NEW YORK MEN’S WEEK/ — On February 6, 2018, ABASI ROSBOROUGH had their debut show at NYFW at Cadillac House, as part of the official NYFWM calendar. Now in their 11th season, Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough decided to present their Autumn Winter 2018 collection accompanied by the beautiful tunes of Singer Kelela and inspirational imagery by Justin Brice Guariglia.
Gaining recognition in the world of fashion when the were nominated for LVMH PRIZE 2017 and as finalists for WOOLMARK 2016 and DENYC 2015, the design duo was inspired by today’s events.
Facial recognition. Cryptocurrency. Genetic modification. Autonomous cars. Anthropo- cene extinctions. Anti-intellectualism. Social media addiction. Corpocracy. Synthetic food. Celebrities as leaders. State surveillance. Global isolationism.
“The advances of our time are profound, but the direction in which they are moving society is a matter of perspective. Utopia or dystopia?” they said in their press notes.
This question translated into an emotional reaction through color, inspired by Clyfford Still’s primal non-figurative paintings, and notions of Zen from Georgia O’Keefe’s ward- robe in the western desert. The collection maintains a focus in streamlined tailoring, east and west influences, with elements of military, sport, and futurism.
80% of the collection is made from upcycled all-natural deadstock fabric found and made in New York City.
Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough are American designers of Nigerian and Scottish origin, living and working in New York. Their aesthetic embodies a tailored militancy intertwined with progressive anatomical and architectural references, which has been shaped by Abasi’s eight years as a sergeant in the US Military, and Rosborough’s back- ground in basketball and art.
They met in school whilst studying tailoring and menswear design at FIT and developed their first collection together in 2013. Although their work has evolved to include sports- wear, Abasi and Rosborough have stayed true to their initial vision to steadily reimagine tailoring for the 21st century.
Abasi Rosborough collections are made ethically in New York, using sustainable and recycled deadstock fabrics found in warehouses throughout the city, and sold in boutiques around the world.
Photos by Randy Brooke, courtesy of Abasi Rosborough
