New York Magazine - USA (2020-03-02)

MARCH2–15, 2020 |THECUT 33

The 2016 show inspired by ‘Blade Runner.’

NewYorkCity, like theSway kids,

thegothkids,theMisshapes,the

hip-hopkids—every single

differentconstituencywas

broughttogetherunderoneroof

thatnight.Peoplewere

freakingout.I’venever

seena doorlikethat.

NovemberOC

collaborateswith

longtimeshopperYoko

Onoona collection

inspiredbyJohn

Lennon’s “verysexybod.”

Whenevershewould

comeintothestore,

they’d pulla specialrack

forherofblackand

whiteitems.

2013 Yearof Belgium

SeptemberOChostsitsfirst

runwayshow,withmodelscoming

outofa fleetofcars.JustinBieber

isinthefrontrow.

H:Thecollectionwasallabout

thisstreet-racingculturethat

CarolandI grewupwithinhigh

schoolwithourAsianfriends.No

oneintheaudienceknew, and

whentheheadlightsofthecars

cameon,I rememberRihanna

screamingandclapping.

C:Everyoneinthefrontrowalso

gota Cronut.

2014 Yearof Russia

FebruaryOChostsa showwith

2,000poundsofchocolatemelting

downa wallnexttotherunway.

AprilOCcollaborateswithTeva.

Thatsamemonth,Berkshire

PartnersLLCtakesa minority

stakeinthe

company—OC’s

e

since

opening.

SeptemberJonah

HillandSpike

The 2014 chocolate-wall

runwayshow.

Jonzewritea 30-minuteplay

titled100%Lost CottonforOC’s

showattheMetropolitanOpera

House.JohnCameronMitchell

playsHumberto,andCatherine

KeenerplaysCarol.

JonahHill:That wasmy firsttime

workinginfashionatall.I was

alwaysscaredoffashionbecause

I thoughtit wasintimidating.

It wasalsomy firsttimeworking

withSpikeJonze.If I didn’t have

theexperienceofworkingwith

CarolandHumberto,I don’t think

I wouldhaveexploredit theway

I amnow.Theymademerealize

thatfashioncouldbefunandnot

tobetakentooseriously.

NovemberHumbertodesigns

Solange’s weddingdressunderthe

Kenzolabel.

2015

SeptemberOCis

earlyonthevape

craze;PAXsponsors

itsspring 2016 show,

andthestoresstart

sellingvapepens.

2016 Yearof China

FebruaryOCcollaborateswith

SydMead,theconceptartist

responsibleforthelookofBlade

Runner,ona futuristiccollection.

H:Ourentireset wascomprisedof

around 20 ofthefuturisticvehicles

[Mead]haddrawn,blownupinto

massiveinflatables.Aboutfive

be

a

completelydeflated.About

700 peoplewereoutsidewaitingto

beletin.Ourproducercametothe

conclusion that the only way we

could try to make it work is if

someone plugged in the generator,

which could electrocute them.

Our incredible

lighting designer

rose to the challenge,

despite everyone

begging him not to.

Hehadhisassistant

standbehindhim

witha woodplankto

hithimwithincase

hestartedgetting

electrocuted.We

weredeadsilent

whenhepluggedit

in...Thankfully,he

wasokay, but

nothinghappened.Atthispoint,

thecrowdhadbeenwaiting

almostanhourandwasgetting

antsy.Ofcourse,rightwhenour

PRteamstartedtolet peoplein,

thelightscameon,andtheentire

setstartedinflating.

SeptemberOCputsona “Pageant

ofthePeople” attheJacobJavits

ConventionCenter.FredArmisen

andCarrieBrownsteinhosta cast

ofwomen,includingAidyBryant,

AliWong,WhoopiGoldberg,

RosarioDawson,andJessica

Williams,eachofwhomtakesthe

mictotalkabouta different

politicalissue.IntheOlympics-

styleceremony,47 countriesare

representedwitha flaganda

customvarsityjacket.

H:WetooktheideaofTrump’s

beautypageantsandtwistedit to

makeit a pageantofthepeople.

Theceremony part wasreally

important.Everysingleperson

carryingtheflagswasoftheorigin

ofwherethatflagcamefrom.We

scoutedpeoplefromalloverNew

York,sothePolishflagwasheld

bya kidwefoundina grocery

store.We criedat theend,and

I thinka lotofpeoplecried.We

neededthat.

FredArmisen:I honestlyhave

neverhadanexperiencelike that,

beforeorafter.

2017 OC’s 15thAnniversary

JanuaryOCcollaborateswith

choreographerJustinPeck

onTheTimesAreRacing,a

balletinwhichthedancersall

wearsneakers.

JustinPeck:I had always been

obsessedwith their stores. I ended

upmeetingHumberto through

artistMarcelDzama, one of my

visualcollaborators. I asked if he’d

beupforworking on a ballet, and

that led to [the

dances] New Blood

and The Times^

Are Racing.

March OC drops

glitter Vans.

2018

MarchOCbrings its show to

Disneylandto celebrate the 90th

anniversaryof Mickey Mouse.

September“The Gift of Showz,”

a 100percentLGBTQA+ show, is

heldattheclub Le Poisson Rouge

andhostedby Sasha Velour,

featuringa surprise appearance

fromChristina Aguilera.

2020 Year of Mexico

JanuaryOCsells its intellectual

propertyandtrademark to New

GuardsGroup, which owns Off-

WhiteandHeron Preston. The retail

storeswillclose, but Carol and

Humbertowill remain co–creative

directorsof thehouse line.

C:Wealwayssay that the physical

willchange,but that emotional

connectionis forever. When

I hearpeoplesay, “Oh, that’s so

OC,”I thinkthat’s a major

accomplishment. We’ve created

a feeling.

H:Thestorewas a meeting point

forpeople.With whatever we

create,wealways keep that in

mind.What’s come out of this is

anamazingcommunity. That’s

notgoingtochange. And if you

thinkaboutit that way, you feel

lesssadabout it.

Spike Jonze and Jonah Hill at the

2014 Met Opera show.

2013

Front-row

Cronut.

2014

Updateon

Teva.

2012
Yo k o
Ono–
designed
sweats.

2015

Varsity

Beyoncé.

2017

Vans that

sparkle!