Lourdes Leon Leads The Next Class Of Celebrity Models At Gypsy Sport

No matter how hard they try, models just don't fit in. (We don't make the rules!) But that's pretty much the point of the job anyway. When you're a celebrity offspring, you stand out even more. It's why last season, Kaia and Presley Gerber saw their first runway, campaign, and editorial jobs, and the season before that, the Hadids made their mark on the industry, too. But spring 2019 has seen another wave of already-famous models get their break at New York Fashion Week. At Gypsy Sport on Tuesday, Lourdes Leon — of the Madonna matriarchy — could be spotted front and center.

But Rio Uribe's latest vision actually helped Leon blend in. For spring 2019, Uribe paid homage to indigenous cultures, which featured a blessing of the land (which, let's not forget, was stolen) before it began. Intricate stage makeup and a brazenly inclusive lineup of Instagram- and street-casted models helped Leon feel more like a model than celebrity-by-association. In fact, it was only after-the-fact that people realized who was standing front-and-center in a shell bra and ripped denim. Also in the show was RuPaul's Drag Race star Nina Bonina Brown and viral model Samirah Raheem.

The choice to place the collection in the middle of Samsung's experiential space at 837 Washington Street was a peculiar one, but not that much if you take into consideration the attendees: lots of millennials — and iPhones — and the fact that the show was a collaboration with Tumblr. But somehow, in all of its haberdasher-like, anti-establishment glory, it worked. Uribe is known for sparking conversations around important topics, and his latest collection was no different: earthy textiles met harsh, unfinished edges, which — if one can read that much into a frayed denim corset or a skirt with faux foliage growing out of it — alluded to a government currently in a state of flux; see: immigration, diversity, and environmental destruction.

Gypsy Sport may not yet be mainstream, but it's unclear whether or not Uribe wants it to be. After all, the right people will find their way to the New York-based brand. But one thing is a little more obvious: There seems to be a lot Uribe wants to say. Let's just hope Lourdes Leon didn't steal the show.