Over the past few years, No Sesso has ascended from an emerging brand to a proven force in the fashion industry. Yes, the clothes are as exciting as ever, and yes, they’ve broken barriers within the industry (in 2019, lead designer Pia Davis became the first trans woman to show on the official CFDA calendar). But much of their success has to do with embracing diversity with a depth that other brands can only dream of, making everything about their shows, collections, and creative output feel authentic to the core.
That commitment was on display at the brand’s 2022 New York Fashion Week show, a self-exploration of “Black punk” titled “SESSO.” Davis and co-founder Autumn Randolph showed a collection of moody, dark-hued clothes for Spring that emphasized skin-bearing, head-turning silhouettes. As always, you’d know a No Sesso look when you see one.
The show also served as an homage to Serena Williams, with the first look designed with inspiration from the tennis legend’s own style, in collaboration with Nike. Additionally, the brand collaborated with the Angelito Collective, a group of artists committed to radical trans visibility, to capture behind-the-scenes footage of the show for a film you can see below, as well as with the Black trans-led nightlife collective For the Gworlz to help throw the show’s official after party.
Below, check out polaroids from the show, shot by photographer Ramie Ahmed, and an interview with Kam, a director and member of the Angelito Collective who also walked in the show.
What does this show mean to you?
This show is really pivotal for a lot of people within fashion, including Black and Brown trans people who are taking space in an industry that often just shoves us to the back. I think it's really cool that Angelito Collective got to partner with Pia and Autumn really closely for this. The whole day has felt like a family reunion, honestly, because I know most of the people in this room as members of the community.
What does trans celebration mean to you?
I think it means celebrating life without having to put a label on my identity. I'm in this space because I'm talented at what I do and all the people in this space are talented at what they do. I think that being able to celebrate ourselves as we are, and just kind of living and thriving and breathing fully, is a celebration to me.
What is the Angelito's collective's involvement in today's show?
The Angelito Collective is producing and directing work for backstage content capture. We've organized a lot of the imagery that you're going to see from the show. Members of our collective are shooting the lookbook, capturing medium-format film, taking Super8 film footage; we're just trying to collect as much imagery as we can to amplify this beautiful day. Another member of our collective, Sinn Chhin, is leading the makeup tean today. We're also producing the after party in partnership with For The Gworls, another trans-femme-led organization.
Can you share more about that collaboration with ForTheGworls?
We've been partnering with For the Gworls for over a year now to co-create nightlife spaces. Tonight will be the third party that we've done together.
We realized we have very similar identities and experiences, but we come from different worlds, because even though we might all be Black or trans we're still not a monolith. Some of us might party in Bushwick with the rave dolls. Some of us might party uptown in Harlem and listen to hip-hop. There are so many different spaces that we occupy, and I think we all bring something different to the table. It just made sense to come together, because every party we've done has been really successful and it's always a really beautiful experience.
Last question here before you hit the runway. What would you like to say to any fashion brand trying to include more diverse trans folks within their shows, campaigns, or more?
Everything starts at the top. You can't just expect to put trans people on the runway when no one else in the room is trans, because that's not representation. That's commodification and it’s tokenizing. It's important for us to be in the room like this in production capacities, and having a hand from the top down. We have to be spread out evenly, and if your only intention behind inclusivity is to check a box, then you're already doing it wrong.
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