Raul Solis, the designer behind the buzzy label LRS, held his fifth show on 24th Street and 2nd Avenue in New York City, at Next Cleaners, a dry cleaning chain. After waiting in the aftermath of a rainstorm among a hoard of kicky pant-wearing downtown kids, everyone shuffled inside, and the space turned into a kind of hipster sauna.
Despite the heat, the moisture, and the so-close-you-can-smell-the-nicotine-on-your-neighbor’s-hands tight space, Solis’s vision was excitingly refreshing. There were no models: Dry cleaner attendants (in LRS-branded aprons) carried plastic-wrapped pieces and hung them on a conveyor. The clothes were great, including an oversize biker jacket with a large circle scooped out from the stomach, a pair of jeans made of LRS patches, and a tight T-shirt with a rooster’s head.