Runway
Black clothing has always demanded that garments be assessed on a different set of criteria. For the fashion enthusiast, a collection entirely dedicated to exploring this non-color is always a reason to sit up and take notice.
Updated 12:54 pm EDT, March 20, 2026
Published 12:51 pm EDT, March 20, 2026
Photo Courtesy: © IFEMA MADRID
Black clothing has always demanded that garments be assessed on a different set of criteria. For the fashion enthusiast, a collection entirely dedicated to exploring this non-color is always a reason to sit up and take notice.
Updated 12:54 pm EDT, March 20, 2026
Published 12:51 pm EDT, March 20, 2026
Photo Courtesy: © IFEMA MADRID
Black clothing has had a long and varied journey through human history. From 16th-century sumptuary laws (fun fact: Hamlet wore black velvet because he was the local nepo baby), to Victorian mourning, to an embodiment of chic simplicity, we’ve always been fascinated by this color. As certifiable Gothic Trash, I always sit up and take notice when a designer decides to explore this color, in part because its very nature demands that pieces are assessed on different criteria.
Acromatyx’s Fe_Male 009 collection uses black (and occasionally pure white) to explore the ephemeral boundaries between what society dubs male and female. The designs themselves are, by and large, not particularly groundbreaking, but for a study like this, they don’t really need to be. Boxy, 1980s-inspired double-breasted blazers are put unapologetically on female-presenting bodies without tailoring, androgenizing the wearer.
Likewise, a similar double-breasted blazer with a nipped-in waist is worn by a male model, complemented by a full-length skirt. The shape is the focal point, and it demands that we reconsider what exactly a power suit is. Make no mistake, the waist on this piece isn’t simply cinched in with a belt, either: It’s tailored into a curve that would make an Edwardian socialite’s mouth water.
Fetish wear is also played with and treated with complete seriousness. There are shiny leather suits, styled too large for the model to create a sort of vulnerability in what could read as a dominant outfit. Leather animal masks worn with a black leather trenchcoat make the viewer assess the coat itself purely on fit and not arbitrarily assign it to one gender or another.
Perhaps the most avant-garde pieces of the show were black jumpsuits that played with geometry and structure. The bottom half, a simple enough cigarette trouser, was paired with a top that completely distorted the shape of the torso into a rectangle that grazed the bottom of the chin. Secondary sex characteristics were nearly completely obliterated, but the real question posed by this piece seemed to be whether it was protecting or imprisoning the wearer.
At first glance, it can seem like there’s not much in the way of cohesion with this collection. There’s a plaid trenchcoat shown next to a white satin set of tails that are hard to reconcile with each other. However, I think this collection is less about presenting a unified visual language than being about a cohesive idea behind it. The point is to question who can wear what, and what it says about both the wearer and the observer.
Jordan emerged from a cornfield in Indiana in 1986. She went on to gain education in history, art history, and literature. She has predominately made a living writing for a variety of media, as well as a dress/fashion historian. She currently resides in a bog in Sweden and emerges every so often to forage for cheese and point at dogs.
Get the latest fashion, culture, and art updates, including magazine releases release parties
Sponsored Content
