All photos by Sam Trotter courtesy of No Sesso
FASHION
No Sesso Makes An Artful Return to L.A.
The Los Angeles-based No Sesso has emerged as a critical favorite when it produced a triumphant fashion show at New York Fashion Week in September.
Fashion journos gave raves for the label's unique, gender-fluid looks, the dance-focused staging of its runway shows, and for a specific milestone. No Sesso’s Pierre Davis is the first black trans woman to helm a show at NYFW. No Sesso's mission could be found in its name, which means "No Sex/Gender" in Italian.
Davis and her creative collaborators, such as Arin Hayes and Autumn Randolph, gathered their creative energies to produce a Los Angeles show on Feb. 22, at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Warehouse events space in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo section. Davis called the Autumn/Winter '20 show a homecoming. No Sesso has not produced a Los Angeles runway show since 2018.
There was a need for a homecoming show. The Autumn/Winter collection was inspired by a house in Los Angeles’ West Adams district, where Davis and her friends designed the styles, which included upcycled fabrics, silks and deconstructed denim.
“We wanted to make an artisanal collection, something that could never be reproduced and live as art objects,” Davis said.
Art inspiration went beyond clothes. Choreographing the runway show was Chris Emile, who has founded movement-based creative project No)one and also choreographed performances for musicians such as Solange and Anderson Paak. Similar to an adventurous theater performance, some models would occasionally make their way through the audience to step onto the runway area. Others would break into dance to the beat of jazz and hip-hop being played by DJ Alima Lee.
Commerce also played a part in this art show. MOCA bags bearing No Sesso’s name were sold at merchandise table.
