Last Thursday, I attended the SUPREME BEINGS runway presentation at the SOMArts Cultural Center, sponsored by Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, Mutt Lynch Winery, and TCHO chocolate. Before heading into the venue, I tried on sale jewelry at the neighboring Nordstrom Rack. Someone didn’t approve of the crystal embellished Harajuku Lovers charm necklace I wanted. It would’ve been the least eye catching piece of the night, anyway.
The show kicked off with a butoh performance by Ronnie Baker and Luku-san that had the front row clutching their iPhones, capturing plenty of WTF-worthy Instagram shots. I’m all for the slow homoerotic exchange of sports wear that took place before IIMUAHII’s presentation, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one that wondered how collectively high the room must’ve felt by the end of their blood-splattering second act. Founded in post-WWII Japan, Butoh is a form of freestyle interpretive dance, challenging society with ranging movements and the exploration of taboos. Hack-y Sack. Theatrical liberation. I’ll leave it at that.
You might already be familiar with emerging design company IIMUAHII, as seen on Lady Gaga’s covers of 944 magazine and the US edition of 2010′s The Remix album. Elena Slivnyak, a Ukraine native, wants to bring invigorating couture back into American fashion design with distinctive textures, modernized silhouettes, and complex weaving. The Academy of Art University alum is adamant about using animal-friendly and technologically advanced materials. This is San Francisco high fashion.
Conceptual fashion designer and San Francisco Art Institute survivor ILANIO plays by his own rules, designing visual stunners that explicitly disregard wearability, salability, and practicality. ILANIO’s A/W 2012 collection is a big FUCK YOU to the commercial side of fashion while exploring the boundaries between the fashion and art worlds. Think high fashion Burning Man, too glorious for the retail world. I’d like a few minutes on the dance floor with the Whipping Willow hat. Better yet, please call me when your next underground dance party presentation goes down.
