PROJECT Nº 1
"GRATEFUL"
2018 Fall/Winter Collection and Presentation
February 9, 2018, Spring Studios, NYC
Three months after winning the Vogue CFDA Fashion Fund, Telfar shook the industry again by throwing the most talked about show of NY Fashion Week.
Instead of a runway show, we threw a concert; instead of models, we dressed our friends; instead of using musicians as celebrities—we collaborated with them as artists: towards an idea of music that is deeply human and collectively owned—and a fashion show you could actually feel.
Starting with an empty stage, completely encircled by our audience, the show began with the musician Dev Hynes (Blood Orange), parting the crowd and ascending the stage to play the first notes on a keyboard that was awaiting him.
Next, his bandmate Ian Isiah, parted the audience, singing a verse adapted from the East New York parish where he learned to sing as a child. The song was Grateful, by Hezekiah Walker.
One by one, artists, friends and even our casting agent ascended the stage singing the very same verse—their voices turning into a chorus as they collected on stage—testifying to the depth of meaning Telfar had to a generation of creatives. Collaborators including Kelsey Lu, Kelela, Arsun Sorrenti, 070 Shake, Oyinda and many more—until Telfar himself emerged to sing us to the finale.
