Titled Veritas, Collection Seventeen is named after the goddess of truth in Roman mythology and embraces the core aesthetic of the New York-based brand –lush embroidery and a subversive edge while pushing the boundaries of traditional evening wear. The venue choice also influenced the designs. This season, the creative partners revisited their classic constellation and zodiac themes after seeing the beautiful astrology mosaic floor at the courthouse.
“Showing during New York Fashion Week has allowed us to think outside the box and embrace new categories, such as suiting and separates, and to immerse our audience more completely into our world. This season, we were deeply inspired by The Night Beats –we saw Danny perform just before starting to design, and his albums have been the soundtrack to the collection throughout the season,” say Anna Shaheen and Anthony Cucculelli, Co-Founders and Creative Directors.
As a constant for Cucculelli Shaheen, the collection revolves around opposites: chaos and classicism, vice and virtue, a feverish and dreamy city. Collection Seventeen introduces an oversized pajama hybrid set that can be worn with pants or solo with tights for a mini look, a tiered skirt combined with the hard edges of an oversized tuxedo coat, and a peaked strapless bustier dress with sharp angles styled with a soft petticoat skirt.
The designers play with oversized shapes, offering a twist to silhouettes traditionally used for men and women, such as men’s pajamas, overcoats, tulle petticoats, bustiers, and present a new crest hand-made in bullion for a rich touch on clean jackets and coats. Fabrics used include wool and silk tuxedo tailoring, stiff tulle, silk Moiré, silk georgette, and silk cady. The color palette goes from deep navy, silver, and icy shades of blue to pearl, powder, champagne, pink, gold, green, and black.
“Collection Seventeen is moody, dramatic, and romantic, mixed with New York cosmopolitan edge. The title of the collection being ‘Veritas’ makes showing at the New York Supreme Court building very appropriate and it is also a tattoo sported by one of us,” say Shaheen and Cucculelli.
Notable attendees included Ubah Hassan, Jessel Taank, Gigi Gorgeous, Paige Desorbo, Melissa Roxburgh, Victoria Brito, Jackie Aina, Dascha Polanco, Eva Marcille, Caylee Cowan, who were welcomed to the impressive central rotunda of the New York Supreme Court. The models, including winner of Season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Jaida Essence Hall, along with models like Alécia Morais, Ysaunny Brito, Larissa Almeida, Anyelina Rosa, Eyshila Tomaz, Mijo Mihaljcic, Minnie Warren, Leah Ogama and Emma G circled the space guarded by sixteen columns showcasing the latest designs by Cucculelli Shaheen.