The Vibe :
⊹ “Southern Cleavage” shifts the reveal to low backs, with ruffles joining the joke.
⊹ The New York label moves between vintage T-shirts, silk dresses and workwear.
⊹ “The Crack of Dawn” presents the spring wardrobe through an offbeat heist film.
Emily Dawn Long has a cheeky proposition for Spring 2027: give the low back its own starring role. Founded in 2019, the New York label makes sloganed vintage T-shirts, novelty knits and silk dresses feel like parts of the same mischievous wardrobe. Its “Southern Cleavage” collection pushes that humor into the clothes, with plunging backs and ruffles that refuse to behave. A purple minidress sends its ruffled edging down around one leg, turning a pretty trim into something decidedly flirtier.
Long introduced the season at New York Fashion Week through “The Crack of Dawn,” a short heist film directed by Mayan Toledano and written by Paige Elkington. The cinematic thinking also runs through Hawaiian shirts, whose references include Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo + Juliet and a paparazzi photograph of Bruce Willis. Barn jackets worn with suede trousers or jeans keep the wardrobe connected to the label’s workwear side. There is room for a ridiculous little dress and a practical jacket in this world.
The fabric details deserve their own close-up. Folded work by artists Petra Blaisse and Torbjørn Vejvi informed the silk dresses, while artist Ian Stanton’s commissioned painting supplied a print of a ruffle caught in motion for a waffle knit. It is a particularly fun trick: the suggestion of a frill without an actual fluttering edge. Long also introduces leather slides, adding footwear to a label that already moves comfortably between everyday pieces and dressed-up experiments.
Brand DNA
Founded in New York in 2019 by artist and designer Emily Dawn Long, the label channels vintage references through playful ready-to-wear and accessories. Graphic tees, tactile knitwear, distinctive hats, and cinematic storytelling shape its offbeat downtown identity.
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