Ambush designer Yoon Ahn skipped the runway at Milan Fashion Week this season, but got a larger-than-life welcome in New York in the form of a Times Square billboard marking her collaboration with Nike.
“It was sick,” the designer said over coffee, explaining that she came to New York to host a rave celebrating her latest Nike drop (and wore a bunny ear balaclava, according to the TikTok footage).
Makes sense since the spring 2023 Ambush collection was inspired by ’90s rave culture in Japan. The fall 2023 collection was the second chapter, when the kids who partied too much get sent away to private school with uniforms.
“It’s the same kid, but I wanted to show the character development,” Ahn said of the collection shown via look book, adding that she’s been working a lot with techno music, “and that the repetition of BPM goes with the idea of a uniform.”
She brought her unisex pieces to life almost entirely in black and white. Tailoring had a punk spirit. Trenchcoats, oversize blazers, cinched waist blazers, baggy trousers, schoolgirl skirts and shorts with double belt, multi strap and zipper details looked great. Shirting came oversize or cropped and corseted, and sweaters were ripped, patched and zipped. A funny cream pullover had 3D spikes knitted into it. Letterman jackets, knee socks and elevator boots added to the theme, which translated to her signature jewelry, too, on detention pins, class rings and safety pin earrings.
Ambush collections have had a lot of moods over the years but this was a solid foundation of commercial yet cool forever pieces.
Ahn said she enjoyed walking around Manhattan, where she had an exclusive drop at Kith, but didn’t get to any runway shows herself. The real research is in the streets. “We had more than 1,000 RSVPs for our party.…I’m more interested in seeing what kids are wearing than fashion week.”
