Peter Do) and Chloë Sevigny (in Proenza Schouler).
The “Only in New York” campaign is the result of conversations between Chief Merchandising Officer Yumi Shin, Fashion Director Fargo, VP of Brand Marketing and Creative Elle Strauss and the rest of the merchants about how Bergdorf Goodman would commemorate fashion week and the excitement around it.
“We have this amazing store, bg.com… We want to reach everyone — how can we illustrate that? And that word: illustrate,” Strauss says. “This feels like a really wonderful storytelling moment, and Joana felt like the perfect person [to do it]. It’s this idea of celebrating the city’s style and bringing that to the windows, digital and social.”
Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
A dinner party felt like the most appropriate set-up, according to Strauss, because the retailer hosts a lot of dinners — plus, Avillez has a series depicting various characters sitting at a long table. “I was like, ‘We should do the BG version, which feels like a dinner party and a celebration of these real-life characters and these exciting collections from independent New York designers, and also bringing in the more established designers,” she says. “And food, it’s always good, right?”
As far as casting the “Only in New York” dinner party, Bergdorf Goodman went to “people that felt representative of this concept,” as well as longtime friends of the brand. The hope was to showcase how they “express themselves through clothing, but how that doesn’t define them,” Strauss says. “They have this amazing, charismatic energy.” Then, the retailer went about pairing them with collections that aligned with their personas, as well with Bergdorf’s edit (i.e. the pieces the merchants already bought into).
Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
“Gabriella’s often seen in color, so that amazing crochet felt like an obvious pairing. Dara, we actually worked quite closely with on the Proenza,” Strauss says. “My background is styling, reading these people and seeing what works for them, then looking at the collections and piecing that together… It was looking at the character and how they express themselves, and looking at the designers and seeing that synergy.” (As far as what Strauss herself would wear to the dinner party, it’s a toss-up between Khaite and Peter Do.)
See the full Bergdorf Goodman “Only in New York” campaign (did you know it’s possible to get FOMO from illustrations?) below.
The name cards for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Linda Fargo for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Chloë Sevigny for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Antwaun Sargent for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Dara Allen for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Deeda Blair for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Mark Ronson for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Hailey Benton-Gates for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Laila Gohar for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Gaetano Pesce for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
A Bergdorfs-branded champagne bottle for Bergdorf Goodman’s “Only in New York” campaign. Photo: Joana Avillez/Courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
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Source: Fashionista.com
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