Moohong (Q3435)

A subversive spirit has always run through Moohong, and for Spring 2018 the designer dove into his personal rebellion. “Norms kill” and “standard kills” were the two tag lines. “Words likestandardandnormtend to have a positive meaning,” he explained backstage. “But social norms by nature exclude some people, and those are the people I wanted to explore.”The show began with white lights that flashed to a pulsing heartbeat. He used unnatural fabrics (PVC) and slight pastel tones (mint, silver) that unsettled the mind. “Like a mutation,” he said. “I wanted to create the feeling that these are not human.” It crept in slowly: a backwards suit coat, buttoned down with pieces of fabric fluttering off. Then a strand of hair wrapped around the neck as a choker, and wrapped around the back of a raw-hem jacket. Abstract prints resembled leaves and landscapes from far off, but up close became mere splotches of paint.Of the show’s three acts, the center felt strongest. Think a corduroy suit, but of such thin fabric it passed as linen, or beautifully crinkled white pieces draped loosely over the head. Suit jackets cut into ponchos were a nice deconstruction, while two pairs of gray suit pants stuck onto the front and back of a single pair stood out from the pack. The wordsRationality Killswere embroidered onto the waistband, and judging by the wonderfully off-kilter tailoring on display, it certainly seemed to be so.