A work of art is an adventure of the mind.

After a successful mens show at New York Fashion Week Mens(NYFWM) demonstrating the power of art, life and music, I was esteemed to be part of the women’s collection by one of my favorite new designers. As the illustrious brother of Tommy Hilfiger, Andy Hilfiger is a rockstar equivalent, who worked with Greg Polisseni, a painter from Rochester, to create the hot and haute Artistix Jeans fashion show at New York Fashion Week (NYFW).

With pulsating pop and rock music from the days, the show was a thunderous applaud to Polisseni’s painting “Equality”, as he took the black and white splatter hues and translated them into sexy, brash and rock-n-roll style clothing for the fit girls on the runway.

The styles were essentially a wardrobe format of his painting, and similar to the mens collection, the splatter element was used on everything, from dresses to bikinis. With a dual tone palette of black and white, there were picks for every occasion. With a combination of rock, fitness and a visual metaphor of pop culture, the collection brought the talents of both Hilfiger and Polisseni together. While the former designed for Nicki Minaj and Adam Levine, the latter both paints and designs clothes. I could foresee women wearing this collection for activewear, potentially workwear, sultry nights or as a grungy artist.

The brash sexiness was definitely most alluring with the bikinis and underwear. With masculine inspired sports inner-wear with elastic imprints usually reserved for fit dudes, these girls rocked them, along with a bold variety of cuts with the dual colors at hand. A two piece briefest of brief white number was jaw-droppingly haute, as were the two single piece swimsuits. The high cut dual tone one was for the risque chicks, while the art replica one was an artist’s ethereal dream. Not to mention how succulently the models filled up their svelte clothing like a bouquet of dreams.

As a transition into outerwear and sportswear, several models wore jackets atop their bras and swimwear, giving a classic rock runway look, and one that could potentially be emulated in clubs and nightlife. A black denim jacket and a silken black bomber with white lining were standouts, but my favorite was the take on a varsity jacket worn with a pair of boy’s tennis shorts. At which point, many fixated gapers and salivating crowds were cheering relentlessly, even if only with the glint in their eyes!

The next segment included bodysuits and dresses, staples in terms of style, and thankfully devoid of the lace and florals that were a mainstay at other collections. A nightlife friendly front slit dress was a clear winner, and possibly a contender for that little black dress every girl craves for. A splatter printed jacket on a longer dress with a midriff cut came as a short second. The white bodysuit with a vertical exposed frontal zipper was a bit jarring, even in a casual shorts format.

And lastly, things went into a luscious tongue-in-cheek direction showcasing only jackets, sans inner-wear and often with only pants, shorts or underwear. A sexy denim vest with an inverted colored splatter print was candy to the eyes, and potentially even gender neutral. A robe style coat with printed lapels borrowed a menswear styled and turned it feminine with fabric and cut, with evidently sultry results. The same look in black had less of a bold effect, and one that could easily be sported outside a nightclub.

The finale was a true tribute to pop and rock with Michael Jackson’s Black or White blazing in the background as the models strutted in almost perfect sequence.

Brazen, bold and beautiful, this combination of art and grunge was a fun way departure from classic feminism, en route to fun and freedom. 

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