Dracula-inspired dresses, massive shoulder pads, and gigantic bubble skirts. New York Fashion Week (NYFW) was filled with show-stopping moments that reminded the world of the New York design community’s ability to flow seamlessly between grit and glamour. Looking to set the tone for the next decade in style (and to quiet critiques of the week’s relevancy with the absence of some of the big hitters for AW20), America’s top and emerging designers offered high energy performances and conversations to reaffirm their position. Here are five themes that caught our eye this season.

Suit Essentials

This year, a memo must have gone out that made women’s suiting a requirement for all designers. From youthful cult brands like Eckhaus Latta to schedule staple Michael Kors, the desire to offer finely tailored frocks that could easily transition from the boardroom to the nightclub was apparent. Recent CFDA/Vogue Fashion fund winner and newly minted fashion darling Christopher John Rogers presented a rainbow-like display that included a relaxed, multihued suit in shades of tangerine and lime. Christian Cowan summoned his inner jungle cat with glitzy animal prints across a long-line double-breasted suit and black mini blazer dress. Marina Mascone invited onlookers to the historic Player’s Club for 1970s-influenced display that included multi-textured blazers paired with ankle-grazing skirts and a mossy green suit adorned with roses.

The art of the excess

NYFW is no stranger to pageantry. This season’s designers turned up the volume on specially crafted space-taking that demanded to be seen. Area, who had furniture makers in New Jersey produce boxy, metal-cage inspired looks with a subtle urban flair, shifted toward a vision of space-age glamour. Partnered with The Africa Center, an essential cultural hub on the Upper Eastside, the collection applies European tailoring and African weaving techniques to pearlescent fabrics that range from bloody crimsons to dreamy Cinderella blues. Standout looks include a body encompassing, heart-shaped dress and suite-style bodysuit with large, exaggerated shoulders.

Christopher John Rogers blended his experiences dressing up for Sunday church services in Louisiana with French clown references and renaissance painting for a cinematic presentation that included kaleidoscopic factory-produced fabrics across strawberry waisted, ruffle neck jumpsuits, tops with large billowing arms, and dresses with trains as wide and its models were tall.

Monochromatic colour

We may owe credit to Yeezy, who convinced us all to slip into minimal monochromatic looks. But this season, New York’s designer’s breathed new life into the trend with an insistence on single colour looks in bold, poppy shades. Offering vibrancy before the wintry New York sky, Carolina Herrera designer Wes Gordon presented big, airy, sleeveless dresses; structured A-line mini dresses, and floor-length gowns using a lush palette of citrusy pinks and oranges, ultramarine, and vibrant yellows and greens.

Jason Wu, whose SS20 line focused on nudes and light greys, introduced slip dresses, jacquard blouses and organza numbers in complementary blues. Show closer Marc Jacobs delivered an ode to the 1960s with posh pastel single-coloured looks including matching tights, headscarves and hats. Sally LaPointe, whose Monochromatic looks stole the show last season, stunned once again with skirt, suits, and separates of leather, fur, and silk in an electric colour palette.

Dark Subcultures

When Marc Jacobs presented his grunge-inspired SS93 collection for Perry Ellis he was met with outrage and a prompt firing. NYFW AW20 shows the evolution of high fashion’s taste for subculture-inspired looks with designers tapping into goth and punk for their latest looks. Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim at Monse presented a vision of “happy punk” with cut out sweaters, draped asymmetrical dresses, tops with belt motifs and off the shoulder bodices in black, greys and romantic hues. Queens-native Laquan Smith served up racy, supple black leather mini dresses and thigh-high boots while Rodarte sparkled (and scared) with a Dracula-inspired collection heavy on velvet midriff-baring gowns, decorative headpieces, and striking black accessories.

New Faces

To stay relevant, NYFW must look to its new entrants for what’s to come. With a shorter, more condensed calendar and younger creators choosing the stages of London, Paris and Milan, the challenge is daunting. Nevertheless, this year’s new designers gave a glimpse into the week’s future as well as new exciting looks, set to dazzle wherever they appear in the world.

Peter Do, who has been presenting in Paris for the last few seasons, returned home with a seamless collection of dresses and separates with a dystopian feel. Inspired by horror movies, the range features long lines, long-sleeved tops layered over tube tops and elongated trousers that gently flow into one another. His chunky, statement boots are manufactured at the same location as Ann Demeulemeester and Rick Owens, and the effect of their crafts on his is apparent.

LVMH Prize finalist Commission by Parsons School of Design alums Jin Kay, Dylan Cao, and Huy Luong, celebrated their love for French luxury with brushed cashmere sweaters with removable partner sweaters that wrap around the shoulders, the label’s first pair of jeans and stiff collared shirts with subtle flare. Elsewhere fellow Parsons grad and Teen Vogue Generation alum Tia Adeola made her debut with a name change (her brand was formerly known as Slashed by Tia) and a play to expand beyond her influencer/pop star fan base. Mixing her love of Renaissance costume and her Nigerian roots, the designer offered fringed asymmetrical skirts, pearl embellished headpieces and a show-stopping gown with a chest cut out.

Words Amber Nicole Alston

Published on 28/02/2020