Since taking home the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund grand prize, Melitta Baumeister has been juggling the expectations the industry has for her. Despite her mentorship and the $300,000 in funding she will receive, the designer turned down the runway and opted for a quieter lookbook and a video release. “I didn't want to do it halfway,” Baumeister explained during a preview of her at her Long Island City studio, and she added that she wasn't yet ready to tackle such a visible platform. It's what made her decision to play with the most visible of all platforms, TikTok, all the more intriguing.
Short films that talked about mukbangs, tutorials on how to prepare with me and the viral “subway girl” were interspersed with others that showed the talents of their street models (boys were included for the first time). They could be caught throwing axes or singing opera arias in a mix of their tent shapes expanded with foam padding in interesting fabrics. A trompe l'oeil painting technique made the leap from denim to pleated jersey in burgundy and galaxy blue, while a huge bomber jacket was made from Tyvek, the indestructible material used for FedEx mailers.
For Baumeister, who has been around for more than a decade, it was a way to poke fun at the industry, which he feels hasn't paid him much attention. “The collaborators are really looking at me now,” he said. “We're kind of a niche brand, people didn't even know we were in New York.”
Now they do it. Bergdorf Goodman took the line just before his victory. “They said, 'Oh my God, we made the right decision,'” he joked.
To provide easier access points to her extreme look, there was a push on accessories and loungewear in slimmer proportions, such as a Henley and a skirt in dark brown with zippered utility pockets. But it didn't alienate its core audience of fashion fans. Maybe you like the black duffle coat with sunflower quilting or a black nylon sack dress with an old school feel from Balenciaga. Styled with fetishistic faux leather wetsuits, hoods, and puddle boots, some of those looks ventured into Demna's post-apocalyptic territory. Baumeister's work is quite referential and she is honest about her admiration for people like Martin Margiela, Rick Owens and Simone Rocha.
Overall, this collection showed that Baumeister could bring something equally dark and experimental to the New York landscape, but that his own point of view still needs time in the oven. He will be under the microscope again in September when, hopefully, he is ready to be taken to the track.
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