Here we are in the blender. Many of the downtown up and coming designers and the clients that wear them are consistently combining the rebellious looks of the past as a way of striking out at the homogeneity that was constricting fashion. What happens when designers like Jordi Scott and Starr Rinaldi of Jordi Scott get a hold of the uniforms of rebels past is they become style terrorists and use design to attack the numbing fog of blandness that is commercial fashion. As with many designers who have been marginalized and denied exposure, for Fall/Winter ’09 there was a strong sense that they are now bathing in the blood pouring from the the collapse of the marketplace that was built by the very same “commercialistas” that rejected them.

For Fall/Winter ’09, the deviant duo of Scott and Rinaldi served up their classic mix of 70s and 80s punk and pop art but with a stronger cohesiveness and a more mature sense of who they are as designers. The collection was still raw and in your face with all of the great punk swagger and oozing sexiness that is their hallmark. But this time gazing through their looking glass though the message felt stronger and the clothes were somehow more substantial and less pop. The show opened with a video encouraging all of us to dance and party. And at a Jordi Scott show it felt fitting to swill and sway while the economic crisis and the cultural carnage it is spewing cast a pall over the city. Then the models stomped and slammed their way down the runway wearing clothes that were sexy and bold. Distressed leggings and faux leather mixed with chain prints and glittering fabrics. Electric colors screamed from underneath black blouses. P.V.C trim adorned shirts and skirts and in one creative touch mimicked electrical tape. Many pieces were perfect for all the bad boys and nasty girls but none more so than the skintight pants and jackets that just sent a ripple of sex through out the crowd. Overall the show was a great step forward for this talented and fierce design team that is just on the edge of being the next big must have for the dangerous, dirty, and fabulous.