Jane Wade Gave The ‘It Girls’ Something to Work With
NYFW Review: Jane Wade SS25 “The Audit”
I first met Jane Wade when I was 23 years old, while working as an intern at Anthony Brooks Consulting. Jane came into the office for the first time, to give a presentation of her work. Anthony had just brought her on as a new client.
We sat at the round table in the ABC office, Anthony, Natalie Cammalleri, Jane, and me, as Jane passed around her design sketches. “Nobody does this anymore, drawing by hand,” Anthony told me. My eyes wide, I looked over her design innovations in awe, cautiously holding her pages so as to not disrupt her careful artistry.
I sat across from Jane, listening as she spoke with Anthony and Natalie about PR logistics. Her acrylics were done in a muted sage green french and her blue eyes were friendly. I remember thinking to myself, this is a designer who embodies her work. The pieces on the rack beside her reflected tones of muted green, blue, and an off white that even complimented her sandy colored hair.
Now, I am nearing 25, and I was invited to Jane Wade’s SS25 fashion show “The Audit”, as a stylist. So much has changed since that moment when the four of us were sitting at the round table, in Anthony’s office.
Beside Natalie, I watch as the procession of models pass by. The hues of blue and off white have withstood time for Jane’s eponymous brand, though now the designs are more celebratory and refined. To put it plainly, Jane has outdone herself this season. And I mean that very literally, her collections seasons before were incredibly innovative, explorative in the nontraditional style of shirting and exceeding the structural limitations of garments. There were always interesting takes on texture and chainmail; but this season, Jane did not come to play.
The opening model walks out in a full athleisure look, complete with knee pads, a hoodie, and headphones that translate a dystopian theme for the show. The audience settles into Jane Wade’s reimagined world of ‘life at the office’. Corporate caricatures pass one by one - the intern on a coffee run, the vixen on a conference call, the coworker who came from their morning workout.
Jane Wade SS25 Look 1
A dress of shredded paper passes. The evolution of Jane’s signature, avant garde shirting appears in impressive forms. While there are themes present that are heritage to the brand, new design concepts appear: provocative renditions of corseted gowns, cascading jersey dresses, dip dye, crochet, and asymmetric necklines. A rethought women’s pantsuit constructed of various pieces and assless chaps goes by. The final look is the boss donning exaggerated shoulder pads in an oversized blazer, and a briefcase overflowing with cash.
Titled “The Audit”, Jane’s show is a visual representation that challenges notions of conformity and greed in modern work culture. “We are auditing that culture of corporate America,” Jane told WWD, “I’m fascinated by corporate fashion and corporate culture in general because it can have this feeling of being so mundane and monotonous.” Jane explains that her aim is to always offer her art as a way to expand upon larger issues. By simply being and creating, a successful, emerging designer like Jane is a testament of what it means to reject toxic institutionalism and capitalistic greed.
Jane Wade SS25 Look 31
This season is particularly important for Jane as one of this year’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists. Interestingly, while putting on a fashion show in critique of corporate greed, this designer is in the running for a grant from one of the most established institutions in fashion. The costly reality of running a business spares no one. Despite risking controversy, it’s admirable that Jane uses her elevated platform to draw attention to greater societal issues.
Jane and her team consistently question and rethink traditional themes across American culture. With every collection, Jane delves into styles that are notoriously American, from sportswear and its inherent functionality, to utilitarianism and ‘office casual’. As the daughter of a contractor and a hairdresser, elements of practicality and durable materials appear throughout Jane’s work. “[We are] showcasing the American culture through canvas and denim and hardware textures,” she told Vogue Runway, “So we have that dichotomy of corporate, disheveled office wear, mixed with functional performance garments.” From design and execution, to the underlying message behind the collection, Jane and her team have achieved new heights.
Jane Wade SS25
It’s no doubt that the Jane Wade customer is a person who is ‘happening’. They’re likely the classic Manhattan multihyphenate - teaching reformer pilates at 7am, dot connecting over coffee at 2, meeting to solidify her role as CD for the latest brand collab at 4pm, drinks with the girls at 6, definitely on the list at 11.
Jane describes her idea of the brand’s customer to Vogue Runway, “‘She’s on the go. She’s powerful. She’s sexy. She probably has a corporate job. She wants to still express herself within the confines of office wear.’ Or, more likely, she’s a cool girl with a soul-crushing job and a talent for compartmentalization. But she’s always the best dressed in the office by a mile!” Jane knows her customer. If this collection has achieved anything, it's left the ‘it girls’ of the audience eager to be on Anthony Brooks’ VIP gifting list come the Spring.
Jane Wade has made a strong case for herself not only as a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist, but as a designer on a larger scale. Above all, Jane attributes community for her success, and recognizes how the young fashion industry in New York lifts each other up to reach like minded goals. “The Audit” was a fantastical escape into Jane’s dystopian corporate world, but don’t be surprised if you see the streets of NYC looking like her SS25 runway, this time next year.
