Matt Meyerson: EXPOSE  NY, ya’ll ! !

NEW YORK CITY—At  E X P O S E  N Y racks of artistic and innovative garments are on display in a luxurious loft-style space (IMG’s Penthouse Loft at the AKA Hotel, to be exact). Frenetic and fashionable young people dash about the room, meeting and greeting editors, finessing buyers, VIPs and the occasional celeb. With cool music blasting (and a splendid roof-top bar!), there is a palpable sense of excitement and some of the world’s coolest, albeit fledgling, labels and their creators are on deck to articulate their design philosophy and expound on their value-proposition.

The exceptional, zen-like master-mind behind this energetic scene is MATT MEYERSON (above racing his golf-cart), part talent-scout, part fashion-forecaster, who first made his mark on the New York fashion scene a few seasons ago, when he debuted his super-cool exhibition. Now in its third iteration, EXPOSE NY features the most progressive and original contemporary brands around. Matt’s vision is to pair the coolest designers with high-impact editors, bloggers, stylists and buyers giving them all a singular platform to interact one on one in a relaxed setting.

After years at B|W|R, Matt (who is based in LA) struck out on his own, creating a special showcase vehicle to debut, incubate and support indie brands that are in nascent phases of their evolution. As Matt told me on my recent visit to EXPOSE, the most rewarding part of his business is watching his hand-picked labels intensify their momentum and grow in the market-place.

Matt proactively seeks out the next cool thing to come out of global fashion and he‘s always there to offer his thoughts on strategy and brand-positioning. He has a knack for creative integration, and has ably brought hungry entrepreneurs and editors under one roof during global fashion’s biggest week. The result: a resourceful infrastructure engineered specifically for designers seeking to project their brand cache and leverage NYC‘s otherwise impenetrable fashion nexus.

Mr. Meyerson is not to be underestimated in this endeavor: he has extensive experience in PR and advertising and has nurtured some of the coolest consumer and fashion brands out there. For years he worked as an Ad Exec at B|W|R—a fully integrated marketing firm with offices in NYC and LA that advises clients such as Louis Vuitton, Juicy Couture and Diesel and has produced numerous shows, parties and promotional events. Last year I witnessed first-hand his ability to marshal the world’s most prominent publications and their editors—Italian Vogue, Purple, W, InStyle, Worship Worthy, Allure, Tokion, WWD, Katya Moorman’s Style Defined as well as buyers from the hippest boutiques and department stores.

Moreover, Matt has a valuable understanding of fashion ’s Darwinian processes, and he goes out of his way to cultivate relationships in order to maximize each participant’s visibility during and after the event. Some prominent alums of EXPOSE include Jerome C. Rousseau, a bad-ass shoe designer from Canada and an innovative Australian dress-designer named Yeojin Bae.

On the opening day this week (the event runs two full consecutive days, Sept 14-15), I was there to check out the labels on offer. I spoke to at least seven designers and/or showroom directors about their business models and design philosophy and got their observations on the ever-changing fashion system. Indeed, EXPOSE has some eye-opening and amazing designers, including a few that really ignited my interest.

B A C K  TO  N O I S E is rad! Designed by Catherine Dupire-Clement (formerly head designer at a BIG label) and touted by cool girls Jenna Sloan and Deborah Hanau from LuxCartel. Dupire-Clement delivers a collection that shows off her mastery of edgy, line-cut silhouette manipulation using an abundance of silk, python, supple lambskin, over-scaled graphics and spider-web lace. The collection is well constructed with a high dose of offbeat-elegance (I’m bonkers for that ultra-cool white vest with python-trim!).

Another cool label is S A N D R I N A  F A S O L I. Designed by Sandrina Fasoli and Michaël Marson, the co-creators have combined efforts to optimize their feminine, slightly naive aesthetic that is nevertheless totally charming and highly wearable. Their pitch may be one of graceful minimalism in the luxury tradition—sequined blouses with metallic under-tones, voluminous silk trousers and sweet dresses in neutral palettes and leather finishes—but its cool, award-winning simplicity (the dynamic duo won the El Botón-MANGO FASHION AWARDS two years ago and produce capsule collections for Mango) is fun and fresh. S A N D R I N A  F A S O L I is headquartered in Brussels and shows regularly at Milan Fashion week.

Other excellent brands included CZ Falconer (known for fabulous and paired-down cashmere), Kooey (super-sexy swimwear), ZoeTwitt, S.LOVE NYC (darkly romantic clothes with cool art splashed all over them—black and white pic below) and Jin (an edgy tee line with provocative silk-screen motifs).

Z O E  T W I T T, a swashbuckling actress-turned-designer from Melbourne, charmed me in just under 26 seconds. Her eponymous first collection is all about fluid comfort and must-have silhouettes. Central to this are her voluminous and slightly geometric constructions—hoodies are cut in over-scaled shapes with dramatic draping properties; dresses and pants are adorned with edgy zippers and come in a variety of asymmetrical structures, colors and sheer fabrics. Zoe likes to emphasize that she’s all about ‘sustainable living’ and her pieces are cut from silk/wool jerseys (above pic). I like her collection because it is infused with a raw and sensuous elegance, which seems to be what she’s after. She also cites Rick Owens as one of her heroes (me too!) and has the cutest Aussie accent ever!

With a specific focus on cultivating media, press relations and sales, Matt has coupled-up with IMG’s Daily to be part of the Spring ‘1o Style Suites during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.

Check out EXPOSE NY, ya’ll, at: http://www.expose-ny.com

And for a wonderful database of the world’s coolest fashion editors, peep-out www.myfdb.com