@nytimesfashion

The real beginning of the fashion-technology love affair between Steve Jobs and the black mock turtleneck — and its legacy — lies with Issey Miyake. The man behind Jobs’s personal uniform, who died on Aug. 5 at age 84, was a pioneer in all sorts of ways — the first foreign designer to show at Paris Fashion Week (in April 1974), among the first designers to collaborate with artists and a proponent of “comfort dressing” long before the term ever existed. But it was his understanding and appreciation of technology and how it could be harnessed to an aesthetic point of view to create new, seductive utilities that set Miyake apart, writes our chief fashion critic. Miyake was the original champion of fashion tech. He pushed the boundaries of material innovation to bridge past and future, beginning in 1988 with his research into the heat press. Pieces from Miyake’s lines are now included in the collections of museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They are extraordinary — soft sculptures that morph and move with the body — but what makes them singular is that they were conceived not just as beautiful things but as solutions to everyday needs (a Miyake basic value was the importance of “clothes for living”). And they functioned as such. The black turtleneck embodies his founding principles and serves as the door through which anyone not particularly interested in fashion could walk to discover the Miyake universe. Jobs did just that. Head to the link in bio to read the appraisal by @vvfriedman. Photos by Daniel Simon/Gamma-Rapho, via Getty Images; Pierre Guillaud/Agence France-Presse, via Getty Images; Patrick Kovarik/Agence France-Presse, via Getty Images; William Stevens/Gamma-Rapho, via Getty Images and @markwickens.

Esteban Sinisterra Paz, a 23-year-old university student with no formal design training, is at the center of an Afro-Colombian fashion explosion. Sinisterra is behind the wardrobe of Francia Márquez, an environmental activist and lawyer who on Sunday became Colombia’s first Black vice president. In a matter of months, Márquez has not only pushed racism and classism to the center of the national conversation, she has also revolutionized the country’s political aesthetic, rejecting starched shirts and suits in favor of a distinctly Afro-Colombian look that she calls a form of rebellion. Natural hair. Bold prints. Dresses that highlight her curves. But Márquez and Sinisterra are just the most visible ambassadors of an Afro-Colombian aesthetic boom that proponents say is part of a larger movement demanding greater respect for millions of Black Colombians. “Colonization tried to erase Black people,” said Lia Samantha Lozano, who began outfitting her hip-hop and reggae band, Voodoo Souljahs, in African fabrics more than a decade ago, positioning her as a pioneer in the movement. “A big part of the plan was to make us feel ashamed of who we are, of our colors, of our culture, of our features,” she went on. “To wear this every day, not as ‘fashion,’ not to dress up for a special occasion, but as a way of life, as something you want to communicate every day — yes, it is political. And, yes, it is a symbol of resistance.” Head to the link in bio to read more by @fotojulie about the Afro-Colombian fashion boom happening in the Colombian streets and presidential palace. Photos by @nathalianph, @historiassencillas and @augusto_gallo.

Issey Miyake, the Japanese designer famed for his pleated style of clothing and cult perfumes, and whose name became a global byword for cutting-edge fashion in the 1980s, died on Friday in Tokyo. He was 84. Miyake is perhaps best known for his micro pleating, which he first unveiled in 1988 but has lately enjoyed a surge in popularity among a new and younger consumer base. He also produced the black turtleneck that became part of the signature look of Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder. Miyake’s designs appeared everywhere from factory floors — he designed a uniform for workers at the Japanese electronics giant Sony — to dance floors. His insistence that clothing was a form of design was considered avant-garde in the early years of his career, and he had notable collaborations with photographers and architects. His designs found their way onto the 1982 cover of Artforum — unheard-of for a fashion designer at the time — and into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Miyake was feted in Japan for creating a global brand that contributed to the country’s efforts to build itself into an international destination for fashion and pop culture. In 2010, he received the Order of Culture, the country’s highest honor for the arts. “I am most interested in people and the human form,” Miyake told The Times in 2014. “Clothing is the closest thing to all humans.” Head to the link in bio to read the obituary. Photos by Pierre Guillaud/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images; Christophe Archambault/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images; Bertrand Guay/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images; Francois Guillot/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images; @nowfashion.

