Nausicca Transforms a Lower East Side Sidewalk Into Its NYFW Runway

They say the sidewalk is your runway in New York and, besides having to dodge bewildered tourists, that adage is largely true. Simmering or snowy, rain or shine, the pavement has long been a peoples' catwalk, which is why it became the perfect stage for new queer design house Nausicca to debut their first collection. In the five-foot stretch between a nondescript apartment building entrance and the front door to Beverly's (the go-to dive bar of the Lower East Side art scene), a parade of models walked, stomped, and, at times, glowered for the crowd gathered on the trash-strewn sidewalk that had come to witness the first show from designers Jameson and Richard.

Admittedly, the show was set to take place across the street at Seward Park but rain forced a move to the cramped quarters of Beverly's, which became a blessing in disguise. Any fashion show can set up shop in a park and call it a day, but there was something special about watching a dirty sidewalk turn into a runway for a collection as bizarre as Nausicca's. Alongside repurposed button-up shirts as sleeves and ruffled, patchwork prints, the designers also found the perfect accessory: long, twisted fake nails threaded with string created especially for the show by Nails by Juan. It was all tied together by a display of models who, at times, stood confused on the sidewalk or sauntered out of the bar looking despairingly for the entrance to the apartment they'd just come from. It was messy, low-key glam and completely, authentically New York.

Photography: Jack Meriwether