Andre Walker (designer)

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Andre Walker (born 1965)

WilliWear
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Life and career

Born in London, Walker and his family moved to Ditmas Park, Brooklyn when he was 10 years old.[3][4] As a child, he poured through all his mother's fashion magazine subscriptions such as W, Vogue France, British Vogue, and Vogue Italia, and he began sketching clothes in them.[3] His Jamaican mother was a hairdresser and she supported his aspirations.[4] He experimented with construction such as dresses made of two T-shirts, and his mother sold his first designs in her hair salon.[4]

Walker was part of the downtown New York club scene in the 1980s. At 15, Walker had his first fashion show at a nightclub called Oasis in Brooklyn in 1980.[5] In the next few years, he has fashion shows at Danceteria and the Roxy in New York City.[5] Eventually, he caught the eye of Patricia Field who sold his creations at her boutique on 8th Street in Greenwich Village.[4]

Walker attended Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.[3] "I was studying architectural design and rendering, pattern-making for the foundry–meaning how to make and design tools like hammers and wrenches–and learning about perspective drawing and things like that," he said.[3] While he was a senior in high school in 1983, Walker began to gain recognition for his "pantskirt," a unisex garment that combined slacks and a belted over-skirt that wrapped around the front.[6] Walker called it his "African diplomat son's look" because it was "very rich and regal-looking."[6]

In 1986, Walker produced a fashion show at the Palladium nightclub.[7] Most of the models for the show were Walker's friends and relatives, including his mother.[7]

In 1989, Laurie Mallet, president of

WilliWear, hired Walker to design the women's collection.[8] In April 1990, Walker's Fall 1990 collection for WilliWear was poorly received by the fashion press.[9] This coupled with financial problems led the company to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990.[10][11]

Walker moved to Paris with the sponsorship of Bjorn Amelan former partner of designer Patrick Kelly.[12][13] Amelan was a financial back for Walker's first collection in Paris, which debuted in March 1991.[3] Walker had five collections up until March 1995.[3]

In 2000, after he’d won the

CFDA Award, Walker closed his company and returned to New York.[14] Back in Brooklyn, Walker published two issues of a high-concept art and fashion magazine called Tiwimuta.[15]

After consulting for Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, and Kim Jones, Jones introduced Walker to Adrian Joffe and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons.[16] This led to Walker designing a women's Ready-to-Wear collection under the name And Re Walker for Dover Street Market.[5]

In 2017, Walker presented his Spring 2019 Ready-to-Wear collection at the Musée des Art Décoratifs in Paris.[17] The collection was based on the clothing he designed between 1982 and 1986.[5]

In 2019, Walker designed a collection of upcycled furs for Yves Salomon.[18] In 2021, Walker collaborated with Virgil Abloh's label Off-White.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Walker, André - MAM-e". fashion.mam-e.it. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  2. ISBN 978-0-593-12926-5
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e f Okundaye, Jason (14 November 2023). "Andre Walker Interview: The King of New York is a Designer and Artist". 10 Magazine USA. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "From Two Young Designer, Two Fashion Views". The New York Times. 9 May 1986. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Jordan, Eliza (16 October 2020). "Andre Walker On Falling in Love with the Idea of Creation". Whitewall. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b Harden, Tracey (11 January 1984). "Andre Walker Pantskirt Fashion". Daily News - Metro. New York. p. 1. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Designer Hits The Big Time". Daily News. New York. 16 May 1986. p. 43. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  8. ^ Chua, Lawrence (23 November 1989). "Andre Walker: Trying To Put Spunk Back Into WilliWear". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. 24WF. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  9. ^ Hochswender, Woody (10 April 1990). "Patterns". Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  10. ^ Furman, Phyllis; Moss, Linda (20 May 1990). "Los of Identity of Williwear". The Record. pp. L-5.
  11. ^ Campbell, Roy H. (25 June 1990). "Chapter 11 Papers Filed by Williwear". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 4-E.
  12. ^ Goodman, Wendy (20 April 2006). "Fashion Designer Andre Walker's Prospect Park Home". New York Magazine. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  13. ^ Als, Hilton (2 October 1995). "PERFECTLY AWFUL". Artforum. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  14. ^ Diderich, Joelle (3 October 2017). "Andre Walker Prepares for Next Act With Paris Show of Archives". WWD. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  15. ^ Trebay, Guy (11 February 2022). "An Improbable Magazine From a Fashion Zelig". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Lieber, Chavie (14 July 2014). "Rise, Fall, Revamp: the Attempted Comeback of Forgotten Nineties Designer Andre Walker". Racked. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  17. ^ Phelps, Nicole (3 October 2017). "And Re Walker Spring 2018 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  18. ^ Phelps, Nicole (3 March 2019). "André Walker Designed a Collection of Upcycled Furs for Yves Salomon". Vogue. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  19. ^ Garner, Stephen (16 February 2021). "OFF-WHITE TAPS DESIGNER ANDRE WALKER FOR NEW COLLABORATION". MR Magazine. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
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