JRAT’s ‘HOMESICK AGIAN’ and the Fever Dreams of Bedrot
a warm review: Janelle R. Abbott’s FW25 Collection Shows Us What Fashion Can Be
By Calli Ferguson
Remember those name keychains? The name ones you’d find at airports, gift shops, and gas stations? I used to hope to find my name or get excited spotting a friend’s. Whatever feelings that memory might have stirred up for you pulsed through the veins of Janelle Abbott (aka JRAT)’s FW25 collection, HOMESICK AGAIN. And sure, that’s probably—at least in part—because those very keychains were playfully dangling as charms on some of the garments themselves. But they were also in the good company of other unexpected elements– the kind that make a JRAT collection so charming (double ‘charm’ entendre intended). Things like house paint, reclaimed bed sheets, and buttons that make you think ‘if only they could speak…’.
“Nostalgia” has been a prevailing theme in fashion and culture. Still, I’d be remiss not to mention it here— where the feeling took on a fever-dreamish quality. The kind of absurdity that, within its wildness, feels oddly comforting.
Before the nuance and storytelling even unfold, the first thing you notice in Abbott’s work is this incredible attention to detail. It feels like a privilege just to be looking at it. Garments that at first appear intriguingly chaotic, reveal layers of intricate thought the closer you look. No stitch is unconsidered; every inch of fabric has a story and a human touch. You’ll see things like decedent button appliqués, the signature layered chenille techniques, and that keychain fringe in this collection serving as a testament to the meticulous, deeply personal craftsmanship that defines JRAT’s work.
That dedication to craft and the artistry of style extended to every aspect of the collection and its presentation. Buttons that weren’t vintage were handmade by ceramicist, Jessica Marie Mercy. Insanely artful hair styling, executed by Ryuan Johnson’s Sexy Scalps played with those same buttons and keychains, accenting wild, matted bedheads and whimsical braids. Looks curated with the touch of styling by Em Seely-Katz allowed the garments to become characters on the runway.
Models emerged one at a time from a bed messily made up at the back of the show’s whimsical set. Stirred ‘awake’ by the one before, each reluctantly rose, yawning or sighing, before slipping into some wonderfully strange personality and performance on the runway—half-dream, half-reality. The materials themselves—house paint, bedsheets—heightened the feeling of home, or perhaps, of being bedridden.
Structural elements underscored this theme too. The Laundry Basket Dresses and Laundry Basket Blouses offered a visually literal take on reconstruction, appearing like the spilling out contents of an overfull hamper. It took us back to the bedroom— and not just any bedroom but a messy one, where in our bed-headed bed rot days, we let the clothes pile up and overflow.
The ‘Junk Drawer’ titled pieces, including belts, a hoodie, collars, a cap, and a Denim Jacket evoked highlighted the same kind of thing— the last of which almost appeared to be growing buttons and beads like mold. Beautiful.
Done in such a bright and colorful way, the collection almost seemed to invite us to surrender to it— the mess, the sickness, the rot– so that from there we are able to succumb to the dreaminess. From an imperfect place we are able to give space to something satisfyingly delusional or delirious. Like a fever dream we can stew in for a minute while we rest and heal.
Of course, HOMESICK AGAIN echoed aesthetic and thematic motifs of last season’s HOMESICK- the brand’s NYFW debut inspired by staying home sick from school. Which makes me think: How very JRAT… not to discard last season’s story but to let it evolve. It’s serendipitously in keeping with Janelle Abbott’s approach to clothing and fashion. HOMESICK wasn’t over; it had more to say. This season’s iteration moved beyond the nostalgia of staying home sick from school and into something deeper: a meditation on memory, on the delirious stories our minds create, on the eerie discomfort of déjà vu.
It’s another way the show served as a reminder of what fashion can be. Here, it’s given room to breathe. Art should live in the world. It should evolve and exist beyond a single season or moment or presentation. Style, like any other art form, deserves time—to be worn, to change, to come to life, and to reincarnate. But that’s a journey often not afforded to the fashion system caught in trend cycles and sacrificed to landfills. JRAT’s approach stands in direct opposition. Not to mention everything is impressively, entirely zero waste.
Driving the presentation home was the energy in the room—something you can’t fake. The space buzzed with expressive, creative, and kind energy. If you ask me, that’s deeply reflective of a brand’s intent.
It was a show that viewers could walk away from with genuine creative inspiration. I’ll say it again: how fashion should leave us feeling. From the set to the styling, to the stunning collection itself, HOMESICK AGAIN was an evocative and unforgettable fever dream worth getting lost in.
💻 Check out Janelle R Abbott’s work online at https://janellerabbott.com/
📻 Stay tuned on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/janellerabbott/
🗓️ And Stop By The Oculus February 13th from 6-9pm to see and shop HOMESICK AGAIN fresh off the runway
