In their sophomore show at NYFW, Babyghost presented a Spring/Summer 2016 collection that combined the dark simplicity of American gothic with the structured strength of classic sportswear.

The collection boasted its wearability with simple silhouettes and muted colors, yet spiraled into edginess with pops of cobalt blue and blatant gothic inspirations. The models sported slicked-back pigtail braids and bright blue eyeshadow that gave common ground to the varying looks. Particularly striking was a sheer black top with a poem titled “DEATH” screen-printed on, paired with simple beige trousers.

The tension of these two aesthetics speaks to the brand’s international heritage: Chinese Qiaoran Huang and American Josh Hupper formed the brand in 2010, after interning together at Diane von Furstenberg. Yet Babyghost’s brand is the opposite of Furstenberg in almost every way, rejecting classic femininity for something entirely darker, replacing the Hollywood-starlet It Girl with the street-wise spitfire who doesn’t so much toe the line of edginess as free-falls over it.

Bryna Shuman is an editor. Email her at [email protected]