Siki Im has always been a thinking man’s designer, with his references to art, poetry, history, film, architecture, and other intellectual pursuits that give his clothes meaning and conceptual heft. For Fall 2016, he turned to an ostensibly more lowbrow inspiration, vampires and other assorted B-movie monsters, turning out a collection that thrilled with its sense of menace. The most obvious connection was the paint running down some of the models’ faces, which dripped and splattered like so much fake blood, and there was a quiet strength to the sheen of leather in many of the pieces, with looked at once protective and quietly threatening. Many of the designs also had a vaguely punk feel, buzzing with an energy that felt like a new direction for Im, whose previous collections have often had a calm purity of form. There were edgy graphics and biker jackets and crosses swinging from ear lobes, but the collection still demonstrated Im’s signature sharp eye for construction and form. It was perhaps the best possible way to dress when facing your fears.

See our backstage coverage below: