Vivienne Tam returns to NYFW with BAYC

Just back to New York from Hong Kong for the first time since the pandemic ended installed, Vivienne Tam is delighted to participate in New York Fashion Week.

His parade on Wednesday won't just be another run-of-the-mill parade. The designer has partnered with several top NFT and crypto resources. For its spring 2023 collection, Tam incorporates many avatars from some top notch NFT collections. The result is asexual and intergenerational. Tam uses characters from the Yuga Labs umbrella - Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, CyberKongz and Awkward Astronauts - and has sewn, embroidered, printed and embellished on and in various cuts and silhouettes, including many accessories.

Tam's collection will be showcased in a massive digital IRL landscape created by Scapes, which will flank the center track at spring studios. Landscapes are a collection of 10,000 unique landscapes stored on the Ethereum blockchain. She has been approached by several people to get into NFTs, due to the preponderance of impressions she is known for. Wanting to understand the market first, Tam said she's since found NFTs and the metaverse to be "really interesting and mind-blowing." Wow - there are so many possibilities for creativity. You can create 10,000 images and each image is unique,” ​​she said.

Now that COVID-19 travel restrictions are lifted, the designer plans to split her time between New York and Hong Kong. Like many other creatives, she has rethought how to reposition her business as consumers have grown accustomed to spending more time online and in the digital world. "It's not just about fashion. It's about lifestyle," she said. "But I believe people are coming back to fashion. It's not just about to wear pajamas and sweatshirts and all that [laughs].."

Returning to NYFW is a bit of a homecoming for Tam, who hosted his first parade of fashion at Bryant Park in 1994. Born in Guangzhou, China, she studied at Hong Kong Polytechnic University before moving to the United States with a 20-piece collection. Henri Bendel and Barneys New York were among the first to adopt his label.

Now his collection is sold primarily direct-to-consumer, bespoke and through pop-up stores, which is quite appropriate for his new venture. "I want all of these NFT players to place orders when viewing my collection," the designer said, adding that she hopes they'll request specific placement for the Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks icons. “When you look at this collection, you can see how I play with images. I can do embroidery. I can do lace. It's not like some other NFTs where the images are just on a T-shirt."

Although she thinks the economic situation in Hong Kong is improving and daily life seems more normal, she admitted that a number of stores, including luxury, have closed. This is also the case in Manhattan, especially in the heart of Fifth Avenue, she said.

The designer herself has faced some major personal setbacks in recent years. Her boyfriend Scott Crolla - a London fashion star in the 80s and early 90s - died of cancer in July 2019. And her longtime salesman of 25 years, Brian Hogan, also died of cancer. cancer in August 2021. “They were the two closest people in my life. It's been a tough year, but I'm glad to be back in New York," she said.

Even though these losses have been trying, Tam said the opportunity to explore th.. .