Why New York Fashion Week left its mark

New York's street style was as extravagant, ingenious and creative as ever, and already set the tone for the fall/winter 2023 season even before the New York Fashion Week shows began. The day before the opening, Anna Wintour and Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), celebrated the arrival of Thom Browne as president, previously held by Tom Ford and Diane Von Furstenberg.

Rodarte, the Californian label, had the honor of inaugurating the official calendar, which included 74 shows and presentations, featuring the regulars Altuzarra, Carolina Herrera, Coach and Collina Strada. On the catwalk, Heron Preston, Kate Carton and Koltson walked in New York for the first time, while the big names of American fashion such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein were not. Many designers have emerged, supported by the common fund of the CFDA and Vogue and have made the American fashion week a real laboratory of creative talents.

In a few months, the buzz of no pants has made a tidal wave on social networks. After the black tights with a bodysuit worn by Kylie Jenner at the Loewe Spring-Summer 2023 show in Paris last September, or a photo posted on Instagram by Kendall Jenner in black opaque tights liked by almost 8 million people, the no pants trend has reached 55 million views on TikTok. Influencers and celebrities then followed their steps. On the New York catwalks, designers naturally picked up on this new trend. Emily Ratajkowski closed the Jonathan Simkhai show dressed simply in a black and white XXL blazer, a jacket made of crystals decorated with the Simkhai monogram. At Prabal Gurung, the fall winter 2023 collection revealed several silhouettes without pants. A silk polka dot blouse cut at the sternum level worn with only black panties made a splash at the New York Public Library. Likewise with an ultra fluid and deconstructed red satin maxi dress. At the Dion Lee show, held at Dumbo in Brooklyn under the Manhattan Bridge, the no pants looks were combined with boots or thigh-high boots.

Thom Brown, who hadn't walked the runway in New York since September 2021, was back after his appointment as president of the CFDA. A runway covered in sand, with an airplane in the middle… the staging offered a spectacular set around the theme of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Little Prince at the Shed, the cultural center within Hudson Yards. Gabriella Hearst, Chloé's artistic director since 2020, presented woven leather coats and sober suits, inspired by the architect Eileen Gray. Laquan Smith decided to show his collection at the Rainbow room, one of the trendiest places in the city. Another moment to remember, the actress Chloë Sevigny, 48 years was back on the catwalk for the Proenza Schouler show. A sexy look that was very noticed: long leather skirt, thigh-high boots and belted blazer.

On the first day of Fashion Week, the Collina Strada show held in Soho made a sensation with its models dressed as pigs, ducks, rhinoceroses created by the British makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench. The voluntary strangeness of the looks of Hillary Taymour, designer of the label whose goal is to encourage reflection through its clothes, also struck the minds. Title of the collection? "Please don't eat my friends!"

At Rodarte, the brand of the Californian sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, on their return to New York, offered a gothic show in the Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower, an iconic building in Brooklyn. The models paraded around a huge table with tablecloths, dishes and silver candlesticks.

The New York Fashion Week had certainly taken a noticeable lead on how to show the new languages of fashion, before the London Fashion Week, which opened in the wake, on great shows and super popular.