Hardly risk-averse, Siki Im embraced his newfound role as New York’s dark prince and indulged his love of vampire films for Fall—in all their gory, romantic, camp, elegant blood lust. As proof of his undying passion for the genre, he listed his favorites in the program notes, classics old and new, ranging from Nosferatu and Dracula to The Hunger and Only Lovers Left Alive.

With mouths and faces caked in what looked to be dried blood, his models charged down the runway like bats out of hell sporting the sharp, seductive clothes, all while the ghastly strains of Bauhaus and Ministry blared. The setup offered an unexpected retort to the cookie-cutter approach of some other New York men’s labels—in the vein of European designers who, generally speaking, aren’t afraid to follow their creative impulses, wherever they may lead.

The vampire theme also provided a platform for Im to display his signature dark sensibility and dramatic tailoring. Cashmere coats and leather jackets in black, aubergine, and bloodred were mixed with mohair blazers, nylon shirting, and loads of zippers. He also printed abstracted scenes from the above creature features on various T-shirts from his extension line, Den Im, which he showed together with his Siki Im main line.

More than anything, Im said the collection was an excuse to explore deep, visceral topics. Backstage he spoke of destrudo (the opposite of libido) and how the need to destroy, often through desire, exists within us all. “The reason we love vampire films is because we recognize something in ourselves,” he said. “We all have demons. It’s human nature. We’re not perfect, and there is beauty in our imperfection.”