Sex sells at New York Fashion Week

It's an age old trope that is basic marketing 101: sex sells. Rather it's in film, art, or an ad campaign, there is no better way to ensure sales that giving the public something sexy. The runways at New York Fashion Week this season got a little bit sexier, and one of the runway themes this season is sex sells.

Berlin-based brand Namilia partnered with adult entertainment website Pornhub for their fall/winter 2020 collection titled Herotica. The show was even live streamed on Pornhub. Herotica represented a powerful, unprecedented commentary on a male-dominated world that has resulted in the fetishization of women. Throughout the collection, the designers reclaimed the female perspective and flipped around reality, creating a world where sexuality empowers women and puts them at the helm.

New York Fashion Week sees sexier runways

The runway show featured an all-Asian cast consisting of runway models and Pornhub models Marica Hase, Jade Kush, and New York-native megastar Asa Akira, Pornhub’s brand ambassador. “The cosmos of sexual pleasure has been restricted to a few boring and chauvinistic narratives for the pleasure of the male gaze, up until rather recently. Porn isn’t something existentially male, most women just have been previously excluded from determining the narrative,” said Nan Li of Namilia in a statement.

LaQuan Smith has become known for his particular brand of hoesthetics as stylist Farren Fucci would easily describe it. His fall/winter collection featured mini dresses, plunging necklines, and bustier tops that were perfect for a night out at the club. For a modern take on sexuality, LaQuan Smith's clothes have a very '90s nostalgia feel harkening back to the sexualized aesthetics of that era with lowrise denim, decreasing shame about cleavage, and form fitting dresses.

LaQuan Smith's woman isn't afraid to own her sexuality. She has an "if you've got it, flaunt it" attitude. While his aesthetic can be described as a bit over the top, it never comes off as gaudy once you see the pieces as the statement makers they really are. Some pieces were even literal statement makers, such as a giant fur bag emblazoned with the words "I'M MOVING OUT." His customer is the type of women not afraid to be sexy, independent, and could be less concerned with what you think about her. It's these aspects that help women sell a new kind of sexual revolution when it comes to fashion.

Then there was Chromat. Becca McCharen-Tran's size-inclusive, disability inclusive, trans-friendly, line which got extra sporty this season. The athleticwear collection chose to literally get physical at basement of FiDi Rise gym for a series of workout classes to present the collection with models getting sexy, sweaty, and baring skin all in the spirit of a good workout classes. Chromat sent the message that you don't need to be a size zero or look like a traditional model to feel good and sexy after your workout class, everyone is here to get healthy and look good.

New York's fashion designers are about to bring about another sexual revolution for the next decade of the 2000s. Prepare for higher skirts and get ready to love the skin you are in.

photos courtesy of Mode PR