From left to right: Adam Selman, Mara Hoffman, Tibi, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Creatures of Comfort, Ulla Johnson.
Photos from Vogue.com. Collage made by me.
This season's NYFW was really important, guys. So important that it actually caught my eye on the first day, unlike last season's where I got to researching shows and writing very brief (and subpar) reviews three days after fashion week ended, where I only wrote the post because I felt it was my duty as a fashion blogger to do so (and I didn't even get to the other three fashion weeks!!!). I could just blame the wonder on the new political climate of our country, which forces politically active designers to make anti-Trump statements through their collections, like the finale at Prabal Gurung:
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Yes, this sudden turn to politics that used to not be incorporated in fashion (even though fashion is always more than fashion) may be half the reason why I fell in love with clothes all over again this New York Fashion Week, but the connections dug deeper than the political statements; the love for smaller designers emerging from the shadows grew fonder. I didn't include any big-name designers like Alexander Wang or Marc Jacobs in my biannual show reviews, and maybe it was because the two collections were a bit underwhelming compared to their previous seasons, but it was also because I wanted to include those designers who don't necessarily get the spotlight. They were just that good.
We'll start with a newer face:
Fairly new (and female!) designer Ulla Johnson eased the transition into Trump's presidency not with blatant mottos of feminism, but with lush fabrics, heavy knits, and loads of pants and shin-grazing hemlines. Politics weren't obvious in the clothes, but the designer is obviously political, where she designed shirts with We Are All Immigrants sprawled across the top. Knowing this allows us to realize her collection still fit in with this activism in the subtlest of ways. A rose color scheme combined with frilly silhouettes and pink roses, of all flowers, surrounding the runway created a 21st century Eden that instead praises femininity and women. Fight for feminism with femininity. Try saying that ten times fast.
More obvious collections strutted down the runway, one of them including Creatures of Comfort, a brand I fell in love with last season but wish I had years before. We Are All Human Beings printed on a few tops make the obvious even more obvious, but the rest of the collection still carried a sense of flashy glamping--glitter turtlenecks, utility overalls, layers that seem more than necessary, and hemlines that don't creep above the shin, coming in the forms of frocks, relaxed trousers, and a-line midi skirts. Those velvet slides paired with glitter socks make camping seem strangely exciting.
Business professional was all the rage on Tibi's runway (another new name on Fractured Aesthetic!), where suits took several different forms and make a 9-5 job look, well, cool. This could be an indirect shoutout to #pantsuitnation, but if these weren't the designer's intentions, I still would love to hop on the blazer train. Velvet pantsuits, plaid blazer and skirt sets (Dana Scully, anyone?), and modest hemlines (are we seeing a recurring trend?) filled the runway, and Amy Smilovic knew just how to make these timeless pieces not boring--neon shoes in lush fabrics, ruffles to make those midi and maxi dresses more fun, and neck protectors not connected to the rest of the bodice, kind of like those convertible turtlenecks from Madewell. What a cool way to make your day job look like an actually fun 40+ hour week!!!
3.1 Phillip Lim created a collection just in time for Valentine's day, or maybe the excessive amount of pink was meant to represent girl power in light of recent events. Either way, the collection represented a sort of romance, similar to Ulla Johnson's, but in a flashier manner with asymmetric hemlines, chunky knits seen here and there, and fishnet tops layered underneath t-shirts and leather bodices. This kind of romance definitely took a feminist approach, with baggy pantsuits (a trend this season, perhaps?) replacing thigh-grazing skirts. So maybe the collection was meant to represent empowerment, because who doesn't feel a massive amount of female agency when oversized pants can still be fashionable?
This is the third time (in a row) that I've included Adam Selman on my NYFW show reviews, so does this mean he's officially my favorite New York-based designer? His Fall collection could definitely make that statement a fact. This is also the third time in this collection of reviews that romanticism was played with in a show, similar to Ulla Johnson and 3.1 Phillip Lim, but done in a completely different manner--not rosy, not flashy, but in a feminist goth way, where sheer fabrics met floral embroidery and leather and denim were common materials seen on the runway. The rose motif softened the biker-chic theme that Selman was working with, but the thorns on the roses were revealed through the somewhat gritty collection that included Chucks, denim jumpsuits, and an actual bouquet of roses acting as a top that was more grotesque than romantic. Selman always knows how to make a statement, with '90s grunge driving his Fall 2016 collection, disco driving his Spring 2017 collection, and the ugly side of romanticism (Edgar Allen Poe, anyone?) driving his newest collection. This load of contradictions is actually sort of beautiful, no?
In the past, I've always closed my reviews with my favorite show of the week, and this has usually been about the clothes--I closed Fall 2016's PFW with Valentino because the ballet-inspired collection spoke to me on a completely new level. But with Mara Hoffman, it was hardly about the clothes, and her show proved the statement I made earlier in this post, that fashion is always more than fashion. This fashion week has allowed designers to speak up about the current political situation going on in America because NYFW attracts so many important viewers, so what an amazing way to spread the word! Hoffman jumped in on this activism and went all out, having the national co-chairs of the Women's March on Washington give a tear-jerking speech right before the clothes were revealed. Then the actual show began, showcasing a mix of models and contemporary dancers (representing all races, ethnicities, ages, and gender identities!) wearing Hoffman's overly simplistic and comfortable collection that can actually breathe, something I've wanted to see in a fashion ever since Spring 2017 of NYFW happened. The combination of walking and dancing of the models (which you can watch here to get the real experience) told us that these clothes are clothes we can move in, can dance in, can be activists in. Comfy layering combined with shapeless dresses, knits in every form, and pants we can do extensions in filled the runway, and dancers proved that these clothes could actually move by moving their bodies to feminist anthems and chants of spoken word that gives a shoutout to female empowerment. There's been an argument floating around that fashion shows including models walking in the clothes is necessary to show how the clothes move on our bodies, but dancing in them is even more effective--maybe this should be a new requirement for fashion week (remember Opening Ceremony from Spring 2016?).
Check back in the next few weeks for reviews from LFW, MFW, and PFW.
See all of my show reviews from previous seasons here.
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