Johnny Schwartz may be based in Los Angeles but he chose New York as the sight for his debut fashion show.
“This is my first New York Fashion Week, my first show, my first everything,” said the founder and designer of Yony. “I’m taking my first crack at it.”
Schwartz, whose father is Allen Schwartz of ABS fame, grew up playing tennis and still loves the sport so it came as no surprise that he picked the Town Tennis Club, a members-only tennis and social club on the Upper East Side, as the location for his first presentation.
Although the line wasn’t clearly related to tennis, the sport was an inspiration to Schwartz for the spring season. “I wanted to incorporate tennis as a motif but not make it a focal point,” he said. Instead, the line continued to home in on the 1950s-inspired styles it has become known for, offering up bowling shirts with camp collars, retro color-blocked track suits, cardigans, chambray twills and pinstripe quarter-zips.
Much of the collection featured workwear references and detailing such as that found on the carpenter pants made from organic cotton paired with a matching shirt-jacket and an orange overshirt over baggy shorts featuring tennis-inspired embroidery details.
“I started Yony with a creative foundation rooted in the styling of the era that my dad grew up in — 1950s Brooklyn. Beginning with spring 2021, I introduced the ‘Yony Racquet Club’ motif. This season strengthens the relationship the brand has to tennis, why the sport should be cooler than it is, and finally, the authentic connection I personally have with the game. I want to share my love for tennis by creating products and telling a genuine story that enhance the sport and the fashion associated with it.”
All told, Schwartz’s debut with Yony was a welcome addition to New York Fashion Week.