STATES OF PLAY

Celebrating seven young American labels and their unique, fun-filled take on fashion

- LAURA HAWKINS, TILLY MACALISTER-SMITH, PEI-RU KEH

01 CONNOR MCKNIGHT

An alumnus of Bode and Kith, Brooklyn designer Connor McKnight launched his own line in 2020, focusing on what he calls ‘the Black mundane’. ‘In fashion, we have this tendency towards something that is either extremely over the top or very minimal – but I grew up in a middle-class household in the Washington metropolitan area and a lot of the things I pull come from that,’ he says. Featuring classic nylon and wool top coats and 1960s workwear trousers in luxury sports wool, his S/S22 collection is a sort of parody of the clothes the average American lives in, from sportswear to Sunday best.

Opposite, top, £458, by Connor McKnight. Model’s right hand, rings, from $230, both by Gentle Storm. Left hand, bracelet and ring, model’s own. Rings, from $230, both by Gentle Storm

02 PUPPETS AND PUPPETS

Imagine a handcrafted black leather purse with a hyperrealist chocolate chip cookie made of resin stuck to its front. It is both surreal and sexy. Clumsy and chic. A succinct précis of the fashion-cum-art project Puppets and Puppets. Established in 2019 by Carly Mark and Ayla Argentina, the label is loved for its trippy élan. The duo enjoy straddling the line between the disciplines, and their output is defined by a resistance to formality. ‘I work the same way I would start an artwork, thinking of themes, moving through things like I would a story. That’s what makes me happy,’ says Mark.

Above, Ahmad wears jacket, $945; shirt, $360; trousers, $700, all by Puppets and Puppets. Glasses, jewellery and shoes, all model’s own. Nyla wears jumpsuit, $3,400, by Puppets and Puppets. Earrings, £357; rings, £225 each, all by Spylxn. Shoes, £575, by Manolo Blahnik