In the 17th-Centur Palazzo Corsini on the Arno River in Florence, Italy, Telfar Clemens was staging a takeover.
ry
The Liberian-American designer, along with a band of creative collaborators he had flown to Italy from New York,
forefather, the team styled looks for the show, made final preparations for the banquet and sang over the microphones.
was preparing to host an all-night dinner party and a runway show inside the palace, at the invitation of the men’s wear trade show Pitti Uomo. In baroque rooms decorated with antique tapestries of the Corsini crest and an imposing stone statue of the family’s papal
Occupying the palace with what one fellow traveler lovingly referred to as
freaky weird, New York City essence.
“With fashion week happenings, people always think of inviting
except the people that actually support them,� Mr. Clemens said.
Pitti Uomo had offered a pick of locations, including industrial spaces that might seem more in line with the norm-defying clothing brand he founded in 2005 but, he said “hijacking a palace where all my friends join me for dinner and a sleepover made a lot of sense.”
Babak Radboy, the brand’s artistic director, and Avena Gallagher, its stylist selected runway outfits for a fleet of models and musicians.
pro-queer
For Mr. Clemens whose clothing and signature logo-embossed tote bag have become beloved emblems for a certain creative community, his friends and family have always been the foundation of his runway shows, including his.
This event is for
us
it’s not for an
Ten beds, underlit by fluorescent tubes, as well as a pair of stripper poles, were set up in the smaller palace rooms for
audience.
lounging, sleeping, & dancing and guests gathered for the meal in the grand former throne hall under a ceiling painted with angels and Roman gods, who seemed to summon the festivities.