Abel Honor New York is the coolest designer brand you need to know about. Created by seasoned designer Kate Wasserbach who, after graduating from Parsons School of Design moved on to become an assistant designer at Michael Kors, Abel Honor New York is a breath of fresh air and her latest collection is a fresh approach to high-quality streetwear that’s so prevalent today. The most recent collection, Avant Contention, explores the relationship between the punk movement and sustainable luxury, and leaned on Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the Sex Pistols as a muse, ‘merging the desirable with the rotten.’
I’ve written about Kate Wasserbach and Abel Honor New York before (read the article here) when the brand launched their first collection, the AW20 Collection in December 2020. What was apparent then and is apparent now is the bold, daring spirit of the AHNY brand that’s oh-so reminiscent of Alexander McQueen. Adventurous and stunning, Abel Honor doesn’t play by fashion’s rules, it makes them. The brand doesn’t fit into the lineup of designers playing it safe season after season with a new color, an altered silhouette or a shorter hemline, Abel Honor New York is a style all it’s own, and while it may at first seem like it’s only for the fashion-forward, the pieces I’ve viewed in the last two collections are both fearless and approachable. They’re the kind of items you can dress up and dress down, and the type of clothing everyone needs in their closet.
As part of the new launch, men’s and women’s pieces are available across shorts, dresses, sweaters, tops, pants, skirts, and more. As with every Abel Honor New York release, the collection is divided into two categories based on elevated everyday wear, and high end custom designed pieces. But Abel Honor New York didn’t only challenge design concepts with a modern twist on the punk spirit, sustainability is also at the heart of the Avant Contention Collection. “The idea of sustainability seeks to challenge the fashion system, and punk has always interrogated power structures, with the goal of changing conventional norms. Both sustainable practices and the punk ethos run in opposition to the establishment, and Abel Honor New York’s new line speaks to the counterculture, mixing a downtown sensibility with uptown luxury and eco-conscious ethics.” In true punk-fashion form, the new collection features reused fabrics that are not mass produced and only available in limited quantities (which the brand does not restock), and the Avant Contention Collection offers 50 garments with prices ranging from $135-650, so get punk and get it now!
Check out the entire Avant Contention Collection below, and to see all that Abel Honor New York has to offer, check out their website here, you know you want to! #LAFMApproved
