Written by Mac Jackson
Olive Louise Jenkins of 2theFuture and Chris Vidal of Upper West Skates. Film photo by Auden - @audenbarbour
2theFuture’s swimsuits, sweatsuits, t-shirts, leg warmers, and more made their way down a skateshop-turned-runway at a pop-up a few weekends ago on March 4th, a fashion show and opportunity to bolster your wardrobe that formed a four-hour party. 2theFuture bursts with vibrant color and personality, an artsy street style collection that embraces its wearers in the unmistakable art of Olive Louise. When Olive approached me for the second time to make a flier for one of their community events, I was thrilled– not just to illustrate her awesome clothing designs, but to have a fun arts event to look forward to attending. Olive is not just a talented designer, but a skilled marketer with a magnetic personality that brightens the wardrobes and lives of a swath of queer artists, skaters, musicians, and more.
The pop-up shop was held in collaboration with Upper West Skates, whose doors welcomed many excited fashion and skate enthusiasts that evening. The event was decked out with a DJ and plenty of clothes; alongside boards and other skate materials, racks on racks of t-shirts displayed both the swirling, abstract, illustrative designs by Olive and the UWS logo. The highlight of the night was briefly postponed in an effort to scoot the shop’s front desk back and make room for a runway, causing some technical difficulties with the sound system wiring, but Olive handled the inconvenience seamlessly and charmingly.
The designer took the opportunity to chat with the crowd and to thank all of the models and people involved with the show individually. They thanked Upper West Skate’s owner, Chris Vidal, for providing an awesome setting at which to show off and sell her creations. “After the show, come chat with me or any of the models, and go say hi to Chris!” Olive encouraged the crowd. Vidal cut in from across the room, “Yeah, and bring weed!”
The place was comfortably packed, bodies lining the parallel walls and flushed back against clothing racks and skateboard displays. The scene resembled the energetic stacked crowdedness of many of Olive’s designs, which are kaleidoscopic mangles of arms, legs, faces, bellies, and boobs. When Olive had finished shining gratitude on the crowd, she asked, “Who am I forgetting?” Someone shouted in response, “yourself!” and the room erupted into cheers for the talented designer (and clearly a true friend to many). In no time the music was back to full volume, and the suspense had been built for a great runway show.
As the sparkling models walked the aisle one by one, jean skirts, wife-beater tanks, hoodies, and swimwear took on lives of their own through 2theFuture’s alterations and screen-printed, cyanotyped, and linostamped images. The garments and the models were an unbeatable team, the clothing imbuing the wearer with an extra dosage of dashing confidence. They strutted, sashayed, spinned, and flipped down the makeshift runway, dazzling the spectators flanking them, propelled on by the DJ’s pulsing runway beats and the crowd’s claps, cheers, and giggles. 2theFuture’s eye-catching bright and bold color palettes saturated the ungendered looks, which modulated between casual and night-out-worthy. Each model was one of a kind, and showcased unique outfits with unique methods. Sporting a cherry red bikini top and board short combo, one model caressed themself as they walked, cooing, “What do y’all know about this?” to the cheering audience. 2theFuture’s popping patterns could make anybody look like the brightest person in a room– and having a string of people outfitted by 2theFuture illuminated the skate shop with a sense of celebratory queer confidence.
The models processioned the aisle again at the end, followed by Olive in a cyanotyped jean ensemble consisting of a tube top, shorts, and leg warmers. They intended to exit out of the front door, but the show had drawn such a crowd that the exit was cluttered with spectators, so the models settled to gather at the end of the runway, hugging, smiling, and cheering for 2theFuture. The pop-up was a successful mission in what is clearly the larger agenda propelling 2theFuture’s production of wearable art– to empower people to enjoy themselves. Olive thanked all of her guests and models again, and reiterated their gratitude to Chris Vidal and his family at Upper West Skates. Vidal, a true laid-back skater, thanked the crowd for the fun and encouraged everyone to stay and hang out. “If you need me,” he said, “I’ll be at Jack’s” (the smoke shop down the block). He trusted the stylish and eclectic group of creatives that Olive had gathered together to, in his words, “do whatever the fuck you want.”
Shop Olive’s Collection at https://welcome-2thefuture.com/clothes and visit Upper West Skates at 2768 Broadway, New York, NY 10025
Event Credits:
2theFuture Team
Clothes: 2theFuture - @wearit2thefuture
Designer/Event Organizer/Fashion Show Choreographer: Olive Louise - @olivefromthefuture
2theFuture Stage Manager: Zora Navarre - @zora.jacoby
2theFuture Finance Person: Emily Bach - @emilyjbach
Event space
UWS - @upperwestskates
Chris Vidal - @foodrap
Models: Krystal - @jadeprinc3ss | Jarine - @212spagirl | Jes - @jes.vesconte | Feifei - @franceschoi_ | kb - @karlez | Giuseppe (Gigi) - @giuseppeguerandi | Riya - @riya.goel_ | Olive Louise - @OliveFromtheFuture
Photographers: Auden - @audenbarbour | AJ - @aj_photography_nyc | Anette - @99leigh
DJ: Elina - @elinaarbo
Clothes: 2theFuture - @wearit2thefuture