While Greenwich, England may be the centerpiece of the world’s time zones, New York City is the center of the fashion universe. Each fall and spring, the industry’s top designers, starry-eyed newcomers, stylists, editors and fans of fabulousness make their way to the city where style never sleeps. This year’s Bryant Park spectacular (the last ever at this famed location) was a triumph: a dazzling display of the fashion we have to look forward to in fall, a full six months before the autumn equinox occurs.
Highs:
Proenza Schouler – As a chic continuation of their spring line, this collection was a more muted take on printed design. Painted skinny jeans paired with a shapely black top demanded attention to the models’ legs, as did structured mini-dresses that skimmed over sheer black tights.
Naeem Khan – This is the show where textures married print, while a gold, green, and purple color story alluded to the Mardi Gras festivities striking up in New Orleans. The vibrant and varied styles made for a show that was nothing short of a party.
Vera Wang – This year Wang brought back a dark palette in a big way, leaving no questions over the color of her mood for fall: black. Fur nestled the models’ hips, not shoulders, and the black booties she had parading the runway were like daggers prodding the heart of her usually soft design aesthetic.
Lows:
A*MUSE by Richie Rich – Rich, one half of the trash-meets-class train wreck that was Heatherette, is at it again. It can be said that when Pamela Anderson is the showpiece of your fashion line, things are bound to go bust (pun very much intended). An hour-and-fifteen-minute late start paired with Rich’s usual frills and antics made for a show that seemed static in its attempt to electrify.
Forecast:
Many designers, including Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren, played groundhog for February’s fashion showing, predicting another six months of this winter’s favorites: fur and sequins. Bouclé is back in the Chanel lookbook, and a classic skirt suit seemed to make an appearance in collections all across the board. A silhouette straight out of the Roaring 20s made its reappearance on the models at Anna Sui. Overall, the fashion was refreshing; no two collections were alike and while the rest of us may be looking toward the summer, fashion’s major designers have signed and dotted the rules for fall.