New York Fashion Show: Fashion Labels That Are Promising

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For a long time New York Fashion Week threatened to fade away next to Paris and Milan. This season, however, young talents showed what great potential lies dormant in American fashion design at the moment – especially with very inclusive and diverse approaches. We present the five most important of them.

Pyer Moss

“I think that few people know that the sound of rock and roll was invented by a queer black woman in a church,” explained Kerby Jean-Raymond after his show, for which he was performed by singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe that became famous in the 1930s and 40s. “I wanted to deal with what this aesthetic could have looked like if its story had been told”. With his label Pyer Moss, Jean-Raymond is much more than a designer, namely: an activist.

His show this season wasn’t just about fashion – rather, the fashion was embedded in a celebration of black culture. It took place in the Kings Theater in Brooklyn, the author Casey Gerald gave a moving speech (“We are here today to hold our wings”) and a 70-person choir sang. The fashion that was then shown: Clearly inspired by the 30s and 40s, but rethought, thought differently, not following the narrative of the story – Kerby Jean-Raymond rewrites history with his fashion. And his voice is more important than ever in times like these.

Chromat

Over time, diversity seems to become more and more natural on the catwalks – or in fashion in general. But does the inclusive principle really stay alive or will it be forgotten? The Chromat label has always played a pioneering role in the fight for diversity in its ten-year history (the show this season celebrated the big anniversary). In every Chromat show, a wide variety of women run – naturally.

Which with small sizes and which with large sizes, with or without cellulite, transgender or cisgender, sporty or untrained, white or black. This season, plus-size superstar Tess Holliday was the star guest, wearing a figure-hugging jersey dress with “Sample Size” printed all over. Each size is ultimately a sample size! This season, designer Becca McCharen-Tran’s inspiration for her collection was NASA, the final frontier of great American thought. How fitting for a pioneer like her who absolutely needs New York Fashion Week.

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Cowgirl

There is a triumvirate behind the Vaquera label: Patric DiCaprio, Claire Sullivan and Bryn Taubensee – all of them are younger than 30 years and therefore very close to what the young generation feels and moves. Often her designs move between a certain sentimentality and unplanned coolness. Showing feelings, being open, honest and transparent, even with the darker side, failure or mistakes, is ultimately considered cool today.

This season, the three of them said they wanted “the feeling of being left hanging”, be it New York, Valentine’s Day or the fashion industry. The Vaquera collection was accordingly romantic and sentimental, but also proud and loud: there were eye-catching ruffles and folds, as well as details such as large bows; but also destructive things like ripped denim or strong things like wide shoulders and suits. Vaquera are so special because their fashion is so emotion-driven, spontaneous. The pinnacle of this in the show this season: A look that consisted of a person-sized heart pillow – made of red glittering sequins.

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LaQuan Smith

The Yeehaw Agenda was – at least in the USA – the most important trend of the summer. Suddenly the stylistic connection between hip hop and country was everywhere, rappers like Cardi B and Lil Nas X made the look popular. It was only a matter of time before designers picked it up, and who could have done it better than LaQuan Smith? For some time now, his always sexually charged designs have been convincing style-defining stars like Kylie Jenner and Rihanna.

The 90s and 00s also always play a not insignificant role in his aesthetics – very contemporary. And how fitting for him to bring the Yeehaw Agenda onto the catwalk, and that meant: chaps and biker jackets with a cowhide pattern, transparent latex dresses, corsets and bodycon dresses made of denim, slit dresses and cowboy hats. LaQuan Smith designs what many young, influential women want to wear.

Staud

First there were the bags: Staud is one of the labels that became famous and successful through Instagram and the specialization in a certain piece. At Staud, it was bucket bags in particular that made the Los Angeles brand famous. Although the label was founded four years ago, designer Sarah Staudinger and her team only started designing ready-to-wear collections this year – this season was the first time in a runway show at New York Fashion Week presents.

Staudinger naturally stayed true to the California vibe, as did certain nuances from the 00s: She designed transparent paisley dresses as well as wrapped leather skirts in midi length, bandeau tops and Capri trousers as well as satin Bermuda shorts. We’ll almost certainly see a lot of these designs appearing on tons of Instagram feeds next summer.