Gen Z is putting a personal twist on a preppy classic: the L.L. Bean tote bag. When Gracie Wiener ordered a canvas Boat and Tote bag through the L.L. Bean website in July 2021, she filled out the “add monogram” field with the word “psycho” instead of her initials. “I think it’s funny to wear your best, or worst, qualities on your sleeve,” she said. In February, Wiener created an Instagram account, @ironicboatandtote, to circulate pictures of the bags among her friends, who ordered “EGOMANIAC” and “emotional baggage” totes of their own. Wiener’s Instagram account, which has 26,000 followers, documents the young millennials and members of Gen Z who are stitching a contemporary sense of humor onto an enduring symbol of American prep. The trend took off in June, when Wiener posted a TikTok video about the bags that was viewed more than 470,000 times. The #boatandtote hashtag has racked up 1.5 million views on the app, where users collaborate to embellish the understated bags with words and phrases that are anything but. Within L.L. Bean’s 10-character maximum, there are cheeky directives (“scam him,” “bite me”) and self-deprecation (“moody,” “narcissist”), as well as nods to astrology (“august leo”) and Taco Bell (“LIVE MAS”). Head to the link in bio to read more about the ironic Boat and Tote trend by @callieholtermann. Photos by @ye.fan.

For three decades, Dan Smith has been making a solemn promise to New Yorkers. He has posted his flier — “Dan Smith Will Teach You Guitar” — thousands of times in the city’s bodegas, coffee shops, pizza parlors, delis and laundromats. But spotting one in the urban wild may soon become rare, because New York’s go-to guitar teacher is doing less of his vintage style of promotion and embracing a more 2022 approach. He has stipulations about whom he’ll teach and how, pedagogical rules he said he developed after thousands of lessons. For example, students must meet with him for at least one hour a week, as a sign of their commitment. And they should not go to him with the idea that his lessons are all about learning to pick and strum or play solos like a guitar hero. “I’m trying to help people connect to themselves,” Smith said. For those who meet the criteria, the experience can be transformative. “It’s not just about learning an instrument, but expanding my feelings about myself, about what I’m about,” said David Paterson, the former governor of New York, who has been studying with Smith since 2020. Head to the link in our bio to read our profile on @dansmithmusicnyc. Photos by @strange.victory.

Powwow season is in full bloom. This summer, the Arlee Celebration was held over the Fourth of July weekend in Arlee, Montana. The five-day powwow, hosted by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, welcomed hundreds of dancers and singers from across the U.S. and Canada to compete in various categories divided by age groups. Children, teenagers, men, women and elders each participated in fancy dance, traditional style, chicken dance, grass dance and jingle dance, with outfits designed for specific categories. Because of the pandemic, this summer is the first in two years that many families were able to travel for the powwow season, which begins in April and ends in September. Families, dancers and singers from across the country spend their summer living out of their vehicles, camping and traveling the circuit of powwows, known as the powwow trail, with these gatherings held by different tribal communities every weekend throughout the season. The photographer @tailyrirvine attended the Arlee Celebration to meet powwow participants and photograph their regalia. Tap the link in bio to meet and see more participants from the powwow. Photos by @tailyrirvine.

Crop Over, the Barbadian equivalent of Carnival, is an annual celebration of music and heritage — and amazing outfits. The Crop Over festival dates back to 1687, celebrating the end of the yearly sugar cane harvest. Formerly known as Harvest Home, the festival began on plantations across Barbados during the trans-Atlantic slave trade and was one of few times of the year when enslaved people could freely celebrate, dance and sing. Since 1983, Crop Over has been organized by the National Cultural Foundation of Barbados. The festival lasts for three months, with parties, events and markets taking place throughout. It all leads up to Grand Kadooment Day, in which revelers dress in elaborate costumes and dance “on the road” along a dedicated route. The costumes are a major highlight of the experience, and Crop Over style has influenced fashion on a global scale. Rihanna and Jourdan Dunn have worked with local designers to execute their elaborate festival looks, helping to solidify the signature style associated with Crop Over in the modern day. Though many of the designers are men, women hold a firm place in the creation of the festival, which is steeped in history and culture. Whether they are carrying on a family legacy of design or are self-taught innovators, their creativity and vision is remarkable. Head to the link in bio to read about four of the visionary women whose work is shaping Crop Over fashion and how they describe their style. Photos by @sheekswinsalways.

