Now in his third season, men’s and women’s wear designer Connor McKnight, 27, presented his fall collection on Monday, fueled by investment from Kitsuné’s Ventures.
The inspiration: “I looked at the Black experience of work over the course of history, some of it darker than others, from the Reconstruction era to today. For Black folks, in particular, there was certain work that was considered good work. I wanted to explore that,” he said.
The look: Workwear remixed.
Quote of note: “Nowadays you see things people work in and maybe they don’t feel as stylish, but this is what everyone used to wear,” he said of his workwear pants that sit high on the waist with relaxed legs. Although he was wearing the vintage pair that inspired him, McKnight has translated the look into canvas and denim.
Key pieces: Boxy, patchwork leather blazer; life jacket reimagined as a puffy neck piece; shrunken fishing and puffer vests, a poet shirt with fleece dickie; checker board knit sweater; marled knit bike shorts; workwear denim; boxy cream tailored suit, shirt and tie with checkerboard accents.
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Takeaway: McKnight showed imagination with outdoor wear, and continued to design into his nascent brand signatures, among them a checkerboard motif, boxy tailoring and high-rise workwear trousers. In time, and with resources, he will develop more.