Gabe Gordon’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection, HORSEPLAY, debuted at New York Fashion Week in an immersive, eerie spectacle that blended equestrian aesthetics with horror film tropes.
Gabe Gordon transformed New Design High School’s lunchroom into a dreamlike setting, complete with hay bales for seating and the lingering scent of vetiver grass. The show’s unsettling atmosphere set the tone for a collection that explored the tension between traditional Americana sportswear and queer identity.
Gordon, known for his intricate knitwear worn by celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Dua Lipa, leaned into vintage sporting motifs, repurposing football jerseys, upcycled tees, and equestrian silhouettes. However, these familiar elements were distorted through a queer lens—creating a narrative where jocks, horse girls, and outsiders collided in a fever dream of masculinity, vulnerability, and violence.
The show opened with an equestrian competitor thrown off his horse, only to be hazed by a group of Australian Sharpies. This homoerotic initiation soon devolves into nightmare as the protagonist becomes possessed, ultimately turning on his female rivals. The garments reflected this descent into darkness: distressed leather, tattered knits, and antique lace gave the impression of wear and survival. Female models embodied rugged horse girls, their hair tangled with hay and their bodies marked with bruises, while the male figures appeared fragile, damaged, and ethereal.
Entirely handmade in Brooklyn, the collection expanded Gordon’s textile experimentation beyond knitwear. Alongside his signature cable knits and chunky varsity stripes, HORSEPLAY introduced silk cut-and-sew garments, handwoven leather dresses, and corsetry inspired by human flesh. Collaborators played a key role in the final vision: illustrator Brie Moreno contributed a print that illustrated the show’s twisted narrative, while artist Catarina Dobal crafted leather belts and corsets that enhanced the tension between body and material.
