W 2 7 N E W S PA P E R
ISSUE 1
FALL 2023
FASHION & CULTURE
The Unwearable Collection
Exploring GPP Through Design By Alisha Singh (TDM ‘25) FIT’s latest exhibition was another example of its students’ ability to explore fashion and design through unconventional and imaginative routes. Through a partnership with Dutch designer Bart Hess and the German pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim, Fashion Design MFA students Natalia Robles Oteiza and Urvi Selarka produced the latest piece in the Unwearable Collection. This venture moves to visually depict the pain and struggles of people diagnosed with Generalized Pustular Psoriasis or GPP. Known for exploring the close relationship between the body, beauty, and horror through his boundarypushing clothing, Hess designed four pieces for the collection, each depicting a different struggle; Physical Pain, Flare Intensity, Pain of Isolation, and LifeThreatening. The use of broken glass, shards of knives, and burnt fabrics made for stunning, larger-than-life structural garments that no one could safely wear, however for those living with GPP, represent a daily reality. When designing the fifth piece, Selarka and Oteiza decided to explore the mental and emotional toil the patients must deal with on a daily basis. From this came about the final and newest piece of the collection, Trapped by Uncertainty. Tulle and mesh obscure the wearer’s view of the world like a cloud of smoke while hands seem to struggle against the fabric wound tightly around the frame. Finishing out the gown beautifully, are crystals and glass shards meant to juxtapose the danger of this disease alongside the individuality and beauty of the people who carry it. When asked what it was like to bring their creativity and imagination to collaborate with new people, Oteiza answered, “We were tasked with a very intangible concept… representing not so much the physical impact of GPP, but the psychological impact and specifically the uncertainty of not knowing when you’re going to have a flare and not knowing how it’s going to affect your life.” “That was something we had to translate into something concrete. That required a lot of conversations where we had to adapt our design language, for it to be understood by a wider public that doesn’t always have the same references.” Helping them in this endeavor were also FIT students from multiple disciplines, creative agency Lorem Ipsum, and FIT Faculty, all of whom were tasked with designing and launching an exhibition that complements and advances the message put forth by the clothing.
04
DISCOVERING ICONS IN THE MAKING:
PRIMADONNA x NIKE By Haneen Elmeswari AMC ‘24 & Emma Citro AMC ‘24
From her early days as a New Orleans native, Pilar Bradley told her parents she was going to be famous. A child with a vision for the future, Bradley chased her dreams all the way out to Manhattan. As a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, she longed to pursue her dreams of becoming a journalist.
The Primadonna team initially started with 20 members, but within a year, they had over 900 applicants, mostly FIT students and some nationwide applicants. The team’s structure evolved from a small email-based talent pool to a larger team of writers, editors, directors, photographers, and stylists.
However, fate has an interesting way of stepping in. Bradley found herself feeling like she was ten steps ahead of everyone else. She then went on to launch her own creation, Primadonna Zine, which would later become such a trailblazer that it attracted the attention of the Nike executives.
In May of 2022, The Marketing Director of Nike Women reached out to Primadonna after seeing a viral TikTok featuring some of their behind-thescenes footage. After hopping on a call with them, Bradley was offered an opportunity to collaborate with the American multinational Bradley, the founding conglomerate. Together, Editor in Chief and Creative they would create a 22 Director of Primadonna, page magazine, styled had hopes of beginning her Photography by Maddie Paradise (Photography ‘23) completely with Nike career as a contributing writer for big-name garments, showing “it’s more than just magazines, building up her portfolio, and sportswear, it’s a lifestyle.” then launching a publication of her own. But Primadonna had been in a creative incubator Nike is presently in the midst of a strategic for years by this point, and surrounded by shift, evolving from its traditional focus on the inspiration of the city, Bradley took the athletic wear into a formidable player in the leap of faith and put herself out there. fashion industry. This transition has yielded a remarkable 9.6% surge in their annual Bradley joined forces with Madison Collins, revenue since 2022, according to Statista. also a student at FIT, and asked her to be For them, collaborating with Primadonna the Editor at Large, now Deputy Editor, marked yet another stride in that direction. after meeting her in a dorm room and However, Primadonna was treading
having an immediate connection. “I started brainstorming photoshoots, and wanted to find a way to bring print back with the right people,” explains Bradley. One thing about Bradley and Collins, is that Primadonna is not some fun weekend activity for them, Primadonna is their future. “This is not a side project, this is a duty. We take ourselves very seriously,” says Bradley.
uncharted waters with this collaboration. Never before had a small Zine been asked to collaborate with an industry leader, and to make it all happen in a month. Nevertheless, the collaboration was a perfect fit. “The innovation shared between our two companies is our strongest connection,” Collins remarked. “If ‘Just do it’ wasn’t Nike’s slogan first, it could easily have been ours.”
vision “There’s a unique energy Primadonna’s Established in 2021, for this collaboration at Primadonna that you was to promote selfPrimadonna Zine is a New York City-based won’t find anywhere else” expression and the magazine with a Gen-Z freedom of movement focus. Its rise to prominence is attributed within Gen Z. They aimed to shift the to its vibrant community and a pool conversation of movement being purely for of exceptionally talented contributors. aesthetics, but rather a form of liberation. Bradley notes, “There’s a unique energy at “That feeling of adrenaline that Nike creates Primadonna that you won’t find anywhere aligns beautifully with our magazine,” else.” Bradley remarks. Primadonna is a bi-annual publication that delves into a spectrum of topics, intersecting fashion, wellness, and culture. When asked about the driving force behind Primadonna, Bradley asserts, “There’s no other option other than to be amazing.” The publication’s core mission is to showcase “where the power of print meets the force of self-expression.”
to look to, so we did it the Primadonna way, ” Bradley explains, “We immediately went into a workshop.” For Primadonna, this opportunity helped them solidify themselves within the industry, becoming a force to be reckoned with. “We were so grateful and excited, but also this gave us the sense that we knew Primadonna was amazing and now someone big knows it” says Collins. Primadonna hosted a pop-up event in Brooklyn to launch the Nike collaboration issue titled “Cityscape” and the event was a huge hit. Influencers, brands, and creatives filled the block to show their love and support for Primadonna’s new chapter. “It hit me after the event, walking home, where I started bawling, crying,” says Bradley. Now Primadonna is looking to the future. When asked what they’re plans looked like, the co-editors beamed, expressing ambitions of wanting to become the ultimate creative hub. They also look forward to seeing copies of their magazine in brick and mortar stores and to one day have an office. They are also on a path to evolve beyond just a publication; their aspiration is to establish themselves as a prominent name within their industry. “It used to be solely about producing a magazine, but now it’s about cultivating a brand,” Bradley explains. “Magazines of the past were primarily created for information and entertainment. Respectfully, we don’t want to know what
color nail polish Hailey Bieber is wearing. We want to tell the stories no one is talking about” Bradley adds. Even as Primadonna grows and becomes the media powerhouse that its founders hope for it to be, Bradley and Collins want it to stay as your ‘Jenny from the block’—a hometown star who never forgets her roots and always remains connected to her audience.
This special issue was only 1/5 the size of a regular issue. A standard Primadonna issue typically encompasses a diverse array of stories, including features, round-ups, and investigative pieces. Few magazines have ventured into creating dedicated special edition issues for collaborations. “We had no other examples
Photography by Maddie Paradise (Photography ‘23)
