Puppets & Puppets‘ Carly Mark left New York – a rather hostile city for emerging brands – for London, a place that’s resilient and way more supporting for creatives that think outside the box. There’s also an element of strangeness about Mark’s fashion (and accessories). The feeling of unexpectedness was delivered by the deliberately blunt clothes that were just… clothes. Boxy t-shirts, navy crewneck sweaters, skinny black jeans, plain lingerie sets and faux-fur trimmed hoodies. All that was styled with indie-sleazy fedoras (very girlfriend of an Arctic Monkeys member in the late 2000s), big sunglasses and gloves. Was Mark’s intention here an elaborate trolling exercise? Not quite.

Rather than think of a fashion presentation solely as a forum for presenting new designs, she sought to evaluate its merit as a conceptual and artistic medium. Her decision to present what she called “a styled show rather than a fashion show” was an exercise in distancing herself from a sense of obligation to create producible garments. Working alongside stylist Taylor Thoroski, looks leaned into Mark’s familiar style vernacular, drawing upon her own dress habits. “Something I’ve learned over the years is that the things that I put down the runway are stronger, in my opinion, when they’re in line with me,” she said. “I’ve been very into not having pants on in the past. So we were like, ‘OK, let’s keep going there.’ And I’ve been wearing really simple jeans,” she says, pointing down to a slim-fit H&M pair she was wearing. And that’s so refreshing to hear in 2024.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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