Highbrow fashion brands have made a splash in New York recently by going super-local with their events. Farfetch, Coach and Burberry are among the global brands that have found that it is more authentic to give a party at a gritty hangout than at, say, a generic event space or a shiny boutique. Last month, Farfetch, the online fashion retailer based in London, held a party to celebrate Pride at The Cock, a low-ceilinged, pitch-dark East Village dive. The artist Narcissister performed a reverse striptease for the crowd, which included Emily Ratajkowski, Julia Fox and Jeremy O. Harris. A few weeks before the Farfetch event, Coach kicked off Pride month at the Monster, a venerable Greenwich Village gay bar near the Stonewall Inn that has been around since 1981. Before that, Burberry took over Lucien, a sceney East Village bistro (and celebrity hangout), for 10 days in May. As New York — and especially Manhattan — has become gentrified and wealthy, old-school establishments feel fresh and genuine, precisely because they feel out of time, writes our Styles reporter. Head to the link in bio to read more about highbrow fashion in gritty spaces. Photos by @ok__mccausland and @vnina.

Fashion took over the party scene last week. Here are some of the best looks from parties held for Kith, Kenzo, Shayne Oliver and the Ali Forney Center. Kith, the sneaker retail temple, unveiled its collaboration with Spider-Man, who turned 60, with a pop-up store in Queens that featured limited-edition hoodies, sweaters, T-shirts and skateboards. Kenzo, the Parisian label, toasted its latest collection with a gathering at the New Museum. Guests, many dressed in the brand’s streetwear-inspired looks, included Pusha T, Evan Mock and Jaden Smith. Shayne Oliver, formerly of Hood by Air, toasted his latest fashion venture, Anonymous Club, with a late-night party at Avant Gardner in Brooklyn. There were fund-raisers, too. The Ali Forney Center, which supports LGBT homeless youth, raised $250,000 at its cocktail party at the Tribeca Rooftop. Hundreds of supporters braved the sweltering heat in tight short-sleeve shirts, crystal-studded heels and gender-fluid skirts. See more looks from this week around New York at the link in our bio. Photos by @vnina @kristaschlueter @poupayphoto and @dollyfaibyshev.

Yeezy Gap is finally hitting stores — is it a corporate-creative cautionary tale, or a new model for fashion to come? For anyone following the collaboration since its buzzy birth more than two years ago, a line outside the Gap in Times Square last week was a major development: it was the first time customers would be able to see and touch the clothes inside a store — albeit not hung from racks or folded on shelves, but piled into those huge bags. In the first 18 months of the 10-year deal, which was announced in June 2020, the partnership between the artist formerly known as Kanye West (now simply Ye) and the giant American brand yielded just two products, both sold only online. It wasn’t until a third party, Balenciaga, entered the collaboration that a full Yeezy Gap collection was finally released this year (though it was still relatively small, with 36 styles in total unveiled in May). This weekend, a portion of the collection was rolled out in about 50 stores nationwide, in cities including Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco: a selection of eight styles, with more promised later in the year. It is a milestone in the much-watched collaboration, but one that raises the question: What took so long? We took a look inside the making of Yeezy Gap. Head to the link in bio to read the story from @vvfriedman, @jtes and @whatsupna. Photos by @hiroko.masuike and via Gap.

On an unofficial three-day trip to Washington, D.C., Olena Zelenska, the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, dressed for her country. Though it has become an unwritten part of the job that first ladies support local designers, to promote their business and profile on the world stage, Zelenska’s wardrobe strategy went beyond simply boosterism, writes Vanessa Friedman, our chief fashion critic. Her olive green dress — strong shoulders, with an integral scarf at the neck — mirrored her husband’s signature uniform of olive green T-shirt, spoke to traditions of military clothing, and symbolized a refugee story, all at the same time. The designer, Lilia Litkovskaya, had fled Kyiv with her husband and small child and is now in Paris where she has been promoting and supporting Ukrainian fashion from afar. Zelenska wore a pin on the dress that mirrored traditional Ukrainian flower embroidery. It was from the Ukrainian jewelry line ​​Guzema, part of a collection called Nezalezhna, or “Independent”; her earrings were a pair she had worn for her husband’s inauguration in 2019. She wore the brooch again the next day, when she met with the Bidens, this time on a light lemon yellow skirt suit by Litkovskaya, which she paired with light blue shoes, in a nod to her country’s colors. Read more from our chief fashion critic on the Ukrainian first lady’s visit and the meaning behind her fashion choices. Photos by Patrick Semansky/@apnews and pool photos by Bonnie Cash/EPA and Jabin Botsford/EPA, via Shutterstock.

