Words by Hannah Atira

How do you translate the experience of a concert into a tangible existence; well for Jonathan Cohen it is re-imaged as patterns and details in his latest collection.


A now-seasoned designer, Cohen showcased his latest collection in the ever-classic Tribeca neighborhood on the city’s westside. The entrance, tucked away along a side street, opened up into a beautiful early 20th-century original wood parlor, lined with velvet draperies and in-wall bookshelves. Creating quite the juxtaposition was Cohen’s colorful collection, which stood out daringly against the background, coming full circle to the intention behind this season.

In speaking with Cohen, the designer set the tone for the collection by highlighting the juxtaposition of fabrications, colors, and styling. “Everything this season has that light MTV rock focus, but then in a very polished and sophisticated way.” Bursting full of a colorful blend of lights was most notable in a patterned trench as well as a two piece suit. While the trench captured a mixture of deep purple, orange, and pinks, the suit lent to the pastel side in hues of seafoam green, soft yellows, and lavender. “This season, we took the prints off of concert lights. The prints are all photos of lights I took while I was at concerts that I then manipulated to create these abstract prints.” Veteran stylist for the brand, Austen Turner shared the emphasis of punk rock in the styling of the collection through elements of undone manicures and leather hair tie’s around ponytails to further juxtapose.

Capturing the opposite of the lights and highlighting the darkness right before a show was a black floor-length gown of satin fabrication entitled “pitch black” by Cohen. “I used to go to concerts a lot growing up, so I was just thinking of those moments when the lights go down and everything goes dark.” Tying it all together quite literally were cut-out tie pieces lining the center front bodice continuing across the waistline and down the back of the skirt. Bringing past season fabrications to life in a 3D format, the tie cut out found itself along satin lapeled coats, trousers, and skirts as well as this
season.

Showcasing an evolution of his signature effects found itself in floral appliqués of sustainable materials. Using laser cutting technology to create a patterned cutout fabrication, Cohen emphasized his focus on sustainability through using the leftover pieces to create the appliqué that are then applied to various pieces in the collection. “It is a way to do sustainability in a version that is not more mass with upcycling but with more volume, which is easier for more price points.” Notably standing out as well in the collection was a “static tweed” fabrication, hand woven by the team for an A-line blazer and skirt set.

Completing the collection was a second edition of Cohen’s collaboration with shoe label Larroude creating highly detailed pieces including signature Cohen prints on the soles. Most striking included a satin concert light pattern boot and leather tie cut out boot mixed and matched within the collection.