The powerful Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), which says it represents more than 500 creators and has made diversity its battle cry, announced last month that Davis’s No Sesso brand would be “making NYFW history” at Monday’s event, which opened with a parade of whimsical garments.
Fashion Week began with a focus on men and will turn to women’s wear on Thursday.
While she embraces her identity as a trans woman in the design field, Davis doesn’t want it to be a gimmick, telling AFP it’s important for people to see the creations and for them to be recognized.
“I just want to show the work,” she said of the agender brand No Sesso, which was launched in 2015 and — according to CFDA — counts fans including R&B artists Kelela and Erykah Badu.
“I am just humble and happy that I got to show at Fashion Week,” Davis said.
For her Chapter 2 collection — she calls them “chapters” rather than seasons — Davis came up with the idea of a wardrobe that blends the sartorial codes associated with the two sexes.
Plain black vests became skirts, cocktail dresses were transformed and worn with self-assurance by models whose diversity — male or female, slender or plus-size — reflected Fashion Week’s growing efforts to look beyond the conventional razor-thin body type.
The wardrobe mixed the formalism of work attire with sportswear, producing a jogging jacket with epaulets, for example.
“The show is inspired by business wear and evoking the spirit of the Glamazon regardless of gender,” Davis told CFDA.