Each year, a rarefied group of history buffs and horse enthusiasts meets in upstate New York for a celebration of horses and carriages from a bygone time. In June, the Carriage Association of America held its 60th-anniversary gathering on the Wethersfield Estate & Garden, near Millbrook, New York, for a weekend of lighthearted competition. One could argue, somewhat reductively, that these pseudo-aristocratic games are the fancy person’s version of Civil War reenactments you can catch on TV. It costs a lot to house, train and groom horses, after all, not to mention maintaining the carriages themselves. But that wouldn’t be quite fair in terms of the hard work, the discipline and, most of all, the consuming passion for historical accuracy that goes into carriage driving, which is both an international sport and a private, obsessive pastime. Women at carriage association events typically wear long pastel dresses and flowery hats, white string gloves in rainy weather, and brown or black leather ones to match the reins at other times. Men are outfitted in crisp waistcoats, polished knee-high boots and black silk top hats. Though the competition is fierce — competitors are judged on things such as presentation, their carriage-driving skills, the cleanliness of the horses and the dress of the driver, grooms and passengers — there are no real “winners” in this egalitarian-minded event, except for a cascade of awards that are given for specific carriage traits. No one seems to be left out, which is perhaps part of the pleasure in “pleasure riding.” Tap the link in our bio to ride along with these carriage enthusiasts. Photos by @strange.victory

Shrek Rave has brought the swamp to Brooklyn. On a recent Friday night at the Brooklyn Monarch, a music venue in East Williamsburg, party-goers arrived in ogre-inspired costumes and the 1999 Smash Mouth hit “All Star” rang through the speakers. An obsession with “Shrek,” especially among millennials, has been an on-again-off-again joke on the internet since the film debuted in 2001. The memes and gifs from the movie, which often depict the characters in silly and sometimes explicit contexts, are hard to miss on social media. Now, the online fandom has evolved into a real-world party known as Shrek Rave. The party first took place in Los Angeles, and after its success, the host, Jordan Craig, decided to make it a bicoastal event. Fake vines, plush thrones, posters and fake apple trees served as party props. Large cardboard cutouts of Shrek were sprinkled throughout. And serving as the backdrop for the entire night was a large screen behind the stage showing different Shrek memes and videos on a loop. “I’m just excited to meet people who share the same love for Shrek as we do,” Rob Troiano, 22, said while rocking green face paint and a foam chin. “It’s just a stupid, nonsensical thing that we can all embrace.” Tap the link in our bio to see more swampy scenes with photos by @strange.victory

It was a hot week in New York but that didn't stop party-goers from getting all dolled up. Our weekly column, The Most Dressed, features great outfits from up, down and all around town. This week, we took a look at what people wore to parties held for the contemporary art market Platform and the Parrish Art Museum. Platform, an online marketplace for contemporary art, celebrated its first anniversary on Wednesday at the Bowery Hotel. It was a sticky night, and the guests, who moved leisurely among the open bars and cushioned benches that rimmed the terrace, wore light, open dresses, barely-there tops and more than a few T-shirts. On July 9, the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, N.Y., held a midsummer gala that honored, among others, Racquel Chevremont and Mickalene Thomas. The arty Hamptons crowd wore lots of international labels, including Chanel, Pucci, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. See more looks from this week around New York at the link in our bio. Photos by @poupayphoto and @dollyfaibyshev.

Christine Quinn — the villainous star of “Selling Sunset” — first tasted caviar at 21 while out to dinner with a boyfriend. “Sure, call him a sugar daddy,” she said. “He was. But we had amazing chemistry.” She also had her first filet mignon and her first glass of real Champagne that night. “It just opened my eyes up to this whole world, which I had never seen before and didn’t even know existed,” she said. Quinn has had a taste for luxury ever since, showcased heavily across five seasons of “Selling Sunset,” a cage match of a reality show following high-end real estate agents in Los Angeles. In the series, Quinn has carefully cultivated an image of ruthlessness and wasp-waisted drive, raising the eye roll to an art form. When she realized that the producers had given her the villain role, she didn’t fight it. “I feel like I was the only one that understood the assignment,” she said. “I was the only one that said, ‘Hey, this is a show, and I’m going to give the world a show.’” In an interview with The New York Times, Quinn discussed her new book, “How to Be a Boss B*tch,” her new brokerage, RealOpen, and her future on “Selling Sunset” — all while enjoying caviar (and Champagne) for breakfast. Read the full interview with @thechristinequinn at the link in our bio. Photo by @cherkis.