During the winter months, most of the Midwest views clothes as a necessary means of survival in the harsh weather. However, in the first week of February on the East Coast, hundreds of models, designers and celebrities adorn innovative and glamorous garments in a display of fashion and art.
This year’s New York Fashion Week took place Feb. 6 through 11, and is a celebration of creative design and a shaping of next season’s clothing trends. Marc Jacobs, Brandon Maxwell and Calvin Klein are some of the big names that presented this week, but there are many other designers that shared their collections. Throughout the next few weeks, London, Paris and Milan will also have their own fashion weeks, which will all play a role in shaping fall and winter fashion for this year.
One of the most notable collections from the week was Christian Siriano’s automotive-inspired runway. Siriano’s looks emulated different aspects of luxury cars, complete with bold red colors and silver details. His brilliant use of textiles made fabric look structured and metal-like, with subtle hints to different aspects of cars.
This runway was highly attended and well-received, due to Siriano’s reputation as a luxury designer. Supermodels such as Coco Rocha and Winnie Harlow showcased theatrical gowns in brilliant red, which some media outlets have speculated are a reference to “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Fashion critics have also noted that due to Siriano and other designers’ use of metallic fabrics, this may be a trend for fall and winter fashion this year. Designers incorporated shiny jackets, pants and dresses in their collections at a high volume, which may trickle down to consumer markets in the upcoming season.
Collina Strada under creative director Hillary Taymour also put forth two memorable collections: a ready-to-wear collection entitled “Touch Grass,” and a luxury collection called “Fempire.” The media has been in a buzz about the latter, due to its focus on sustainability and celebration of women of all body types and backgrounds.
Models walked the runway in upcycled, thrifted wedding dresses, bug-eyed glasses and silver accessories in an interesting mix of soft and hard textures. Celebrities such as Dove Cameron, Japanese Breakfast and Cole Sprouse attended the runway, sporting equally eccentric looks. Taymour says that the collection stemmed from her response to the current political season and aims to celebrate fashion and life in a matriarchal and women-focused way. In both collections, Strada utilized sheer materials to create her looks, which has also been a common thread with other designers.
Over the years, there have been varying choices made about which models should walk the runway. In the 90s, brands eliminated any aspect of diversity in the selection of models, claiming that it was better to have everyone look alike for the sake of better displaying the clothing.
Since then, there has been a fight to include more models of color and of different body types for the sake of better representation and industry equality. Certain designers have made statements about where they stand on the issue, and this year’s Fashion Week put forth some of the most diverse collections of models in recent years.
Prabal Gurang, Siriano and Strada specifically vocalized their commitment to using a diverse casting of models, both in body type and skin color. “On the runway, we celebrate beauty and age and gender and body,” Siriano said. “We need fantasy, we need dreams. We need to show all the colors and cultures that are here, especially in New York.”
