The Rest Is Noise: Raphael Young’s House of Public Serv-ce SS27

fashion

Oct 12

In an era defined by soporific fashion, memetic insanity, and algorithmic hyper-saturation, fashion no longer requires mere garments — it requires a spiritual renaissance.

words by cody ross

The Rest Is Noise SS27 - Raphael Young’s House of PUBLIC SERV-CE

The Rest Is Noise SS27 range is slick, splashy and really, really savvy. Over at 61 Chelsea Piers he unveiled vivid tactical gear infused with new wave/neo-goth motifs, spectral palettes and undulating polyrhythms that make you feel like you're part of some sublime macrocosmic chain reaction. The range abandons the usual tropes in favor of a vibe alive with dystopian nomadism, mod surrealism and entropic spunk — apt themes reflecting today’s socio-political fluxions.

Showcasing colorways in blood-red, bone white and murky graytones, Raphael gave us industrial proportions, skewed scales, and hyper-technical paneling with zippers galore. Blazers, vests, hoodies and dresses were all spiked with streetstyle zest and emblazoned with cyphered text. The collection reads like a clandestine manifesto for navigating today’s polycrisis.

*The Rest Is Noise SS27 - House of PUBLIC SERV-CE*

Model on the runway in Raphael Young's The Rest Is Noise SS27 collection for House of Public Serv-ce at New York Fashion Week glowing Zaha Hadid eyewear selection — *Shades you can’t resist: PUBLIC SERV-CE enters into dialogue with Zaha Hadid Design, bringing its approach to form and architecture into the collection through eyewear and jewelry*.

We loved the contoured Zaha Hadid shades (the frames literally glowed, illuminating the dark like phosphorescent Tron vectors) coupled with crazy albino blonde wigs and ‘crimson guard’ outerwear. Raphael’s garments — ultra-sculptural getups with razor-sharp geometrics and hyperbolic features — radiated a wickedly twisted and culturally intermingled air. It all looked dreamy amidst the multiplex projections of shifting desert sand dunes, marble facades and geodesic coordinates throughout the venue.

Model on the runway in Raphael Young's The Rest Is Noise SS27 collection for House of Public Serv-ce at New York Fashion Week model wearing leather sweatshirt

Model on the runway in Raphael Young's The Rest Is Noise SS27 collection for House of Public Serv-ce at New York Fashion Week glowing shades and tank top

It was a middle finger to sterile fast-fashion, of course, rejecting the normcore tidal wave that has washed over global style in recent years. This is not artsy artifice à la Alex Wang or Virgil O. for zombified youths and lobotomized influencers; it is hardcore, futuristic armor forged for a species undergoing an ontological crisis inside a global Fourth Turning. Raphael operates as a high-fashion crusader-cum-renaissance man, echoing the sub-cultural metaphysics of Rick Owens and conceptualist Hussein Chalayan alongside the buzz-machine brilliance of Demna, JPG and Ye. Raph brought out a blitzkrieg combo of cool clothing, performance art and raw energy.

Model on the runway in Raphael Young's The Rest Is Noise SS27 collection for House of Public Serv-ce at New York Fashion Week

At the show, the soundtrack crackled with neuro-modulating synths and bombastic beats from JNR Choi, an ascendant spitter/producer in the alt-rap circuit. Attached to the newly minted Public Serv-ce Record label, the MC served up a bespoke soundscape with mutating electronica, frenetic hymns, and psychic torrents triggering all kinds of rapid-fire action potentials. The audience was amped.

Model on the runway in Raphael Young's The Rest Is Noise SS27 collection for House of Public Serv-ce at New York Fashion Week blood red outerwear

Model on the runway in Raphael Young's The Rest Is Noise SS27 collection for House of Public Serv-ce at New York Fashion Week and JNR CHOI as a DJ — *Music forms another part of the collection.* ***JNR CHOI*** *serves as Music Director and Executive Producer of an original six-track EP conceived as the soundtrack to THE REST IS NOISE.*

To see The Rest Is Noise on the runway is to step into an immersive and exciting artistic cauldron in a city that has lost most of its artistic mojo. Devoid of cultural verve for years now, NYFW got an urgent injection of uppers, marking a shift away from a decade+ of sartorial inertia.

The collection’s true brilliance lies in its capacity to weaponize structural tension. Raphael understands that 99% of contemporary fashion is simply extraneous background noise — throwaway micro-trends destined for the trash heap of pop culture. By contrast, his work delivers mega currents of unadulterated signal that shifts our perspective on style, art and the zeitgeist. A PUBLIC SERVICE indeed and an emanating sign of spiritual-aesthetic renewal!

Explore the collection here and watch the show here courtesy ofHouse of Public Serv-ce.