Luka Sabbat — model, stylist and all-around cool kid — buzzed frantically around the gallery at Milk on Wednesday night for the VIP opening of his first exhibition “Hot Mess,” a collaboration with budding photographer Noah Dillon.
“It’s my first show with Noah,” said Sabbat, as his father Clark — a Haitian-American fashion designer, consultant and the 19-year-old’s manager — stood nearby, both of them wearing suits. “It’s lit.”
Sabbat and Dillon’s friendship reads like a Millennial fairy-tale: Sabbat discovered Dillon’s photography and sent him a direct message on Twitter to connect. Dillon — who had a job at a grocery store at the time — flew from his hometown of Durango, Colo., to meet Sabbat in Los Angeles, where the two teamed on a photography project together. That was two years ago and they’ve been friends and collaborators ever since.
Their first creative endeavor, “Hot Mess” — a sprawling multimedia installation with an interactive virtual reality segment — features photographs taken by Dillon over the course of a year-and-a-half across New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Durango, alongside poems by Dillon’s friend, Curtis Eggleston.
The images, styled and creative-directed by Sabbat, capture moments of youthful exuberance, from the debaucherous to the mundane. In

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Diesel fans now have a new tool that will let them verify the authenticity of the Diesel product they are buying.
Under a global partnership with Certilogo, Diesel consumers will be able to easily verify they are buying a real pair of Diesel denim, even before purchasing it.
By the end of this year, all Diesel denim will display the Certilogo Code, on a heat-printed label in the waistband along with the writing “Scan for Authenticity.”
Consumers can receive a fast and free confirmation that the product is authentic in three ways: by simply scanning the code with a standard QR code reader on their smartphone or with the dedicated Certilogo application customized for Diesel, or by registering and entering the product’s CLG Code at Certilogo.com.
“In a new consumer landscape driven by appreciation for high quality, we embrace the trust of our consumers, creating a direct dialogue with them,” said Alessandro Bogliolo, chief executive officer of Diesel. “With Certilogo, we will empower Diesel fans to authenticate the unique identity of our denim, making sure they shop our original products in a safe and secure way.”
Michele Casucci, ceo of Certilogo, said, “The relationship between brands and consumers has changed in the digital age. It’s not acceptable to say, ‘Buyer beware

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GENEVIEVE’S GARMENTS: Sainsbury’s Tu, a fashion line from the British supermarket chain, has teamed with Graduate Fashion Week’s award winner Genevieve Devine on a range that will launch on March 19.
Created by the 25th Anniversary Tu Scholarship Award recipient, the nine-piece line features oversize workwear shapes with feminine details in muted hues of white, sea grass green, cream and navy. The collection consists of a long sleeve blouse, oversize dungarees, a jersey embellished top, trousers, an embroidered dress, a boiler suit and a lace crop top.
The Northumbria University Fashion Design graduate worked with the Sainsbury team on the collection, which took inspiration from her own graduate line where she exaggerated the scale of silhouettes and played with fantasy with functionality.
Designer Holly Fulton was Devine’s mentor for the project. “Holly was chosen for the strong connections with graduates, Graduate Fashion Week and the BFC — having previously worked with GFW, and being awarded sponsorship and support from Newgen five seasons in a row,” said Toni Salters-Warner, ladies’ wear design manager. “From a Tu perspective, we feel Holly is an influential designer with a very creative edge, which we felt would strongly resonate with the students.”
Fulton, who works with colleges in the U.K., said

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Gigi, Gaga, ABS.

And that’s just one of her three outfits in one day.

Her years at Calvin Klein and the desire for a minimal yet detail-oriented wardrobe have informed Nellie Partow’s collection since her debut in 2011. Her suits are made from top-of-the-line Italian fabrics in New York, and have become a sought-after wardrobe staple. But for fall, it was her knits — another of Partow’s strengths — that left the biggest impression. She offered a range from sleek fishtail braided sweaters to a memorable cashmere “freckled” poncho, which featured the tiniest of colorful threads popped throughout — just like freckles. Partow, who this season dropped the “Nellie” from the label, said she’s in expansion mode, which led her to dribble into evening with a series of fil coupe dresses and blouses. One standout: a beautiful blush and silver long-sleeve column gown that left us wanting to see more.

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Audra Noyes had a most fortuitous route to New York, where she presented her collection for the first time. Having interned with Alber Elbaz at Lanvin and at Dior in Paris (John Galliano was dismissed, she noted, her first day at the house), she has honed her own aesthetic for her Audra collection, making her main mantra to let the refinement of pattern-making and her fabrics tell the story of her softly sophisticated lineup. “I have a passion for craft and detail,” said Noyes, who gives “the same importance to the inside of a dress as I give to the beauty of what’s visible.”
And what’s visible is the way in which she shapes precious fabrics with the ease and details of workwear.
Accordingly, Noyes took an Army green plaid viscose and cut it as an easy midcalf dress that was ruched with drawstring sides, and showed it under a houndstooth coat. She likes her dresses midcalf, fitted at the waist and flared at the hem. Many of these — some in men’s wear fabrics, others in embroidered gazars, crushed velvet or metallic chiffons — were shown over tailored, cropped pants. The same pants surfaced in a men’s suiting with a matching glen

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Whitney Pozgay was inspired by Asian art and fashion from the 1800’s to the mid-1900’s for fall. She seamlessly blended the charm and softness of Japanese landscape-printed silk shirts with sturdy French workwear shapes. “I like the drier hand of Japanese fabrics mixed with the silks,” the designer said. But this was more than just a texture mash-up for Pozgay, who likes her layers for winter days. Accordingly, she showed wrapped and tied jumpsuits, wool or quilted indigo denim, low-back aprons in wool tweed with ribbon straps, jumpers in fine horizontal cotton or cashmere corduroys — all over a painterly collection of silk shirts. There are simple, knee-length dresses here, too. One beauty was a simple, slender  silhouette, shown in a bold, painted bird print in rust and black velvet. Pozgay continues to expand her fashion repertoire as well as develop a deft hand with each new niche.

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Alex Gilbert and Jennifer Noyes believe in empowering women through a functional, stylish wardrobe — so it’s no surprise that in this heated political climate, they’ve had a lot of inspiration from which to draw. “We were inspired by our strong women, by our mothers,” said Gilbert, pointing to a wall covered in photos of iconic women.
All of which brought them to think about the suit. “Suits as a story and as something in your closet that has the ability to be practical, strong, empowering, versatile and easy — because for us, it’s always about being effortless,” Gilbert said. Therefore, they proposed updated versions of the staple, like a velvet option, a double-breasted corduroy, a belted (optional) crepe, and evening suit, among others. And, keeping with the practicality theme, all could be combined with most other pieces in their collection. “It’s really a wardrobe approach,” said Noyes, highlighting core pieces offered year-round such as essential knits, pajama dressing, key shirting and robe coats.

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