Fleamadonna (Q3142)

It’s always a party at Fleamadonna, and this season designer Jei Kim was inspired by the ultimate good-time girl—a young, freewheeling Madonna in the early ’80s. Recently, Kim explained, she purchasedMadonna 66, a rare collection of Polaroids shot by Richard Corman, featuring intimate images of the 24-year-old singer, six weeks beforeMadonnadebuted. “I wanted to bring out a little punk feeling and the ’80s here,” she said backstage.The collection was called “Breakfast Club,” after the band Madonna belonged to at the time. The runway was lined with neon tube lighting in colored tracks of orange, red, lime green, and yellow, and the first passage of looks checked the expected ’80s boxes (ultrahigh waists, executive stripes, rhinestones). Model Yoon Young Bae opened the show in a simple black maillot, topped with a boxy black jacket, chain-strap fanny pack, and enormous crystal hoops. Her second look—an iridescent pink silk shirtdress, unbuttoned to the waist to reveal a silver sequined skirt beneath—was the standout, so beautifully done it almost belonged to another show.Truthfully, the final glam-rock section, defined by its recurring star print and pussy-bow blouses, felt a little one-note, lacking the playful spirit that has defined the brand. Items like the gauzy pink dress and the shiny black darted number with confetti beads at the collar felt truer to form—more in line with the lovely evolution that has unfolded the past two seasons and what one hopes to see more of next round.