New York Fashion Week Round Up (Spring 2020)
By Alice Porter
Whilst Manchester might feel a million miles away from the fashion capitals, there’s lots of ways to get involved with Fashion Week from the comfort of your own bed, the library or at the back of a lecture theatre. We’re making it easier for you to catch up on all the shows at The Mancunion with our fashion week round ups, starting with New York…
New York Fashion Week has kicked off fashion month with five and a half days of shows comprising unique locations, lots of 80s inspiration and a move to more inclusive casting.
The shows began on the evening of Friday the 6th of September, with Jeremy Scott’s playful 80s inspired show: think thigh-high boots and bodysuits, colourful wigs and statement earrings.
In complete contrast, the Khaite show opened the first official day of New York Fashion Week – a brand that has gone viral over the week prior after Katie Holmes was spotted sporting their cashmere bra and cardigan set.
Khaite have made a name for themselves by creating luxury, high-end clothing that you can actually wear on a day-to-day basis. And while their SS20 collection didn’t completely move away from this, there was something a little bit more sexy about the pieces in this collection, from barely-there blouses to deep v-necks and sheer fabrics.
View this post on InstagramBTS SPRING/SUMMER RUNWAY 2020 Preorder these looks now at KHAITE.com
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Kate Spade also showed her SS20 collection on Saturday and it felt very New Yorker off-duty, with models (as well as influencers and other personalities) carrying plants and huge tote bags.
The first day of shows ended with a very Saturday night appropriate collection – Ralph Lauren AW19 Ready-To-Wear. Its black-tie theme was accompanied by a stellar line up of models including Gigi and Bella Hadid, and Taylor Hill.
Sunday began with Tory Burch’s Princess Diana inspired collection which maintained the brands use of prints, pairing them with 80s silhouettes that were most noticeable by the puffed sleeves of many of the dresses.
View this post on InstagramCloudy with a chance of sweater (and pineapple juice) at @mansurgavriel 🍎🍊🍋🍉🍍
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Mansur Gavriel’s AW19 Ready-To-Wear collection was by far the most wearable, and comfortable, collection of the entire week, with printed, oversized knitwear (the cloud sweater has proved very popular on Instagram) and oversized fluffy coats. Shortly followed by Tibi, whose silhouettes were more structured, but nevertheless, effortlessly casual.
The most instagrammable show of the week also took place on Sunday the 8th. With babies, dogs and streakers, the Collina Strada SS20 show has put the brand on everyone’s radar, if only because of the amount of coverage it received from influencers, which can only be a good thing with sustainability at the heart of their brand’s focus.
View this post on InstagramLOOK 6- SS2020 Thank you very much for helping us 🌏
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Collina Strada is clearly not interested in conforming, setting out to make a statement, as exemplified by the bold, colourful designs, mainly comprised of pastels and neons that made up their SS20 collection. The Central Park location also removed the exclusivity from NYFW as passers-by could watch the show, and the casting was commendably inclusive and diverse.
The 80s inspiration overwhelmed NYFW and was championed by Pyer Moss, who opened their SS20 show with a glittery two piece with huge shoulder pads and turned up cuffs. The rest of the collection followed in a similar suit: including a leather guitar shaped cross body bag and bright yellow silk fabrics coming in the form of v-neck dresses, wide-leg trousers and sleeveless jumpsuits. The collection was inspired by Sister Rosetta, who rose to popularity in the 1930s and 40s and was described by Vogue as ‘the godmother of rock and roll’.
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Monday morning began with Jonathan Simkhai’s pastel dream of an SS20 collection, the type of clothes that make you wish for one more month of summer. Other highlights of the day included Lela Rose, whose models walked down a runaway of yellow rose petals, wearing clothes comprised of equal amounts of florals and pastels, with some of the dresses featuring illustrated skylines.
In contrast, Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s runway was the public courts of the Lower East Side, the unrefined venue mirroring the neutral colour pallette, with a few neon looks thrown in there for good measure; a collection which felt at once romantic and masculine.
Monday ended at an abandoned subway stop where Tom Ford staged his SS20 collection; the location exemplifying the brands flair for simple, modern luxury.
Tuesday began with a sea of neon orange, which formed the backdrop for Sally LaPointe’s SS20 show, her collection made up of a strict colour palette of beige, baby pink, orange, and emerald green.
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The day continued with similar amounts of colour from Christian Cowan’s show, characterised by glittery mini dresses, sheer fabrics and outrageous feathered sleeves, really bringing the party to a Tuesday afternoon.
The Coach SS20 collection, taking place on Tuesday afternoon, felt very New York, as models walked The High Line. And if there was any doubt that leather is coming back in a big way, this collection proved it, with leather pieces in almost every look. The printed vests felt very 80s and the photos from the collection feel like they could have been taken straight from 80s New York, well apart from the HD quality and the sea of smartphones in the background.
The final day of NYFW was opened by Michael Kors, whose collection had a nostalgic feel to it, particularly referencing the 40s as Vogue reported that Kors felt that ‘that was the last moment that [America] felt united’. This political sentiment was echoed by the definably modern slogan sweaters, with the crossed out words ‘I HATE’ printed onto them.
Brock Collection, a 5-year old brand, also managed to bag a spot on the final day of NYFW. It’s easy to see why as their SS20 collection comprised a selection of clothes that were at once wearable and eccentric, epitomised by the first look in the collection, a square-necked Elizabethan-esque gown paired with straight leg trousers.
Perhaps the most unusual show of NYFW was the Batsheva show, that took place in a New York Law school lecture theatre, with lectures being given by various academics as the models walked through the aisles. The clothes themselves are hard to pin down: eclectic and bold yet confusingly modest. It shouldn’t work but it does.
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New York Fashion Week came to a close with the Marc Jacobs SS20 show, which saw models swarming out from backstage altogether, and walking straight past the audience. The collection was colourful, daring and fun and it felt like a reminder, after a week of varied and unique shows, of what a quintessential fashion show is and should be.
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