After opting out of New York Fashion Week in 2020 and the years following, the avant-garde-streetwear brand from Los Angeles, Gypsy Sport, is back on the New York Fashion Week calendar to celebrate the label’s 10-year anniversary.
LA-based designer, Rio Uribe, is the name behind Gypsy Sport, a uni-sex label known for bringing youthful, queer Latine culture to life on the runway. Uribe shared the news on Instagram about his return to the big apple last Thursday (July 20), a few days before the official fashion week calendar was released.
He wrote, “The first 5 years of Gypsy Sport were in NYC, mostly Spanish Harlem. That city is/was very inspirational/educational for me. The last 5 years have been mostly in Los Angeles, very inspiring in a different way (SIC) I’ve been able to grow at my own pace, be intentional with my time/energy/creativity.”
In 2019, he returned to his home turf to be closer to family and recharge his fashion palette in LA, where streetwear and vintage clothing reign supreme. It was also during this homecoming that Uribe reconnected with his Chicano culture and identity, which would later inspire his Spring 2022 show in Los Angeles, his first live runway presentation following pandemic restrictions.
“Chicano culture is me,” he tells Paper, “When I moved back to LA, I remembered and connected with my roots and I realized how Chicano I actually am. I realized why I design a certain way, and why I’m so attracted to people of color.”
Gypsy Sport’s runway shows also stand out through the label’s unconventional casting for models, which have included trans women, nonbinary people, pregnant women, and individuals who are not “professional” models. His runway shows have also featured a range of figures and personalities including Cardi B in 2015, and Star Ah-Mer-Ah-Su, who had an emotional sprint down the 2021 runway.
The Gypsy Sport runway show will debut on September 11, 2023 at 6 pm EST.