by Steff Yotka– Vogue
There’s only so far a S.A.D. lamp will get you. Dreary December days have a way of creeping right into your soul and, among other depressive maladies, can make the gray sweaters, black tights, and Chelsea boots you’ve been wearing since Halloween feel like a sartorial prison. One remedy? Carly Mark’s swirling electric blue tights created in collaboration with Maison Soksi.
The Spanish-American brand is famed for its shocking leg wear, ranging from neon pink star print tights to pastel blue pairs lined in zebra stripes. For Mark, an artist whose work regularly deals in bright colors, the team up was natural. “My recent work has incorporated fashion as well, so it was a natural jump. I develop characters, and with each character, I build a costume. It feels like styling. I think the difference is accessibility. Anyone can buy the tights and I love that,” she wrote Vogue over email. Her original design takes a cerulean background, adding swirly squiggles inspired by Memphis design and the lesser known Archizoom across the pelvis and down one leg. “I wanted to make something wearable but also strange.”
Blue tights with little zoomies on them might seem like an extremist take on winter dressing, even I will admit, but Mark’s friends gathered last night at Mission Chinese to demonstrate just how wearable the tights actually are. Designer Susan Alexandra paired them with a teensy leopard minidress and her signature beaded bag. Richie Shazam opted for a metallic Priscavera look to amplify the tights. As for the artist herself, she recommends wearing them “with a black dress and a pair of crazy shoes.”