’90s, Minnie Mouse, & Pussy Riot: Girl Power Stands Tall At Gerlan Jeans

Yes, Virginia, there is a Minnie Mouse. And she is alive and spunky at Gerlan Jeans, one of our favorite seasonal send-ups to the weird and wonderful world of Gerlan Marcel. Filled with underground club kids and fangirls wearing the designer's neon-green print (that Katy Perry herself seemed to love), the show came in two parts.

The first introduced the label's collaboration with Disney on a Minnie Mouse-inspired line, and, without losing an ounce of either Disney's innocence or Gerlan's cheekiness, she sent a host of bright, light blue, pink, and red-shoed looks down the runway. The best part, of course, was the updated take on the Minnie Mouse ears, which was showcased in a pair of colorful and wrapped pigtail braids.

Her "actual" collection, which was under the straight name of Gerlan Jeans (instead of Gerlan x Minnie Mouse), featured some of the same mall sexuality that Gerlan has made her immediately identifiable calling card. Army prints, '90s-esque Spice Girls slogans, and graphics galore took on a downtown, girl-fighter vibe (it appears that Gerlan has a fascination with boxers).

But leave it to the young brand to take the "Gerl Power" theme, and the punk inclinations that we've seen elsewhere with Phillip Lim and Anna Sui, and take it up to a serious political notch. Three printed gowns with belly-baring midriffs closed out the show, but for the final walk, each model put on a balaclava — a clear callout to Pussy Riot. So, when Gerlan Marcel took her final bow and flexed her muscles, Gerl Power reigned supreme.