Alexander Wang’s SoHo flagship has gotten a “Wangover,” which is Wangspeak a makeover. On the southwest corner of Grand and Mercer, the LED screens that previously decorated his shop’s back wall have been replaced by polished chrome tubing, and in the center of the remodeled space stands one of John Chamberlain’s iconic crushed car parts sculptures. “I’ve always wanted to find one that’s monochrome, so when I saw it at Sotheby’s and we were doing this store, I knew we had to have it,” he said at a walk-through. “This store needs to say, ‘we’ve grown up.’”
Wang is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his brand this year, a notable milestone in an American fashion industry in which many mid-career designers’ businesses are contracting. But you shouldn’t let the Chamberlain fool you—the irreverence, edge, and, yes, Downtown New York spirit that have long defined Wang remain in full effect today, maybe even more so now than they did when he opened this boutique in 2010.
Fifteen years ago, Wang was New York Fashion Week’s hottest ticket and the clothes that came down his runway reflected his high fashion aspirations (though he was still a few years shy of his Balenciaga appointment). These days, with his eye on his real-life customers, he’s more streetwear focused, and this collection had an array of logo treatments, tweaked and twisted athletic gear, and terry cloth loungewear-turned-clubwear to prove it.
A lot of the pieces were sliced high on the midriff (flashing underboob in the case of the Downtown New York half-shirts) or slung low from the hips. It’s a look that’s been trending for several years, though Wang can stake a claim as much as Miu Miu. He’s been sending out boxer shorts as outerwear since way back in 2013. The most grown-up pitches here were the trousers with sweatpant-style drawstring waistbands—or were they sweatpants in tailoring fabric? Either way, they were cool.