Photo Credit: Melissa Edelblum
Written by Melissa Edelblum
New York Fashion Week 2017. Glitz and glamour to the extreme. Beautiful people walking down catwalks in flashy outfits, celebrities coming out of the woodwork to be a part of the action. If you’re lucky, you might catch a musical performance for a good cause.
On February 7, Jordana Guimaraes, founder of The Nylon Project, which raises awareness for the New York City homeless, hosted an event as part of New York Fashion Week 2017. The project’s #ItCanBeYou campaign included influencers that dualed as models and held cardboard signs that told real stories about people who lived on the streets. The event consisted of the twenty-five influencers, including Miss New York Nicole Kulovany, walking the runway, followed by musical performances featuring the bi-coastal band, Faulkner.
Quite frankly, I wasn’t too familiar with Faulkner upon entering the evening – however, it is clear that they are an up-and-coming alt-rock band with a very diverse style. Faulkner’s edgy sound, which is a mix of punk and hip-hop, was exactly the set to perfectly complement this event. They have an aggressive sound with themes of retribution and utilize a lot of pop melodies. From a spectator perspective, it was kind of like concert music for when you’re not sure if you want to listen to alt-rock or jump up and down to a pop song. You can tell that there’s a lot of urban influence in their unique sound. I got the opportunity to sit down with the band after their short, but electrifying set.
The band consists of four members (Lucas Asher, Dimitri Farougias, Christian Hogan, and Eric Scullin) and is truly bi-coastal – meaning half hail from New York, half from Los Angeles. Currently, they mostly reside on the West Coast. However, they attribute their successful collaboration to “lots of red-eyes.” At present, Faulkner is most known for their songs “These Kids Nowadays” and “New York Anthem.” “New York Anthem” is a collaboration with RZA (yes, Wu-Tang Clan mastermind) and is very much a love letter to New York that you can actually hear at New York Yankees games.
In addition to their New York roots, the NYFW performance hit close to home for lead singer, Lucas Asher. Asher, who was homeless in New York for some time in his teens, said this event was important for him to be a part of. It was after this that he started working very hard on his music. Asher has attributed some of their recent music to his “dislocated childhood” and time spent on the streets of New York.
He said of the experience, “[I] never believed in being a victim and now we’re out here living our dream.”
Asher’s streets-to-stage story perfectly epitomizes the goal of the very event where he performed. #ItCanBeYou is a strong message and watching several key players from the music, fashion, and marketing industries come together for this cause was a powerful thing.
For more about Faulkner, check out Faulknerofficial.com and take a listen to their latest music Revanchist EP.
Filed under: Guest Blogs Tagged: faulkner, guest post, new york fashion week, nyfw, the nylon project
