New York, NY — Elle Karayan, the cultural fashion house founded by designer Lydia Querian, will make its bold debut at Asian New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2025 on September 13 at 3PM at Lavan Midtown. The runway presentation, titled “Maximalism Is Indigenous,” reclaims maximalist fashion as an Indigenous practice of storytelling, reverence, and ancestral expression.
Known for weaving together diasporic narratives through fashion, Querian centers her design philosophy around cultural reclamation, especially rooted in her Filipina heritage. Her SS25 collection challenges western minimalism and instead embraces layered textures, bold silhouettes, and ancestral motifs as vessels for Indigenous knowledge and identity. As she writes in her recent blog post, “Maximalism is Indigenous,” each garment becomes “a wearable story, a celebration of memory, and a statement of resistance.”
This highly anticipated show will also mark the sneak peak of Elle Karayan’s upcoming jewelry line, created in collaboration with metal designer Corey Wolffs. The line carries the spirit of the collection in sculptural pieces that echo Indigenous design, land-based wisdom, and sacred adornment practices.
Bringing a powerful soundscape to the show, Wilhelmina, a Filipino gong practitioner and DJ, will be spinning live during the runway. Blending traditional gong music with electronic rhythms, their set will elevate the runway into a multidimensional cultural experience, where sound, movement, and textile converge in a ceremonial offering.
The runway will feature collaborators and cultural workers who embody the spirit of the brand, walking in style—and in story. Through this performance, Querian seeks to transform the catwalk into a ceremony of reclamation.
Event Details:
What: Elle Karayan at Asian NYFW SS25 – Maximalism Is Indigenous
When: September 13, 2025 – 3:00 PM
Where: Lavan Midtown 641 West 42nd St. Ground Floor, New York, NY 10036