New York Fashion Week: the only things you need to know from the front line
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- Billie Bhatia
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New York Fashion Week, the opening to a month of fashion shows, presentations, dinners, parties and more cocktail events than is humanly possible to attend, has now come to an end. We have rounded up the ‘need to know’ moments across fashion, parties and hangouts.
For the past couple of years there has been a conversation bubbling among industry insiders that New York Fashion Week is over. New York was no longer was bringing the cutting-edge of newness to the fashion industry; instead it was resting on its big name brands – Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach and Michael Kors – to pull in an international crowd. Whilst these designer have mass commercial appeal, they are not necessarily pushing the boundary when it comes to creativity.
This season, the conversation has changed, in part to Marc Jacob’s spectacular show and the rising up of underground labels such as Eckhuas Latta, Chromat and Pyer Moss, which have breathed a new lease of creative life into the city.
With that in mind we have rounded up the moments that defined the week, from fashion to food to hang out spots.
The Show: Marc Jacobs
Closing out the week with a deserved bang was New York poster-boy Marc Jacobs. A pure celebration of life, joy and optimism was the name of the game here as Jacobs reflected on his show that happened the day before 9/11 18 years ago. The show notes read: “Our unadulterated love of fashion and embracing grand gestures of unbridled expressions, reactions, ideas and possibilities.” The collection was like a Marc Jacobs smash hits, re-enacting some of his most iconic looks, as well as a fresh take on what it means to be a Marc Jacobs girl today, with 61 models walking towards the audience in unison to Doris Day’s, Dream a Little Dream of Me.
The Bag: Bottega Veneta ‘Pouch’ bag
Without a shadow of a doubt the dumpling-come-croissant leather pouch bag is the golden accessory of the season. AnAnd when Bottega Veneta’s masterpiece is not being snapped by street style photographers, it’s flooding our Instagram with perfect flatlays of the butter soft leather poured open revealing the contents for all to see.
The Shoe: Eckhaus Latta x Ugg
Last season top model Paloma Elesser walked the Eckhuas Latta runway in a pair of coloured sheepskin, square-toed heeled mules and the front row cooed in unison. Stepping into a considerably more fashion territory, this season UGG have elevated that initial shoe and added in more delicious offerings for spring / summer 2020.A super high heeled clog was seen in the opening look (and the next five looks that followed), as well as an of-the-moment barely there square-toe sandal with 90s-looking tie ups and double strapped trainers. One stop shoe shop.
The Moment: Savage x Fenty
The most hyped occasion of the six-day extravaganza was Rihanna’s lingerie show, Savage x Fenty, held at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn. The singer created a performance that was everything a lingerie show should represent in 2019 and more. Models and dancer of all shapes and sizes created an empowered mood across the stadium with performances from Migos, Halsey and DJ Khalid.
The Party: Ralph Lauren
Former Stylist cover-star and one of fashion’s favourites, Janelle Monae, was the woman of the hour at Ralph’s Club - a transformed ball room on Wall Street that played host to a Jazz Age speak-easy. After Bella and Gigi had walked the runway, Monae brought the house down with an enigmatic performance that saw her smashing glasses and bringing the biggest smiles to guests.
The Spot: The Bowery Hotel
Hosting some of the biggest names in fashion and entertainment The Bowery Hotel was the buzziest spot in town for a post-show drink. The bar with its homely living room feel is conveniently placed next to their Italian restaurant Gemma’s and was constantly packed with big name models like Karen Elson, Suki Waterhouse and Poppy Delevingne.
Images: Getty