Nancy Black's fall line Neo Destrukt—which strutted its stuff at a recent Luv-A-Fair tribute eve—goes goth-rock and skintight, with a space-age twist. Check out vampy numbers like this stretchy, ripped-lace top and red-stitched PVC jeans.

Angela Fama

Seeing as Nancy Black is Vancouver’s favourite purveyor of all things PVC, it was only fitting that she launched her 2009 fall collection at a recent tribute to Luv-A-Fair’s beloved ’80s night, aka Klassix Tuesdays.

The semiregular retro reunion (which used to be held at Celebrities and is now at Venue) found DJs Chris Strebly and Darren Reiter (who spun at Luv-Yer-Hair in the ’90s) warming up the ‘80s-starved crowd with a sweet set of oldies, including Simple Minds’ “Love Song”, Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life”, and of course a little of the ol’ Depeche Mode. What a blast from the dance-floor past. The only thing missing was the squeegee punks that used to occupy stage left—God bless.

No sooner had the Talking Heads come on the PA than the show began. In a flash, new-wave tunes were replaced by some much more apocalyptic post-industrial beats. This cued an army of unconventionally beautiful models with lifeless stares to strut out on-stage decked in pieces from Black’s Neo Destrukt line, which will be in stores this fall. (In the meantime, you can shop for her fresh latex designs on-line at www.nancyblack.net )

As in seasons past, Black’s latest collection includes a lot of goth-rock staples, such as black bondage-inspired bottoms and vampy laced-up corsets. But what sets this line apart from her previous collections are the skintight silver vinyl tops and itsy-bitsy wine-coloured lace shrugs. According to Black, this fusion of space-age fantasy is partly due to the fact that she had ’80s cartoon rock stars Jem and the Holograms on her mind throughout the Neo Destrukt designing process.

Another hot twist this year is the just-got-mauled-by-a-giant-goth-cougar touches—most notably the strategically clawed out leopard-print men’s shirt and the preripped black-lace ladies’ shirt.

As with previous Nancy Black shows, local musicians, actors, and artists made appearances on the runway. Econoline Crush bassist Scott Whalen sashayed around the DJ booth in some pinstriped zipper pants and a black mesh top. As well, actor Michael Brock worked the crowd in some purple PVC pants and a lamé shirt.

The show was short, sweet, and surprisingly subdued—at least compared to that last Luv-A-Fair show. As the Straight reported back then, Nancy Black models are not above flipping the bird and banging their heads. Not this time—it was all about the clothes.

The show was capped off with a performance by local musician/artist Jim Cummins, who many know simply as I, BrainEater. Moments after the models left the stage, Cummins got up and lip-synched a tribute to the Cramps—’80s dance moves and all. And with that, I think it’s safe to say, everyone in attendance got their Luv-A-Fair fix…till the next reunion, that is.