Cult Gaia Pre-Fall 2022

Cult Gaia has more than a few immediately recognizable, cult-favorite pieces. Perhaps you remember the wooden, crescent-shaped Ark bag that put Jasmin Larian’s label on the map some six years ago. Or now, maybe you’ve seen a few cool brides sporting the draped fringe Renata gown or the feathered Shannon mini dress at their post-ceremony dance parties. But despite this tendency towards quasi-ubiquity (how oversaturated can a $1,000 dress really be?) Larian says she thrives on change. Part of the catalyst is the fact that when you Google “Cult Gaia bag” or “Cult Gaia dress” the suggested term “Cult Gaia dupe” is not far behind. “The second I’m into something, I’m over it by then, so it’s about how we can change,” she says. “I like to design in contrasts, otherwise I get bored.” That may sound a bit impersonal, but her pre-fall is not. Inspired by Larian’s Persian heritage and 1960s Vogues she found in the New York Public Library spotlighting Iran, the collection goes deeper than Instagram-bait. One of the models is Mya Ghorbani, granddaughter of the performer Googoosh, who Larian says is “like Madonna in Iran.” She wears a series of brightly colored dresses and matching sets embellished with all manner of prints (created in partnership with a Persian artist), gold hardware, and extraneous straps. Sculptural hair and bright makeup help transport the onlooker into this Y2K-meets-’60s-Middle-East world.