Brand New Era Is New York Sportswear Gone Rogue
Hats off to Brand New Era for its debut collection, aptly titled "Inaugural Season."
The accompanying Friends and Family lookbook shows off the 50-piece Fall/Winter 2024 collection of streetwear staples against the backdrop of a moving truck. An emblematic juxtaposition of the high falutin' energy reverberating through the New York Fashion Week sphere and the base function of clothes: Wearability.
Models for the collection further materialized this as a heritage-rich homage to New York, the epicenter for American fashion and beyond.
From legendary filmmaker Spike Lee, who has designed several New Era Yankees hats, in the past to up-and-coming basketball phenom Kiyan Anthony, son of Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony, this model troupe is soused in New York excellence.
In its first collection, Brand New Era, New Era's literally brand new fashion line, expertly blurs the lines between sport and workwear, showcasing sweats for steppin' and co-ords galore.
Some looks also play into the prepped-up and dripped-out trends of the moment, forgoing Challengers-esque prep for hemmed shorts and oversized polos.
Other looks pull from the elevated motifs of stylized workwear, offering a mechanic-meets-runway moment by way of two-piece ensembles reminiscent of TikTok's favorite Dickies.
All of these pieces are emblematic of New York's work-meets-street culture. It's classic. It's sporty. It's chic. It's Brand New Era.
It's also about so much more than clothes (and not just because the collection includes a lineup of accessories as well.) This collection is also about culture.
As Brand New Era's creative director, Dao-Yi Chow, told Highsnobiety in August, there is "so much crossover within the culture" between sportswear and "the codes of streetwear," that they've become inextricably linked. This mode of dressing is as woven into American heritage as apple pie and baseball.
Fitting, seeing how, in the same interview, Chow described Brand New Era as "an official American uniform vibe," a dream realized with the release of this collection.
It's not American in the ultra-patriotic red, white and blue, Cowboy Carter sort of way. (Shout out to Beyoncé!) But in a coy, extremely well-kitted kind of way.
Less "AMERIICAN REQUIEM," more Do the Right Thing.
