Flying Solo: A cultural fashion collective unites

Collaborative collections at the shop’s New York Fashion Week runway show offered glimpses into global fashion.

Con Xie, Contributing Writer

February 16, 2023

Given that it’s a fashion collective, Flying Solo certainly has an ironic name — but it isn’t entirely inaccurate. The collective’s international network of creatives has developed an enhanced ability to showcase individual visions and cultural backgrounds.

“It was hard for them to break into the industry, so banding together made it easier,” said Head of PR Bayr Ubushi of the collective’s talent.

At the fifth session of Flying Solo’s Fall/Winter 2023 runway show at New York Fashion Week, guests piled on top of each other — some seated on minimalist, wave-shaped benches that framed the runway, with others standing behind them. There was some jostling throughout the crowd, disrupting the otherwise bright and airy space at Canoe Studios.

A woman with sunglasses and black, shiny patent leather or vinyl clothing walks forward, with a crowd behind her.

A woman walks forward in a black sequined dress. The designer for THE MESSY ARCHIVE walks behind her, with her back facing the camera. — Designer Joya Ma, Flying Solo, Fall/Winter 2023 Collection, New York Fashion Week. (Anna Lin for WSN)

A woman with orange hair, sunglasses, and a black dress with accentuated shoulder pads and diamond cut-outs, walks forward.

First in the lineup, Joya Ma’s eponymous brand sent models down the runway in dark colors and sharp edges as part of the designer’s “Body Sacred” collection. A sculptural set of 3D-printed, black ribs framed one model’s bodice, while royal blue and red tulle flared out from her mermaid skirt.

This anatomically-inspired theme echoed throughout subsequent looks, which included black, neo-Victorian dresses in lace disrupted by gashes of blood red. Patent leather jackets with boxed shoulders and bell bottom pants, both adorned by silver metal spikes, solidified the vintage Alexander McQueen influence apparent in the assemblage. Ma, a Parsons School of Design alum, said her goal for the brand is to represent her visions of “surrealism and luxury,” and to make her customers feel confident and powerful

One model wears magenta, sequined pants and a collared shirt, and another wears a magenta, sequined dress. They walk opposite one another, going in opposite directions.

Originally from Guinea, Abdourahamane Barry noticed that West African food and music were becoming increasingly repopularized, but noted that cultural fashion had yet to catch up. To begin to fill the gap, he decided to incorporate traditional West African prints into his interpretation of a classic suit.

“I wanted to spread the word so people who embrace the culture see others wearing it and feel comfortable,” Barry said.

The variety of ways in which Barry applied his vibrant prints to formalwear made the designs accessible to a wide audience. For those with a more muted palette, there were sleek, two-toned suits with African print accents, but blazer dresses and asymmetrical jackets with colorful sleeves made bolder statements.

A woman with black, gray and white striped clothing holds an umbrella with patterns over her shoulder. She is wearing sunglasses and is against a window, with metallic spheres on the ground behind her.

A woman with a patterned hat and a matching patterned dress is walking in the foreground. — Beilharz, Flying Solo, Fall/Winter 2023 Collection, New York Fashion Week. (Anna Lin for WSN)

The Beilharz Official designer is wearing a patterned jacket with patterned pants. The background is a window and metallic spheres on the ground.

Lewis Beilharz of Beilharz Official made the biggest impact of all. With long silhouettes, sweeping jackets and head-to-toe prints, he fulfilled his mission to “do it big,” as he proclaimed. Large, cylindrical hats that loomed over the models’ heads — in patterns consistent with their outfits — represented Beilharz’s vision of “crossing boundaries of age and gender.”

Beilharz was not always a fashion designer. With a background in fine arts, he began to paint on fabrics, until a friend of his became involved in NYFW and inspired him to do the same. This season, he adapted his paintings to create the patterns for his designs, and hand-painted a self-portrait on the back of one of his patchwork denim coats. “[Dolce & Gabbana] copied my designs,” he claimed, referencing similarities too great to be coincidental between his pre-2022 collections and Dolce & Gabbana’s 2022 presentation. He stated that it was a “clapback” to — quite literally — put his own face on his work.

A model walks toward the camera wearing a green dress with an ornate and intricate gold design, as well as a gold head piece. The other model walks to the right behind the first model, wearing a purple dress with similar ornate and intricate designs. — Naaz Designs, Flying Solo, Fall/Winter 2023 Collection, New York Fashion Week. (Anna Lin for WSN)

Two models walk, one going toward the back, wearing a hot pink, satin dress with a hat,and the other wearing a satin, long-sleeved top, jeans, a yellow hat and a blue necklace with a gold bead in the center. — Flying Solo, Fall/Winter 2023 Collection, New York Fashion Week. (Anna Lin for WSN)

A model walks forward, wearing a yellow suit with a green and blue stripe and a patch shaped like a parrot. She holds a yellow umbrella with flowers painted on the inside. — The Debonaire Club, Flying Solo, Fall/Winter 2023 Collection, New York Fashion Week. (Anna Lin for WSN)

Jewelry for Beilharz’s collection was created by Emma Okyere, the founder of Modern Natured, which held its own runway show at an earlier Flying Solo session.

“It’s about love, it’s about innovation — and never forgetting your roots,” she said of the event.

Okyere incorporated her Ghanaian culture into the show with waist beads worn by some models earlier in the day, as well as the large, recycled glass ornaments shaped into Adinkra symbols worn by men in Beilharz’s show.

A woman wears a white beaded dress with a matching veil. A window with metallic spheres on the ground is in the background. — Oksana Mukha, Flying Solo, Fall/Winter 2023 Collection, New York Fashion Week. (Anna Lin for WSN)

A woman walks forward, wearing a crimson red dress with a silver triangle on the torso. To the left, photographers and audience members look on. — Janet Medina, Flying Solo, Fall/Winter 2023 Collection, New York Fashion Week. (Anna Lin for WSN)

A model wearing a silver maxi dress with puffed sleeves walks between metallic spheres on the ground. — Oksana Mukha, Flying Solo, Fall/Winter 2023 Collection, New York Fashion Week. (Anna Lin for WSN)

A woman with brown hair and bangs walks forward, wearing a white dress with cut-outs. She holds a clutch. — Janet Medina, Flying Solo, Fall/Winter 2023 Collection, New York Fashion Week. (Anna Lin for WSN)

A woman spreads a yellow tulle throw behind her. She is wearing a beige dress with brown accents, and she has orange hair. — Francesca Lazzari, Flying Solo, Fall/Winter 2023 Collection, New York Fashion Week. (Anna Lin for WSN)

Designers joined the crowds beside the runway to cheer each other on after their own shows ended, and their supporters mingled to discuss their respective styles. The unity across nationalities and cultures in pursuit of expression, inclusion and sustainability was refreshing, leaving viewers more than excited to return.

Contact Con Xie at [email protected]