THIS IS NOT A FASHION SHOW
Greenpoint, Brooklyn — September 2023 NYC Fashion Week
Conceived as both a performance and a provocation, "THIS IS NOT A FASHION SHOW" disrupted the traditional runway format with a dreamlike, immersive experience held in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Starring Elise Mascia as Helene of TROY, the piece blurred the line between fashion, ritual, and performance art.
With choreography and art direction by Mascia, the performance was a deliberate act of impermanence—eschewing documentation to honor the fleeting, the unrepeatable, and the power of presence. In contrast to today’s hyper-documented, hyper-consumable fashion culture, it left only memory, sensation, and myth in its wake.
Helene of TROY emerged from smoke and shadow, surrounded on all sides by the audience. Dressed and undressed in trance and motion, her body became both canvas and story—an embodiment of creation, destruction, and rebirth. She moved through sheer curtains and shifting light, leaving viewers in a state of suspended reality—questioning what they had seen, and if they had seen it at all.
The soundscape—haunting, visceral, and alive—was performed live in real time by Troy Hul-Arnold, who composed the sonic experience as the performance unfolded. There was no rehearsal. No script. No repetition. Every movement, every note, every moment was born in the present—improvised in full by Mascia and Hul-Arnold in a pure act of creative trust and intuition.
Part fashion, part myth, part spell: THIS IS NOT A FASHION SHOW was never meant to be captured, it was meant to be felt. This boundary-pushing work reflects TROY’s continued commitment to slow fashion, conscious creation, and storytelling through textile, sound, and experience.
THISISNOTAFASHIONSHOW23 is a captivating film directed by Troy Hul-Arnold, derived from the immersive performance "THIS IS NOT A FASHION SHOW" that took place in September 2023 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, during New York City's Fashion Week.
The film encapsulates the raw energy and ephemeral beauty of the live event, offering viewers an intimate glimpse into a performance that was intentionally left undocumented in full, embracing the transient nature of art.