Commission Codesigners Question the American Dream in Their Spring 2025 Collection

What does the American dream mean today?

After skipping the fall season, New York-based brand Commission codesigners Dylan Cao and Jin Kay moved into the pre-season model and are back with a new spring 2025 collection (delivering early in November) to address that very question.

The past few seasons, Cao and Kay said they worked to honor and build the Commission codes, but for spring, it was about breaking them down.

“Picking and choosing what’s still relevant for us as the true classics,” Cao said. Those codes — prep-tinged shirting and polos, denim, tracksuits, sharp tailoring, etc — tie into the men’s and women’s collection’s larger conversation. 

“It’s a weird time to talk about being American, which is why we named the collection, ‘American Dream?’ What does it mean to be American, aspirationally?,” Cao said. He expanded on the idea, touching on first-generation Americans “ascribing to American preppiness and 9-to-5 suiting,” as well as his own experience, moving to New York from Vietnam 13 years ago and shopping at Target for those well-known, pre-packaged boxers, tank tops and waffle Henleys to “feel part of the culture.”

Those elements directly came through via trending boxer shorts; Commission logo’d polo shirts and cotton shirt dressing with off-kilter, twisted seams; a strong assortment of creased satin skirts, slips and button-up shirts mimicking freshly unfolded garments, and backward waffle Henleys. Tracksuits still remain strong for the brand, done here in classic shapes, but also rewritten as an ultra-cool sportif gown. They also twisted tailoring, with a traditional menswear blazer turned into a midi skirt (sans sleeves) and a backless trenchcoat turned into an intriguing strapless dress.

Playing with what’s “proper versus improper,” alongside reworked, mass-produced undergarments and elevated wardrobing were strong, cheeky themes that ran throughout the collection. True to the Commission DNA, the irreverent takes on nuanced Americana thrived through each garment’s up-close, twisted details.