The NYFW F/W ‘24 season saw a major move to Chelsea, chaotic temps, and collections unveiled by the likes of ZANKOV and Diotima. And it’s only Tuesday!
You’d be remiss to not mention the after parties: this year’s definitely didn’t disappoint. On the East Side, creative forces & friends Henry Zankov (of ZANKOV) and Rachel Scott (of Diotima) linked up in NO BAR to revel in the post-show high.
Their closest circles made an appearance, from Blake Abbie to Chloe King and Christopher John Rogers. Kye took over the decks, and guests sipped The Standard's classic No Problem cocktail. We downloaded with them about their friendship, their collections of the moment & what they’re most excited to indulge in post-NYFW.
If you could describe this season in three words, what would they be?
Luscious, undone, artisanal
One of the elements we admire about your work is the intentionality in partnering with Jamaican artisans. How do you source/identify these local partnerships, and are there ever any logistical hurdles with scaling, especially for a big moment like Fashion Week?
We have been developing and scaling the crochet team in Jamaica over the last three years. As people started to hear about what we were doing, we kept getting recommendations of other artisans. Given this work is all done by hand, there are obvious limitations, but we have been very careful to grow the category based on our capacity.
You’ve spoken about your desire to create a physical Diotima store. Walk us through what a dream retail experience would look like, from music to location and visuals:
There would be references to Jamaican interior spaces, perhaps domestic spaces, but abstracted. The sound in the background would be heavy on 90’s dancehall, but mixed in with other genres that I love like disco, Ethiopian jazz etc.
Tell us more about the significance behind “Hold Me Closer” and one of the looks that best represents this collection.
I named the collection “Hold Me Closer” as I was thinking a lot about how knitwear in it’s nature is like a big hug. I wanted all the textures, colors and silhouettes this season to embrace the wearer and seduce. I would say the first look which opened our show was what truly summed up the spirit of the collection. It’s an origami draped ruby red ribbed sweater with a quartz pink brushed alpaca skirt
You once said that you like to call your seasons “editions” because you don’t want them to be beholden to a specific schedule. How do you feel that showing on the NYFW calendar helps structure your work? Are there any drawbacks?
Now that we are growing our wholesale business and showing on a regular schedule we have had to embrace the seasonal cadence.
In addition to running ZANKOV, you moonlight as a Parsons professor. What is your top piece of advice for aspiring designers in 2024?
I love to teach and I love being around young people. I would say the biggest advice is to never take anything personally and work hard to develop your own unique visual language and voice.
And for both...
How did you two meet? Has your friendship influenced your creative work?
Henry: We both met as we had the same PR when we started the brand and we decided to share a showroom space so we could save money.
Rachel: I remember walking into the space with my ironing board and iron, and Henry was like “I love that, you never see that”. Since then we’ve been close friends
How are you excited to reset after the NYFW whirlwind?
Henry: I would love to go upstate to a meditation retreat. I used to go often before I started the brand and feel reconnecting with nature and slowing down will do me some good.
Rachel: I look forward to sleeping first and foremost, but then after that getting into a routine of pilates and acupuncture and maybe go to the sauna a few times.
