” We’re back ! “ Installed on a soft sofa in the premises of his brand on Madison Avenue, Tommy Hilfiger decrees that New York fashion is back. “The parades are numerous, people on the street are enthusiastic. We American designers in recent years have tended to show overseas: it was time to go home. “ On the fashion map, New York was really on the wing, in slow decline, its creators preferred Paris, London and even Los Angeles.
Not to mention the pandemic that has petrified everything … Now the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the organizing federation of the New York fashion week, which took place from 9 to 14 September, wants to restart the machine, inviting journalists and influencer to discover the eclectic proposals of its designers. Commercial, sparkling bets that make way for the cult of stardom.
Tom Ford’s return to New York was expected. The brand of the Texan designer, whose analysts expect the probable acquisition by the cosmetic giant Estée Lauder, understood that the 2000s were back in vogue. He therefore likes to revive his “porn chic” vocabulary. Her models have all the paraphernalia: the smoky eye, the curled hair, the slenderness that accompanies crystal cowgirl jackets, leather microshorts, split skirts worn very low on the hips, animal prints (leopard, zebra, crocodile), sheaths with sequins, ten centimeter heels and lace lingerie (also for men). A recycling as captivating as it is effective.
Tory Burch goes back to the 90s, the time of her installation in New York. Defender of simple refinement, she paints the portrait of an active woman, between the vernissage, the pilates class and the job interview. The almond green coat slides over her leggings. Then unscrupulous layered tops with peplums, bohemian fabrics with mirror or Indian silk, fluffy skirts, vendor accessories and Calder’s mobile jewelry. The wardrobe of a woman who goes on.
Find vigor: The ambition is the same for different heavyweights. Michael Kors and Coach, two brands that are successful with their bags, need ready-to-wear to acquire nobility and impact. The first tries it with a show with Hispanic influences, with fringed dresses drowned in red, sandals mixed with pierced olé olé dresses. A skilfully executed program, set against the background of The beautiful island on acoustic guitar. “I have spent the last six months traveling: France, Italy, UK, Chicago, South Pacificlists Kors. Now, with the heat, people wear tap shoes in London and dress up in Mallorca or Capri. The city and the beach have never been so merged. “
Stay “young and relevant”
Given that all of his models (including rapper Lil Nas X) wear plastic Medusa shoes, the coach’s Stuart Vevers doesn’t seem to contradict his eldest son. But he strives to wow his audience with his grunge-influenced wardrobe, made of worn sweaters, vintage-looking saddlebags, fisherman’s sweaters made from salvaged materials or patchwork coats.
“I have to stay young, relevant and, for this, surround myself with people who are”, assumes Tommy Hilfiger. For his show under the downpour with an army of celebrities (John Legend, Kris Jenner…), the seventy-year-old revisits his classics, from rugby polo shirts to cardigans. With an extra charge: a collaboration with British designer Richard Quinn, whose universe mixes British kitsch and S&M pleasures – “The future Alexander McQueen”Hilfiger gets carried away. “I don’t usually like floral prints, but Richard’s, in down jackets or trousers, has a pop art dimension. “
In Carolina Herrera, Wes Gordon also explores plants, drawing inspiration from “the most elegant of planters”Bunny Mellon (1910-2014). “I have always been fascinated by his way of combining the practical and the grandiose, of combining garden furniture with a Rothko. With this spirit I tried to work the cotton but having it ennobled by our workshops of drapery and rose-shaped motifs “, He explains. Held in the Plaza Hotel ballroom, this Upper East Side escape takes place to a soundtrack by the stainless Dolly Parton.
“I always design for an independent New York woman who is looking for herself, but I added a poisonous touch”, Catherine Holstein (Khaite)
It is a completely different America that Catherine Holstein explores, in Khaite, that “West: Las Vegas, Arizona, New Mexico. I always design for an independent New York woman looking for herself, but this time I added a poisonous touch “he says, citing the movies Lost highway or pulp Fiction by influence. Her impeccable black and white wardrobe is enriched with a la fringes Showgirlcrystals, snake print or vinyl bags.
Holstein is one of those American designers of minimalist ancestry who seem, this season, to have given themselves a password: sensuality! Thus, from the duo Proenza Schouler with the lace tunics and the devoured dresses with crochet on the chest, or from Gabriela Hearst, who takes over a disused studio in Brooklyn. Strolling through a gospel choir, his models wear gorgeous flared suits and hedonistic knit dresses, embellished with some less convincing surrealist daring, stiff bronze corsets or accordion bags.
But, in this niche, Peter Do remains the most inspired. In a tower with unobstructed views of Lower Manhattan, he evolves a cast – including Korean stars, thanks to a partnership with the powerful talent agency SM Entertainment – with glittering brows. Black sultan pants open along the leg, corset dress with an open back, translucent white jumpsuit, luminous silk linings that escape midnight blue coats, muslin folds and melancholy shades … Do, evoking the death of the father, opens uniform mourning as if to let the light filter through. “Now I want to learn to enjoy the present more”he said after the show, falling, moved, into his mother’s arms.
–
