Discount Universe (Q2121)
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Australian fashion label
- Di$count Universe
- DI$COUNT UNIVER$E
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Discount Universe |
Australian fashion label |
|
Statements
NOT FOR SALE. WHORE. EAT PUSSY. These were the slogans rendered in sequins at Di$count Universe’s debut New York Fashion Week show. Talk about coming in hot. But designers Cami James and Nadia Napreychikov have made womanhood, and all the trials and tribulations that come with it, their guiding light at Di$count Universe, dousing their collections in a riotous, feminist spirit. This season, the duo tackled big concepts—the commodification of feminism, the objectification of the female form, misogyny—in a big, splashy, sequined fashion. It was a red-hued call to arms for women to celebrate their womanity, to push back against those that will call us “hysterical” or delicate or less-than, and to do it in an impeccably made sequin body-con dress.Don’t even think about uttering the wordunwearable. Spring Studios was overflowing with guests decked out in full-look DU—the number of glittering boots reflecting the runway’s light was literally blinding. James and Napreychikov have a devoted army of fans, and I’d guess it’s only going to grow now that their brand of slinky, short, sexy fashion is becoming the bread and butter of celebrity-meets-Instagram style. What daring dresser wouldn’t want flame-beaded jeans or a glittering sparkly pouf-sleeved top, or a red fluffy coat?You know what the best part of this whole show was? Not a single stiletto in sight. Most models wore red hotel slippers, one was in slide sandals, another in low block-heeled boots. This Di$count Universe army of babes is quite literally stomping out the the haters.
7 September 2018
You get the sense that Di$count Universe designers Nadia Napreychikov and Cami James get off on being subversive. Based in Melbourne, the duo has avoided the traditional fashion route, opting to do their own thing since starting their brand in 2009. The closest they’ve come to a proper fashion show was participating in a VFiles showcase in 2015. So there was plenty of anticipation around their first Fashion Week Australia collection. (An invite featuring semi-pornographic content increased the front row buzz, as did the label’s celebrity endorsements fromKylie Jenner,Rihanna, andKaty Perry.)You knew it was going to be good from the first outfit: a model withLabyrinth-era Bowie hair in a cobalt duster with phrases like “Eat the rich,” phone numbers, and genitalia hand-embroidered in sequins. DU, as the designers shorthand their label, has become known for its elaborately wrought sequined handiwork and extreme tongue-in-cheek nature, and the pair served it up by the gallon tonight, creating fully embellished unitards and thigh-high boots with floral patterns. Their salty humor continued to shine in silver chain details, “Sin Is In” embroideries, and one red leather jacket whose back panel read “Pretty sure this is our final collection.” Let’s hope not—where else would we see both models giving the finger to the photographers’ pit and a quite wearable pink slip dress?
19 May 2016