ST. LOUIS — The swag was on overload Sunday afternoon at CITYPARK’s Ultra Club. It was three days before St. Louis CITY SC faced Houston Dynamo FC to kick off their 2024 season by way of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The super stylish crowd wasn’t gathered for a team rally – though there was plenty of team spirit in the building. The indoor event space was packed with fashionistas eager for a runway experience that demonstrated how men’s style and St. Louis soccer fandom traversed courtesy of the culminating event for Gent Men’s Fashion Week.
Runway at CITYPARK, created and produced by Brainchild Next CEO Dwight Carter, was also one of the 10 major style events to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Saint Louis Fashion Fund.
Carter is on the Saint Louis Fashion Fund Board. He is also a part of the St. Louis CITY SC family, charged with the task of teaching fundamentals of the sport to the next generation.
“Dwight serves as the perfect example of the intersection between fashion and sports,” said Fox 2 sports anchor Daniel Esteve, who served as master of ceremonies for the event. “He is an actual coach for the St. Louis City Futures team to bring high class soccer to some of the youth throughout the St. Louis region.”
He wasn’t the only one.
“Blending performance and aesthetics to redefine the boundaries of sports and fashion resulting in professional athletes around the world driving many trends in fashion and in football,” said Lee Broughton, Chief Branding Architect and ownership group member for St. Louis CITY SC. “Photos of our players decked out in some of their favorite fits are among some of the most popular posts on the team’s social media channels.”
Among the seven designers, two were St. Louis City SC players. Teammates Sam Adeniran and Aziel Jackson ripped the runway as models, but they also showcased their respective brands. Jackson’s First Move featured unique streetwear. Adeniran’s VAPS Dynasty Clothing ranged from casual looks to traditional African garb.
“It’s been a great journey. I love showing my clothing to all my teammates and to all the fans. They are always so supportive of it,” Adeniran said. “It’s also great to show my Nigerian heritage.”
Lukas Rice, Rocket Supernova, The Normal Brand, Ying Ying Ying, Paulie Gibson and Stuart Trevor gave a wide range of looks that illustrated the diversity and boldness that can be found within men’s fashion – which often takes a backseat to women’s wear when it comes to the runway.
“This collection is called Solaris Inferno,” said Rocket Supernova, who operates professionally under the moniker of his brand. “It’s very much high vibrational fire energy – like they just walked off of the sun.” His pieces included bold blends of distressed black denim and bright orange that resembled erupting lava. “You know how they say, ‘If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen?’ Well, they’ve been in the kitchen,” Rocket Supernova said. “They live in the kitchen, and now they are coming out of the kitchen for y’all.”
Blended in with the runway vets were celebrity models such as Five On Your Side anchor Rene Knott and KMOV-TV anchor Maurice Drummond. Members from across the board of the St. Louis CITY SC organization participated as well– including top management, players and the youth members of St. Louis CITY Futures.
The show was top-notch. One of the most memorable moments was when hip hop artist Mvstermind, who also serves as Director of Musical Experience for St. Louis CITY SC, performed live during Ying Ying Ying’s presentation of their latest line. If there was a note for next year, it would be to incorporate designs that are a nod to traditional suits and formalwear. Paulie Gibson demonstrated the most diversity in the looks he offered by way of color, structure, fabric and texture.
“I just tried to create something that was light and fun and full of color,” Gibson said.
UK designer Stuart Trevor, a co-founder of the London-based global fashion retailer AllSaints provided the show’s finale with the U.S. premiere of his sustainable fashion.
He entered the arena of sustainable fashion five years ago after learning of the jarring statistics regarding fashion waste.
“There are piles of clothes the height of mount Everest going into landfills every seven minutes,” Trevor said. “They can see this from satellites in space as they fill up in places like Africa, Chile and Indonesia.”
Trevor’s brand takes existing garments and remixes them with restructure, embroidery, paint, sewing on patches and other accessories.
“We take other people’s waste and make walking works of art,” Trevor said.
As Carter took a final bow, he proclaimed that his Gent would be the premiere men’s fashion week – and reminded the audience that buying from local brands is imperative if St. Louis is to reclaim its reputation as a fashion Mecca.
“I always say that the Fashion designers are the foundation of our industry,” Carter said. “Without the designers, we would not have an industry. If we don’t support them, there is no business. If we don’t help them build their business, then there are no jobs.”