For a collection ominously named Children of the Night, guests at the Thaddeus O'Neil SS16 runway show were surprised to be greeted with a room filled with a peachy-pink light. Inspired by Bram Stoker’s iconic novel Dracula, O’Neil modernized the bloodsucker aesthetic with a surfer boy twist. Never before has the combination surfer/vampire theme been so flawlessly executed. Because really, who would even think to combine the two? Well, Mr O’Neil did, explaining the thinking behind his unique theme, “I wanted to darken the perception of the surfer and lighten the perception of the vampire. The only thing sexier than a surfer is a vampire; and the only thing sexier than a vampire is a surfer. So I thought this would be fun.” Makes sense to us. Kind of. Either way, O’Neil certainly created a wearable collection for his debut runway show.
Male models with dramatic long locks and blood stains at the corners of their plump lips walked in pieces that contrasted alarmingly with their pale pallor: palm tree print shorts paired together with loose ribbed grey knits and maroon evening socks were worn with evening shoes. The clothes seemed put together at the last minute, with un-tucked cotton shirts and hastily-clasped together shorts, held only by a braid of rope, as though the vampire surfer dressed in the dark. Come to think of it, these guys can’t be in the sun, so it makes sense.
The palette was light and bright, filled with light denim blues, citrus greens and cheerful tropical prints. Unlike Stoker’s highly-strung Count Dracula, the silhouette here was loose and carefree, suggesting a spirited nonchalance only the modern vampire can understand.
The vampire surfers each had a garland of blood-red Hawaiian leis around their neck—perhaps hinting at last night’s (bloody) meal? Whatever it was, the Thaddeus O'Neil SS collection captured the look of the modern vampire. If he was a surfer in Malibu.
