New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is once again taking the fashion world by storm. And these Spring/Summer 2024 looks are piping hot!
Just as NYFW comes to a close, here are some of our favourite highlights from the week.
Helmut Lang
Officially kickstarting NYFW is the highly anticipated debut of Peter Do for Helmut Lang. Titled ‘Born To Go’, Do excited the audience for a new era for Helmut Lang.
The show opened with an essay reading by author. Ocean Vuong that expresses the queer experience through the motif of a car; and the freedom that it offers its driver to hide from the world and “be more than what are allowed to be inside it.”
From this metaphor, the collection manifests from cars as the pivotal point in his approach. It’s a predominately neutral colour palette. The pieces also feature slashes of colour such as a striking yellow and pink stripe that reflects a seat belt strap.
The poetic words of Vuong come alive in more pieces of the collection. A reversed button-down shirt displays bold black text reading statements like “Your car was my first room” and “Our clothes on the floor like stepped-on flowers.”
The show followed an androgynous shape with Do keeping the pieces approachable. “I just want to make clothes,” he said. “I always like the idea of having something in your wardrobe that would last you a lifetime, passed down through generations,” he says.
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren makes a glamorous NYFW comeback after a four-year hiatus! And now, it rewrites romance in an unassuming warehouse.
The veteran designer, now 83, transformed a warehouse at the Brooklyn Navy Yard into a version of his Colorado property. It is in this location was a collection that exuded classic Lauren styles, championing personal style rather than jumping on the latest trends.
“My Spring 2024 women’s collection is about a new kind of romance. Cool and sophisticated,” says Lauren.
Showcasing signature polos styled over tulle skirts, relaxed daywear, and dazzling embroidery, Lauren further describes the collection as a mirror of “the stories of the woman I design for whose individuality and artistic spirit are a canvas for her own self-expression.”
This is exemplified through the collection’s closing look of a shimmering gold gown featuring a cape and one open shoulder. The collection was a definite example of Lauren’s high status as a leading American designer.
Grace Ling
This week, nyfw welcomed some new faces, one of these being Grace Ling. Her debut brought us into her futuristic robo-chic world.
Her sexy and mysterious looks were made with zero-waste 3D printing, resulting in show stopping metallic pieces that blur the lines between fashion and art.
The show notes read that Ling’s pieces honed in on the “study of the relationship between human anatomy and objects.”
This was highlighted through quirky metal structures that pierced through the clothing and clasps that acted like daggers digging into the models. Her collection also included a variety of nylon and viscose ombre dresses that seductively revealed and concealed the body flatteringly.
“For this collection, I was inspired by Hieronymus Bosch and his painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights” and I’ve been wanting to do a collection about it for a long time…I think my style is the perfect balance between sensuality and formality. I think it’s a multifaceted woman,” she says.
With the success from her very first Fashion Week show, it is clear that Grace Ling has a very bright future ahead for her future fashion projects.
Collina Strada
Titled, “Soft is Hard”, creative director Hillary Taymour introduces you to the eerily joyful smiles of the Collina Strada collection.
The pieces are bright and dainty with various floral motifs, tie-dyed slip dresses, pastel-colored corseted gowns, and see-through lace getups draped perfectly.
What really stole the show was the beaming models who presented the pieces As models beamed from ear to ear and danced down the runway.
While their faces looked somewhat goofy, Taymour had a purpose behind such a comical sight.
“As we grin and bear the excruciating present, in which the world burns and reproductive, trans, and general human rights are under threat, we summon the strength of radical softness,” she says.
The collection is not just about clothing but a recognition of underrepresented communities, Collina Strada looked to stand for marginalised voices through universally-feminine fashion, offering a reminder of the “power in the pretty” and the “grit in the girly.”
Coach
This fashion week is a special one for Coach; as it celebrate its 10th anniversary of creative director Stuart Vevers joining the brand.
Coach’s collection celebrated skin and sheer fabrics with leather, lace, and see-through knits taking centre stage. Models wear sheer dresses layered atop neutral undergarments. It’s a very unique take on nightwear and outerwear.
The show took on an unexpected turn when PETA protestors crashed the runway. One protestor walking onto the runway holding a poster reading “Coach Leather Kills”. Another walked with the same phrase painted on their body.
Despite the interruption, Coach was able to present their playful collection in the New York Public Library’s Celeste Bartos Forum.
“Spring is a tribute to the way today’s generation is writing their own story through fashion, and The New York Public Library instinctually felt like the perfect backdrop to unveil this next chapter,” says Vevers.
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