Jacqueline Rabôt's eponyous line has been a favorite designer edition to Gorky's offerings as we move from specializing in vintage to working closely with independent, mostly female designers who create in considered, thoughtful, and artistically inclined ways. We love Rabôt for many things but one of the biggest is their commitment to using at least 50% deadstock fabric in each collection and working with natural dyes, fibers, and repurposing leftover fabrics whenever possible. All of the pieces are locally produced in downtown LA.
When Jacqueline asked to throw her Fall '22 'The Silk Road' launch at Gorky, we were thrilled. And the collection—moody, sultry, sexy, and mischievous—was the perfect way to bring a piece of fall into an otherwise very Californian summer. You'll see familiar favorite silhouettes like the Mita top and Miller shirt and pants, but in an all new, statement 'Eyes' print for fall.
Kwong Shop created incredible vegan dumplings in a color moodboard inspired by the collection. We couldn't keep our table filled fast enough as guests devoured dumpling after dumpling. Don't forget the chili oil, we overheard often. Yes, definitely do NOT forget the chili oil.
Setting the perfect mood was BJ Panda Bear, an editor, writer, content creator, and not least of all, dance party DJ. Donning the Eyes Miller Shirt from the collection, BJ made it look like something he pulled from the depth of his closet, it looked so naturally rad.
And to tie it all together, we did something that was the result of hundreds of hours of geekdom and research, and convinction that Web3 is our saving grace to building actual and future community as Facebook/Meta goes up in smoke (more on that later); we created our very first NFT drop, inspired by and to celebrate RABÔT's new fall collection. Working with digital artist m00n.3d, we designed six wiggling dumplings on the background of the vintage Eyes print, the first unlocking access to shop the collection online before it was available elsewhere, and the subsequent five dumplings being released over the next weeks. The collective group of dumplings would, in future collaborations and events, offer exclusive and early access to holders, and everything else we're dreaming up—all to be revealed in time.
