NYFW Runway Looks To Take Note Of
New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2024 just wrapped up and I went along for the ride, in spirit.
Okay, I'm gonna be honest. Straight from the get-go. This NYFW left me feeling very uninspired. For the uninitiated, the NYFW is a show held bi-anually in the months of February and September. The February show, called the Spring/Summer showcase, just concluded on the 13th of September. While runway looks are generally perceived to be too unrealistic or impractical for your average person walking down the street, these are the shows that influence the way we dress, whether we know or not, or care or not. This is best articulated in the words of the fictional Miranda Priestly:
“And you’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores, and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin.”
The NYFW, in particular, isn’t a difficult show. You could probably wear most of the looks off the runway, unlike its counterparts in Paris and Milan. I mean, most of the looks were derivative, and I kept dozing off, but I have compiled below a list of my favorites.
Wiederhoeft, by far, gave me the most glamour vibes. Known for its theatrics, tastefully done (ofc), this show was noticeably more toned down, although still very much theatrical, thank you very much. It gave us the expected bridal looks which Wiederhoeft is known for, the beadwork and sequins were in display too. But in the spirit of subtlety that seems to be settling over every designer and their mother, Wiederhoeft did the same without sacrificing brand integrity.
Sheer looks dominated the runway, whether it was Wiederhoeft or Altuzarra. I, personally, think sheer is a tough look to pull off because you don’t want to veer into Kendall Jenner 2017 territory and so there is some delicate maneuvering and precise work to be done. But for a masterclass in sheer fashion, look no further than Paloma Spain’s collection. This collection subverted traditional notions of femininity and masculinity, not that this is revolutionary anymore, but the pairing of this sheer dress and the overtly feminine lace with baggy jeans, for instance, is seamless.
Altuzarra had one of the best wearable collections, IMO. There was an undeniable reference to 90s fashion. I could almost picture young Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell partying in most of the looks. Another reference point was the horror classic Rosemary’s Baby. The clothes gave off the same eerie quality embedded into the everyday that pervaded the movie.
Proenza Schouler was the brand name on everyone’s lips. The clothes were nice, I guess. But I couldn’t help feeling a little let down by the fact that these were clothes I would expect to see on the street or hanging off a rack in a shop. For me, fashion week should leave us feeling inspired. Not wanting to buy. It was giving commercial.
Before I turn you off NYFW, let me iterate that the Parsons MFA Graduate Show titled “WE DEM KIDS” gave what I was hoping it would give. The collections put forward by the graduating class was a keyhole into the future of fashion which is already taking shape. The students experimented with structure, creating clothes that defied gravity. There was also experimentation with texture, shape, and material, among other things. My favorite collection was by a student called Faviola Soavelo. Soavelo’s collection made use of different materials and textures to create clothes that weren’t cohesive, in the best way possible. It was an amalgamation of ideas, cultures, materials, and textures. For him, this amalgamation is his interpretation of his dual identity, being of Swiss-Malagasy heritage. There was also an acknowledgment of the importance of sustainable practices in today’s world. The idea that creation can occur within a circular system ran heavily through the clothes. The rest was sheer, explosive creativity, a passion for design, and a skill for forging new paths.
