Power of Practicality
Designer Carly Mark wows audience by putting practicality to practice on the runway.
By Halle Zides, Contributing Writer
New York Fashion Week is a display of unattainable fashion. I will argue that is what makes it enjoyable. While it isn’t easy to imagine myself wearing any pieces on the runway, it’s fun to invest time exploring what designers have created, nonetheless.
This season, however, Carly Mark, Puppets and Puppets designer, has created a line solely for the purpose of practicality. Her goal was to create clothes that she, her friends and anyone around her could and would wear (Votka, 2022). Inspired by her own wardrobe and life post-pandemic, Mark created a line that she claims would help her reclaim her power. “We started socializing again and we're trying to integrate ourselves back into society, finding ourselves in this new normal,” Mark told Harper's Bazaar. “It's about gaining confidence” (Bateman, 2022).
Mark originally made her mark on the fashion world in 2019 when she released a line that looked more like a crafty art project than a fashion collection. She became notorious for her outrageous pieces that challenged the concept of wearability, such as cheese hats or the brand’s best selling product, a black bag with a resin cookie attached to its front (Bateman, 2022).
Now, she has released items in her new line, Coven, that reflect her hopes for the streets of New York in the fall. Mark is setting up her brand for a future of wearability (Votka, 2022). Unlike any of her old designs, it includes darker prints, comfy sweaters, oversized blazers and sexy corsets. Her new line is full of looks I want to see in my closet for the upcoming fall season. Give me all the corsets and plaid trousers; I would love to step out in the blazer with springer spaniel dogs printed all over.
Mark has pursued her dream of creating fashion that she, and others, would actually want to wear. As someone who loves fashion as a wearable product that expresses myself, Mark’s goals being transferred onto the runway at New York Fashion Week 2022 is a dream come true. It is an inspiration to see a woman create clothing that expresses her current outlook on life, ultimately producing products that others can rock.
Sources:
Bateman, K. (2022, February 14). “Powerful Witch Vibes” at Puppets and Puppets’ Fall 2022 Show. Harper Bazaar.
Votka, S. (2022, February 14). Puppets and Puppets. Vogue Runway.