In 1994, Daisy von Furth, Kim Gordon and Sofia Coppola staged the first X-Girl show on a Manhattan sidewalk. It wasn’t an official affair, so there were no permits, no catwalk, no press list, but British photographer Angela Hill happened to be there and captured the moment. Angela remembers that trip clearly, “It was my first time in New York. I was with my flatmate and we were publishing a magazine together back in London, so we did this trip as research, linking up with NY artists and creatives. We went to great loft parties with John Currin and Rachel Feinstein, another with Bernadette Corporation’s Bernadette Van Huy (the most stylish person I ever met). . . ” .
Hill never printed the photos, instead the negatives sat in drawers, moved from place to place, and were forgotten, well, that was until 2024. Unearthed, they were damaged, the colours muted, but still powerful, so much so, Angela published a book featuring the photos. Her book X-GIRL SHOW, published by IDEA this month, is a limited edition of just 500 copies. Across 80 pages, it captures the fun and frolics of the day’s spontaneity, along with the attitude and style that defined the ‘90s. Chloë Sevigny walked the show, and so it was only right that she wrote the intro; “It was supposed to be spring but it was freezing. Born out of romance and a love of hijinks, the X-girl renegade fashion show just happened right there on the street.”
“We did it without permits or permission, we broke the ‘fashion’ rules, a few city rules too, and we froze our asses off.”
Sofia and Spike Jonze were rumoured to be the reason behind the whole thing, with Daisy von Furth styling downtown musicians and shaping the look that turned out to define the ‘90s indie. Kim and Daisy wanted streetwear for girls, and just like that, the models met at Daisy’s loft to get ready.“I had been working as the brand’s ‘fit model”, says Chloë, “And had been crashing on Daisy’s couch since high school . . . Sofia brought along Ione Skye, Zoe Cassavetes and Donovan Leitch…Pumpkin Wentzel, Luisa Reichenheim, Michele Lockwood, Jutta Koether and other downtown personalities were recruited to ‘model.” The show took place a few blocks away on Mercer Street–cleverly timed to catch the Marc Jacobs crowd leaving his show, and admittedly, Chloë says everyone was elated and giddy with adrenaline. X-GIRL SHOW is out on the 26th of June, 2025, to coincide with Paris Men’s Fashion Week.
For further information ideanow.online.
