Abel Honor New York, releases Avant-Contention.

Abel Honor New York, released their second collection: Avant-Contention. The new line explores the relationship between the punk movement and sustainable luxury. With the intention of challenging her own labels DNA, as well as the current status quo, designer, Kate Wasserbach, looked to former Sex Pistols lead singer, Johnny Rotten, as her muse in which she merges the desirable with the rotten.

In true punk spirit, the new collection features reused fabrics. Additionally, the styles aren’t mass produced, and are only available in limited quantities in which the brand does not restock. Secondly, the idea of sustainability seeks to challenge the fashion system, and punk has always interrogated power structures, with the goal of changing conventional norms. Both sustainable practices and the punk ethos run in opposition to the establishment, and Abel Honor New York’s new line speaks to the counterculture, mixing a downtown sensibility with uptown luxury and eco-conscious ethics.

As part of the new launch, men’s and women’s pieces are available across shorts, dresses, sweaters, tops, pants, skirts, and more. As with every Abel Honor New York release, the collection is divided into two categories based on elevated everyday wear, and high end custom designed pieces. Prints that play with the punk aesthetic and feature quotes like, “reject the mainstream” are noticeable on some RecWear staples, while bold contrasted plaids are seen on the brands Black Label pieces. The Avant-Contention line offers 50 garments total between the Black Label and RecWear categories, with prices ranging from $135 – $650.