Opening Ceremony: See Now Buy Now in La Mama

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Sep 11, 2017

Opening Ceremony took their spring 2018 collection to La Mama, the cult-like theatre space in the Lower East Side, where the careers of the likes of Sam Shepard and Robert Wilson have been launched.

The result was not really fashion show – more a performance art dance statement called Changers, starring hipster actress Mia Wasikowska (Alice Kingsleigh in Alice in Wonderland) and Lakeith Stanfield (detective L in Netflix’s Death Note) as a couple who wake up in a (vertical) bed and then dance their way through their relationship’s traumas.
 
The protagonists, and assorted partygoers, pals and dressers took turns to wear the collection. From the early morning pink pajamas; and a charming flannel plaid wrap dress; to floral pleated dresses to a superb glittering Art Deco flapper dress Wasikowska wore to a nightclub; to a natty blazer and trim pants that Stanfield wore on a date. Then, when he gets blind rotten drunk in a fit of jealousy, Lakeith is escorted home by a quartet of dancers in black sweatpants, disco leggings and tops, trimmed with the Opening Ceremony logo.

Directed by Spike Jonze, the event teetered on the edge of trite, but ultimately was a charming exercise. A neatly packaged glossy program – shot by the great French photographer Brigitte Lacombe, no less – and a massive mini-newspaper, financed by American Express Platinum featured photos and quotes by cool couples on how to maintain long-term relationships.
 
This dance story is about “a couple navigating the hazards of monogamy,” explained the Opening Ceremony design duo of Carol Lim and Humberto Leon in the newspaper.
 
And, one imagines, good business too. Few designers pay as much attention to the bottom-line as the Opening Ceremony duo. The epitome of downtown insider cool, yet also very much a commercial event – seeing as the collection was on sale in the lobby of La Mama, and available – See Now Buy Now style – on Opening Ceremony’s website.
 
Yet another example of savvy New York designers thinking way out of the box; and creating a clever theatrical fashion moment.