VFW 2018: NOT DEAD YET - Eulogy

Photo by Arun Nevader.

If you’ve ever wondered what would feel like to enter an underground, proto-punk-techno club in 1990’s London, Not Dead Yet’s EULOGY just might be the answer. Suffused with Nirvana-age yellow and red plaids, ripped band tees and PVC pants that somehow possess drape, Adam-Lin Bungang’s latest collection was a standout at this year’s Vancouver Fashion Week, proving this young designer is one to watch.

In what was possibly a nod to Vaquera’s recent NYFW presentation, models walked the runway bent forward as if on the warpath; sporting looks of extreme boredom or outright anger. The overall tone of the show was decidedly angsty, which only served to elevate the experly interwoven notes of punk and emo. If Vaquera’s presentation was an homage to the high school misfit, EULOGY gave us the misfit grown up and off-duty, stomping between art shows and club nights, and likely wreaking havoc at every turn.

Photo by Arun Nevader.

In keeping with previous collections, EULOGY plays with symmetricality, showing distorted hemlines, and jackets and overcoats worn off the shoulder. But where last year’s SHAME got its edge from a BDSM-esque sex appeal, EULOGY turns up the grunge factor to affect an effortless cool. We’ve kept the post-apocalyptic plastic trousers but now they are paired with distressed tees and cropped jackets made of material closely resembling garbage bags. It seems clear that after only three collections, Not Dead Yet has already established it’s aesthetic foundation without compromising room for flourish and ingenuity.

Photo by Arun Nevader.

As the show program stated, EULOGY reflects upon “the pain in the process of reflecting on our reality” exploring the past as a means for the “queer discovery of self.” Indeed, it is impossible to separate the culture and aesthetics of punk and emo from queerness, or to deny the roles queer people have taken in the establishment of these subcultures among many others. And, while EULOGY certainly gestures towards the past, each piece of this collection is decidedly of the moment, seasonless, and eternally cool.