As the curtains draw on another New York Fashion Week, it’s safe to say the theatrics were left at the door. Whether due to recession woes, or last season’s marketing budget blow-outs, the gimmick of celebrity stunts and viral moments were off the table, in favor of designers doing what they do best.
The shows offered a seismic difference in practicality compared to the shaky ground of post-pandemic collections peppered with logos, Y2K nostalgia and next-to-nothing fabrics and cuts. Instead, we got the quiet achievers in elevated streetwear, nouveau minimalism, contemporary femininity, and wearable glitz. The art of day-to-day dressing is back.
Without the international features from heritage brands for SS23, the New York shows made plenty of room to hear from local up-and-comers, like Elena Velez, Area, Puppets and Puppets, and Luar, who triumphantly closed out the week - a spot normally reserved for the likes of Marc Jacobs or Tom Ford. However, the success of New York’s new guard now lies in contrast with the news of Pharrell Williams’ appointment at Louis Vuitton. Whether or not the producer/ artist will be up to the task is irrelevant; the appointment confirms exactly what the season tried to stamp out: celebrity sells.
Meanwhile, the city’s headliners Proenza Schouler and Thom Browne did not disappoint, and labels like Tory Burch, Dion Lee, Eckhaus Latta and Heron Preston continued to draw crowds. And, though we missed Peter Do and Maryam Nassir Zadeh, we were treated to glittering returns from Rodarte and Anna Sui.
As for the clothing? Think practical. With the cost of living front of mind, buyers will most likely want to play it safe, as well as favor well-edited collections that offer versatile outfitting. True to New York in the winter style, the calling-card coat featured heavily (literally) with floor-sweeping versions at Gabriela Hearst, Eckhaus Latta, and Brandon Maxwell, and fuzzy shearling prominent at Khaite and Altuzarra. Knitwear was grungy and shredded at Rodarte and Coach, while monochrome dressing (see: Superbowl Rihanna) and tonal suiting was firmly back on the radar from Theory to Helmut Lang and Michael Kors. And, there was plenty to party about, with one-shoulder silhouettes, elevated raver styles, and jaw-dropping metallic pieces primed to hit the floor.
Here we break down the 5 breakout trends from New York Fashion Week Fall Winter 23, set to fit firmly in the wearable wardrobe: a print, a shape, a color, a workable trend, and something a little glamorous. Easy.
1. Monobrown
There was lipstick red, iridescent silver and gem tones - but it was brown in every shade that emerged largely as the decadent monochrome neutral for AW23. In uniform color or deliciously tonal, the style memo read as head-to-toe. The classic autumn hue saw new life in supple leather and suede separates at Coach and tailoring at Gabriela Hearst. Layering and ease of dressing were made possible with heavy long-line coats and trenches, knitwear, maxi skirts, belts and boots, and eveningwear was an alluring alternative to black at Dion Lee and Brandon Maxwell.
2. Animalia
While Schiparellia created an animal storm in a teacup at couture fashion week, the RTW designers showed just how animal references can be well played. Dion Lee, Alexander Wang, and Kim Shui went for racy night-club python, in mini skirts, tall boots, and slick-looking overalls, Helmut Lang offered a sophisticated cow-hide subverting the cowboy ideology in a cool trench coat and skirt, and Collina Strada took a more literal approach with blown-up dog head motifs at one of the most talked about shows of the week.
3. No pants, no problem
For when the micro mini skirt isn’t short enough. Call it the Prada effect, but no trend seemed more obvious than a lot of bare or stockinged legs beneath oversized puffer jackets and bombers, long-line blazers, and sheer skirts. Christian Siriano’s black tie versions were surprisingly wearable, while Area and Sergio Hudson chose to let up-top do all the talking with sharply cut highlighter-yellow blazers. Puppets and Puppets went for boudoir-style lace stockings to style with bustiers and risque lingerie, and it was hard to ignore Simkhai’s glitzy boyfriend tailoring on Emily Ratajowski.
4. Small jacket, big attitude
Sign of the times? Or just not over the abs-baring trend just yet? Jackets and blazers were slashed, cut, and impeccably transformed across the season, which is great news for those invested in low-rise and no-pants trends. The traditional biker jacket folded delicately into a feminine crop at Alaia, Jonathan Simkhai cut sharply tailored blazers off at the waist, and Altuzarra invested in exaggerated faux fur collars. Leave it to Dion Lee to render the teddy coat club-ready.
5. Lace for the ladies
Yeah, you bet it’s awards season! Masterful lace artistry was executed in droves, from lingerie and boudoir styles at Alexander Wang and Anna Sui, while Jason Wu and Carolina Herrera (under Wes Gordon) offer masterfully intricate and feminine gowns that were all but missing an Oscar-nominated actress. Rodarte’s gothic fairies relieved us of plain pragmatism with black lace in sheer panels, oversized collars and dramatic veils.
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Main Image Credit: Darrel Hunter
