Despite the attention of these musical icons however, Berryman seems to be most proud of the way his label has evolved over the last few years, namely, its metamorphosis from conceptual to ready-to-wear. His latest line, which is currently exclusively available on his website and priced between $95 – $595, is made locally in New York’s garment district and called “Forever”. The offering is made up of garments meant to be thought of as personal “talismans.” Berryman writes in his collection notes that as each item “passes through the hands of sewers, pattern makers and artists alike, Weslah believes that each piece is imbued with an energy that it retains which will eventually be passed along to the wearer.” And when the wearer puts it on, they then will take that energy and “charge” it, make it their own, and “activate” their individuality.
If this sounds very meta, Berryman means it to be. He walks a fine line between practicality and introspection. The collection, like his beloved Gundam figurines, is truly modular: a bright blue laser-printed velvet legging can be worn separately or layered with a mini dress and a corseted cami. Raver jeans decorated with Berryman’s signature Maleficent-esque thorn and heart prints can be further accentuated with his sculptural necklace (his small collection of hauntingly beautiful jewelry, by the way, is also something of note). Pointed shoulder jackets rendered in denim and a cool cropped puffer jacket, which look as great over a gown as they do with nothing but undies beneath, bring more to the wearable-meets-wild aesthetic. Berryman has shoulder bags too and they’re good: perfectly sized in either black patent or a gray laser-printed fleece with removable heart and cross charms. In his own words, “just a little everyday, cunty bag.”
The real pièce de résistance in this collection though, and in Berryman’s evolution thus far as a designer, is the Weslah corset hoodie: a traditional boned, lace-up corset mashed together with a logo-bedazzled hoodie sweatshirt. The idea was really to blend the artful joy of unfiltered fashion co-existing with the ease of practical, wearable garments. His hope is that with this recipe he’ll be able to scale his business in the coming year and beyond. “My true heart is with the avant-garde aesthetic,” Berryman notes. “But I love the challenge of distilling that into something that can be worn every day.” He adds, “That’s really been my dream is to just see people out in the world wearing my clothes.” “The most rewarding thing about fashion is that yes, it’s art, it’s fantasy, but it’s also something so close to the body and when we wear it everyday, it sort of transforms us.” The corset itself has become a Weslah signature because, as Berryman says, “it’s augmenting the body and how someone feels. It even transforms your aura.” “Fashion is such a powerful medium and it is like magic.” He adds, “they’re really just clothes… but also, they’re not.”
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