A longtime friend of OC and staple in the New York fashion scene, Jay Massacret helped curate the DKNY exclusively for Opening Ceremony collection. He, along with Humberto, hand-picked the collection, pulled from the storied DKNY archives. And while his current work with DKNY and existing knowledge of the label no doubt informed the curation process, it is his interest in sportswear and the influence of Ray Petri that took things that extra mile, especially when styling the campaign. "No matter who you’re working with or what you’re working on, you always need to inject some of yourself into the project while retaining some of the brand's heritage. I’m really interested in sportswear and my work reflects that," stated Jay in an interview last week. Learn more about the collection and the campaign below.
Gillian Tozer: For a lot of us, DKNY holds a special place in our memories. How and when did you discover DKNY?
Jay Massacret: When I was in high school in San Francisco, during the early-90s. It was super logo-y back then, kind of like B.U.M. Equipment was. It was this mix between sports and city-wear so the “cool” girls were definitely into it.
GT: The capsule collection focuses on early 90s sportswear; there are the oversized tees, the jumpsuits, and the leggings. When curating the collection, why did you and Humberto choose to zoom in on this particular niche?
JM: I’ve been working with DKNY for a while and had access to their archives. [While doing some research,] I came across pieces that reminded me of these Bill Cunningham photos I had pinned to my reference wall. They are of these girls running through the city, wearing body-conscious dresses with racing stripes up the sides and sneaker-heel hybrids. Certain pieces in the archive hit a nostalgic nerve with me and I thought the two brands partnering on a collection made perfect sense.
We found so many cool, sporty pieces that were just logo-mania with a slight masculine edge. There were a lot of other amazing looks but we felt as though we needed to focus on that sports element.
GT: DKNY's past and present campaigns represent the spirit of the brand and the era so well. Why did you cast Kim Ann, Vashtie, Cara, and Ian in this campaign?
JM: There are plenty of amazing Donna Karan advertising campaigns, like the one with Rosemary McGrotha being sworn in as president. With this one, I wanted to represent different kinds of people, body shapes, and looks—OC is very conscious of being all-inclusive like that. Plus, they’re all cool kids. I didn’t want to use only models: Cara is a DKNY model but I cast her because she’s really fun and a girl-about-town. Kim Ann has a background in music, as does Vashtie, and Ian just looks great!
GT: What about the look of the campaign? The styling is super fresh but it has its references to the 90s: Cara’s Björk-inspired hairstyle and Ian’s bowler hat, for example.
JM: One of my biggest inspirations is the stylist Ray Petri. He was a part of the Buffalo crew that came up in the late 80s in London, along with singers like Nick Kamen. I infused a little bit of that aesthetic into the styling—especially the combination of sportswear and couture or tailored clothing. I also looked to early 90s icons, like Björk and Neneh Cherry. It was really about hitting those nostalgic nerves.
GT: We’re super excited to introduce people to the brand who weren’t around the first time.
Gillian Tozer: For a lot of us, DKNY holds a special place in our memories. How and when did you discover DKNY?
Jay Massacret: When I was in high school in San Francisco, during the early-90s. It was super logo-y back then, kind of like B.U.M. Equipment was. It was this mix between sports and city-wear so the “cool” girls were definitely into it.
GT: The capsule collection focuses on early 90s sportswear; there are the oversized tees, the jumpsuits, and the leggings. When curating the collection, why did you and Humberto choose to zoom in on this particular niche?
JM: I’ve been working with DKNY for a while and had access to their archives. [While doing some research,] I came across pieces that reminded me of these Bill Cunningham photos I had pinned to my reference wall. They are of these girls running through the city, wearing body-conscious dresses with racing stripes up the sides and sneaker-heel hybrids. Certain pieces in the archive hit a nostalgic nerve with me and I thought the two brands partnering on a collection made perfect sense.
We found so many cool, sporty pieces that were just logo-mania with a slight masculine edge. There were a lot of other amazing looks but we felt as though we needed to focus on that sports element.
GT: DKNY's past and present campaigns represent the spirit of the brand and the era so well. Why did you cast Kim Ann, Vashtie, Cara, and Ian in this campaign?
JM: There are plenty of amazing Donna Karan advertising campaigns, like the one with Rosemary McGrotha being sworn in as president. With this one, I wanted to represent different kinds of people, body shapes, and looks—OC is very conscious of being all-inclusive like that. Plus, they’re all cool kids. I didn’t want to use only models: Cara is a DKNY model but I cast her because she’s really fun and a girl-about-town. Kim Ann has a background in music, as does Vashtie, and Ian just looks great!
GT: What about the look of the campaign? The styling is super fresh but it has its references to the 90s: Cara’s Björk-inspired hairstyle and Ian’s bowler hat, for example.
JM: One of my biggest inspirations is the stylist Ray Petri. He was a part of the Buffalo crew that came up in the late 80s in London, along with singers like Nick Kamen. I infused a little bit of that aesthetic into the styling—especially the combination of sportswear and couture or tailored clothing. I also looked to early 90s icons, like Björk and Neneh Cherry. It was really about hitting those nostalgic nerves.
GT: We’re super excited to introduce people to the brand who weren’t around the first time.