Comfort is king at New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week is preceding one of the most exciting fashion seasons in years, but as some of the biggest names in American fashion proved, that doesn’t mean it ought to be overlooked.
It’s tough to be the opening act for one of the most anticipated, potentially culture-shifting fashion seasons. In Milan and Paris later this month and early next, there will be creative director debuts at the likes of Chanel, Dior, Loewe and Balenciaga – and that’s not even naming them all. The season marks, hopefully, the closing of a turbulent time for the industry. Brands and designers now need to figure out what people want when they’re carefully considering what they think is important. No mean feat!
New York had less of the buzz of the new. Which is not to say there isn’t change in the air. Proenza Schouler has just appointed Rachel Scott of New York-based label Diotima, known for its artful crochet pieces, as its new creative director.
While her official debut won’t be until February, Scott worked with the Proenza Schouler studio on this collection and her handwriting can be seen already. Jonah Waterhouse, Vogue Australia’s fashion news editor, was at the show and says it signalled a new era for the brand.
“LVMH Prize finalist Rachel Scott’s rich, colourful prints and zesty colours kicked off NYFW with a bang,” he says.
There are newcomers in New York too. On Waterhouse’s watch list is Colleen Allen, who, following studies at London’s Central Saint Martins and a stint at The Row, has created a brand “ethereal and history-inspired” that has already been worn by the likes of Oscar winner Mikey Madison and Uma Thurman.
Mostly, however, New York was a time for focus on the non-negotiables when it comes to American fashion. Namely elegant and relaxed sportswear and a certain mode for preppiness. Prep with a twist has been a key trend of late, with Jonathan Anderson sending cableknits and “Nantucket red” chinos down the runway for his Dior menswear debut in June, and oversized rugby tops at Michael Rider’s debut for Celine in July.
This sense of evolution over revolution was especially felt at the brands that have shaped a global view on American style for the past few decades – including Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors and Calvin Klein. Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors, along with Coach, are also three brands to post strong financial results. Coach – which has found renewed resonance with Gen Z shoppers for its bag charms and handbags – grew almost 11 per cent in the June quarter, according to LSEG estimates. Ralph Lauren exceed expectations, posting 14 per cent revenue growth in the first quarter
Nobody particularly likes the term “accessible luxury”, but it must be said that all three offer appealing clothes and accessories in their mixes at approachable price points. In financially straitened times, when people are thinking about value, best make it either extraordinarily special, or very nice and very useful.
Often, very nice and very useful mean simple, minimalist pieces – well-made and thoughtful – that people can wear back with existing clothes in their wardrobes. That said, they still need to be interesting – which is why brands such as Rachel Comey, with her bubblegum-pink billowing pieces; Tibi, with creative director Amy Smilovic’s “creative pragmatism” approach to dressing, and; Tory Burch, who adds a little kink to polished pieces, are resonating too. Altuzarra, meanwhile, added texture and interest to ladylike silhouettes with striking 3D floral applique and feather details.
A case in point, though, the crisp sportiness at Ralph Lauren in a colour palette of mostly red, white and black. There were nods to the eternal style reference of Annie Hall with vests, ties and slouchy wide-legged trousers. It felt peppy and preppy. Note the pedal pushers too – the divisive trend has popped up at several fashion weeks and has been worn by models such as Hailey Bieber and Gigi Hadid.
Michael Kors, meanwhile, a master of that particularly elegant American take on sportswear, pushed for more relaxation. As Kors said in the show notes of his collection of mostly neutrals, browns and ecru with fringed skirts and fluid, draped silhouettes that evoked the feeling of being on holiday: “The simple truth is that escapism helps us tremendously.”
The collection was a balance between tailoring and fluidity, of the formal and the relaxed – the idea being that, yes, relax, but also be ready for anything.
Another brand to define American style and sell it to the world was Calvin Klein in the ’90s. It’s a remit that newly installed creative director Veronica Leoni wants to bring back.
Leoni joined the brand following stints under Phoebe Philo, high priestess of clothes for smart and interesting women, at Celine. Earlier this year the brand returned to the runway after a six-year hiatus from presenting luxury runway collections. And what timing, with the internet’s obsession with the ’90s minimalism Calvin Klein practically invented showing no sign of abating.
Not to mention the much anticipated (and intensely scrutinised) Ryan Murphy treatment of John F. Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s doomed romance for his upcoming American Love Story. The latter was once a Calvin Klein publicist and her impact on fashion – “throwaway chic”, as Michael Kors once said of her style – remains the ultimate pin-up for fashion obsessives. Leoni’s first collection received mixed reviews, some opining it lacked some sex appeal.
For her sophomore collection Leoni focused on what she called in her show notes, “a true lifestyle offering rooted in minimalism, modernity and an American sensibility”. What this looked like was layered tailoring in fabrics such as jersey, wool and silk in a pared-back palette of white, grey and black. A much discussed piece was a dress made out of the Calvin Klein logo-ed underpants waistbands.
That sense of consideration of how a person might feel in the clothes is important. It’s something Calvin Klein himself paid careful attention to.
In a recent episode of Vogue’s The Run Through podcast (co-hosted by Chloe Malle, newly appointed head of content at American Vogue), Klein elaborated on exactly this. “The idea of being modern is the absence of decoration. If the design is good and the shape is good and the silhouette, it doesn’t need a lot of extra stuff to make a person feel better. So I’ve just always believed in stripping it.”
Feeling good in your clothes? In this economy? Well, actually, it feels about right.
London Fashion Week begins on September 18.
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