Chaotic 196s Surrealism Meets Bold Design Revival

Vaquera opened its show with a bridal look — traditionally the runway finale — indicating from the start that they were about to turn everything inside out.

After seasons of trying to build a stable business with more commercial collections, this go-round designers Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee kinda said “f–k it.” So out came the assless skirts and topless tops and fluorescent, feathered merkins as they fully embraced a return to their early design ethos of creating clothes for the sake of wild art and not retail obligation.

“We got too caught up in thinking about what people wanted and not what we wanted,” DiCaprio said of the effort to make more “reasonable” pieces.

“But in a way, this feels like our most commercial collection, because we’re like, you know what? If we like it, we know that our customers are gonna like it. Our customer is that person who wants to push boundaries, just like us.”

The reality of today’s constant newsfeed nonsense made that need even more visceral for the design duo.

“In times like these, what’s reasonable? Nothing. We’re living such chaotic times now that we wanted to reflect that in our work. This energy of being overly optimistic is just not realistic for us. And I think the collection shows chaos. It shows crazy tonal, emotional shifts,” DiCaprio said.

Cue the wedding march played on the church’s organ, followed by the “Jaws” soundtrack.

Key pieces included hooded capes and tops, bow skirts paired with boxy peacoats, and what the duo called “pillowcase tops.” A series of “leather daddy” looks with those exposed backsides were softened with swishy fringe, while a hybrid “sunglasses bra” was a wink at absurdity.

The designers ditched their usual 1980s cues; instead, 1960s surrealism informed flat, abstracted shapes transformed into tops and dresses, including a rectangular form that enveloped the body and restricted the model’s arms into tiny, T-Rex style claws clutching at a coin purse.

And there was headgear galore, from pillboxes to glittered, fencing-inspired face shields and conductors’ hats of gigantic proportions.

The designers’ nod to the ’60s informed the flat, abstracted shapes, while the ongoing Converse collaboration hinted at wider commercial potential without diluting conceptual impact. The collection was pure Vaquera at its most chaotic yet cohesive.