New York Fashion Week ’19 saw L.A. based brand, No Sesso, breaking cosmic barriers with not only their avant-garde style AW19 collection, but also the brand’s designer and founder, Pierre Davis, being the first trans designer to show on the official New York Week calendar.
Whilst ultimate snaps are due, both Davis and No Sesso’s co-director, Arin Hayes, state that they are not trying to be politicised, rather their inclusivity is simply, “…Our truth, it’s our way of life.”
The whole No Sesso brand encompasses being authentically diverse, showcasing their epicene work on models of colour, from custom one-offs for their musician friends to No Sesso’s recent showcase at L.A.’s world-renowned museum, The Getty, which featured an exclusively black cast. Celebrating black excellence isn’t only achieved through casting but inspires No Sesso’s collections, with a range of jackets adorned with the faces of natural-haired black women. This constant diversity is what No Sesso is all about; not to make a political statement, rather, it is just who they are.
In an interview with Daze, Davis and Hayes discuss the importance of the community around them and how representing people like that is really important to them. “No Sesso is a community that’s made up of friends that we work and collaborate with constantly. The entire No Sesso team is a really tight-knit family from the iconic models that we work with, to the stylist, the hairstylist that we have, the photographers that we use. We have this motto – ‘No Sesso or die’ – which is like life and about bringing the community together and making fab clothes”.
The brand started out in L.A. in 2015, with Pierre exhibiting installations at art galleries with the clothes that she made and wore herself, later gaining momentum through social platforms like Instagram. The No Sesso founder states that when she designs her pieces, it is based on how she feels and making clothes and outfits she wants to wear, “I love dressing up and I have so many moods, and it’s mostly based off that. I put a lot of how I feel into my garments.”
There was no doubt in Davis’ mind that No Sesso wouldn’t make it to the runway in New York and whilst the brands clothes are hard to label within conventional terms, No Sesso’s major label right now is “successful” – in breaking barriers AND creating bomb-ass, agender looks that tore up the NYFW runway.
We would love to know what you thought about No Sesso’s NYFW show. Let us know in the comments.
