With unprecedented introspection threatening to turn more than the clothes inside out, New York Fashion Week heralded the start of a new season. Fewer eyeballs would turn towards fewer designers and fewer bodies draped and distended in space, with much of the week composed virtually as fashion strains to fit inside the new normal.
At the end of February designers, models, celebrities and assorted hangers-on hotfooted from Milan to Paris just as Lombardy found itself in the first throes of coronavirus. In Milan, Giorgio Armani brought down the curtain in front of an empty theatre, but Paris remained du monde even as face masks were increasingly de rigueur. What followed was a fallow period, as global lockdowns gave fashion time to reflect on some longstanding issues: sustainability, excess travel, and industry churn as the demands of runway shows and department stores throw seasons out of whack, leaving an unseemly trail of fraying and frazzled designers.
Alessandro Michele announced that Gucci would reduce its number of annual shows from five to two, joined by brands like Saint Laurent equally keen to reset the clock and foster a little breathing space amid the hectic fashion calendar. The summer months collided menswear with haute couture or took conspicuous steps towards gender-neutral, as weeks in London and Paris went digital with virtual shows, podcasts, interviews, and panel discussions, cinematic shorts, and celebrity collaborations.
Not quite business as usual then heading into New York, for the first major showcase of spring/summer collections. With most designers opting for digital presentations, there were no celebrities adorning front rows and no street style fashionistas. Even the major names in American fashion were missing out, from Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, and Michael Kors to Oscar de la Renta, Tory Burch, and Proenza Schouler, while the CFDA set up the Runway360 platform to capture the virtual stragglers. But a few hardy souls still strove valiantly to present their wares in person, taking to the Spring Studios rooftop in TriBeCa.
It was there that Jason Wu, a favourite designer of Michelle Obama, opened New York Fashion Week, with caftans, tailored shorts, and loose-fitting slacks, light jazz and a tropical setting. Harlem’s Fashion Row kicked off the online presentations with a celebratory event upon the theme ‘Black Is the New Black’, featuring celebrity stylists and haberdashers like Jason Rembert and Dapper Dan, with designs from Kimberly Goldson, Richfresh, and Kristian Lorén.
Amid rapid tests and masks, New York City-based Monse ascended the Spring Studios rooftop for a cocktail party replete with leftover fall coats and tantalising resort wear. Bronx and Banco, Rebecca Minkoff, and LaQuan Smith also scaled the perilous heights of in-person presentation for shows featuring boho-chic, head wraps, and cut-out dresses.
Striped essentials brand La Ligne made their fashion week debut by way of a poetry reading with the Lower Eastside Girls Club at La Plaza Cultural. And while Tom Ford showed a lookbook full of florals and animal print, Christian Siriano brought frivolity to his Connecticut lawn, with a show that climaxed with a pool dive from a pregnant Coco Rocha.
