“It sounds broad, but the idea of love and being loved,” said Deveaux creative director Tommy Ton, when asked to share his inspiration for the season backstage. The well-known street-style-photographer-turned-creative-director was brought on by the brand — founded by Andrea Tsao and Matthew Breen — about year ago and launched its first women’s collection in spring. Tsao divulged they were experimenting with a new presentation style that would reveal more.
The mystery was solved as a mix of editors, buyers and street style all-stars gathered around a sunlit raw space and Henri Scars Struck began playing a quiet song on the piano. It started slowly at first, as the first female model appeared in a loose camel-colored pant and top with a scarf detail. As the song gathered speed, a diverse, multigenerational cast emerged, each in a monochromatic look.
“I wanted the cast to be reflective of the customer,” Ton said of the models, who ranged in age from 13 to 82.
Deveaux RTW Fall 2019
29 Photos
The models walked through the space, all seemingly searching for something, and eventually began interacting — holding hands, hugging — as the music gained speed until most of them were partnered off. It ended with a man, woman and child, soundly together.
It felt like fashion performance art, but for Ton, who has seen a million shows, it was a smart way to put into context his fluid and directional take on uniform dressing. Standouts include tonal car coats paired with mannish pants, loose suiting and a long satin column dress paired with a layered knit top. The styling highlighted how pieces could be worn multiple ways, with several of the looks from his January men’s lineup shown here on the opposite gender.
“We are a small brand,” Ton noted. “We cannot produce multiple samples. But the thing is, we cut in a certain way where it fits both genders. Our outerwear, for example, we tailor it for a man, but the fit also works for a woman. We show it to both sets of buyers without really saying and see who gravitates to what.”