New York Fashion Week is back with a jam-packed schedule featuring over 100 brands showing across five and a half days—that’s half-a-day longer than last season! There will be traditional runways, appointment-only viewings, “immersive experiences,” and enough dinners to almost make up for two pandemic years of barely going out.
What are we looking out for here at Vogue Runway? Fendi and Marni are sure to make waves, but they aren’t the only out-of-towners on the schedule. Newcomers and returning labels have caught our attention too. We’re particularly pleased to see Narciso Rodriguez’s name back in the mix—for sure we’ll be shopping his new collection at Zara. And don’t miss Vogue World on September 12! The first-of-its-kind runway show and street fair will feature looks from Balenciaga, Dior, Gucci, Valentino, Burberry, and a host of New York designers. Find out how to buy a ticket here or watch the livestream on Vogue.com and the Vogue Runway app. See you at the shows!
The Italians Are Coming!
New York Fashion Week will be more international than ever, with not one, but two major Italian houses bringing collections to the Big Apple. First up at the Hammerstein Ballroom on September 9 is Fendi. Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi are coming to town to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the label’s iconic Baguette bag—the one every would-be It girl in America wanted after its starring role in a Sex and the City episode. If Fendi’s recent runways are any indication, we might be seeing a few bonafide It girls in the crowd, and on the runway. The following night, Marni’s Francesco Risso is staging another one of his happenings with his collaborators Babak Radboy and Dev Hynes in Brooklyn. “Being in New York means to me the world, as I have lived and I am living the most memorable moments of my life here,” Risso said this weekend. “With the Marni family, we’re in New York to celebrate the pulse of the city and to try to catch the sublimity of a moment of pause—like a sunset and a sunrise.”—Nicole Phelps
Fashion for All (No, Really)
In the past few years, the fashion industry has made strides towards inclusiveness. Although it’s now almost the norm to see models of diverse races, bodies, and gender presentations on the runway, one community that remains underrepresented is people with disabilities. This season, two events will aim to turn the tide. The Double Take fashion show on September 8 is the result of a collaboration between Open Style Lab, an organization dedicated to creating functional, wearable solutions for people of all abilities, and the spinal muscular atrophy community. Andrea Saieh, an Open Style Lab 2022 Fellow, whose work will be featured in the show, adapted a purple velvet suit for author Shane Burcaw, who has SMA and uses a power wheelchair. “I added an invisible zipper down the back of the jacket for easier dressing, and stretch panels at the elbows to accommodate bending,” Saieh explained. “Matching custom-made velvet pants have two layers—a comfortable L-shaped base and an interchangeable cover that goes on top.” On September 12, the Runway of Dreams Foundation will return to NYFW for its seventh year, and will feature adaptive fashion from Tommy Hilfiger, Target, and Zappos, among others. With brands like Gucci also putting disability inclusion at the forefront, how long until the rest of the industry follows suit? We’ll be watching.—Laia Garcia-Furtado
Los Angeles Calling
If you follow the LA creative and music scene, odds are you’ve heard of Shane Gonzales, at 27, a true multi-hyphenate whose skills include designing, DJing, and artistic direction. In 2014, he started Midnight Studios, a menswear label rooted in music and youth culture, which he re-launched in February after a brief coffee break. Since then, the collection has been worn by everyone from Madonna to Rihanna to A$AP Rocky (with whom Gonzales often collaborates). Cindy Crawford sported a t-shirt he worked on with Off-White at that brand’s fall 2022 show. Now, Gonzales is coming to New York Fashion Week on September 14. “I’ve always been inspired by music, and that’s something that I’ve carried through to Midnight Studios since the beginning,” Gonzales said. His show will include a collaboration with HIM (his favorite band when he was a nine-year-old). “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” he said, “and I’m very excited to share what my team and I have been working on.”—José Criales-Unzueta
The New Labels Baring It All
On the subject of LA, it may be time to say goodbye to the stereotypical all-black New York uniform, with a new crop of labels bringing their characteristic West Coast-influenced, Instagram-friendly aesthetics to our concrete jungle runways. The Beyoncé-approved designer Mia Vesper is making her official New York Fashion Week debut on September 11, after having also dressed the likes of Pete Davidson and Machine Gun Kelly. Based in New York, Vesper works from vintage and upcycled materials to create signature corset tops and unisex separates that nod to the Y2K era. Lionne’s Latoia Fitzgerald is also new to the schedule. The LA designer’s sleek tailoring and blazers with artful cutouts are favorites of stars like Karrueche Tran, Cassie, and Camila Coelho. Former stylist Marcelo Gaia launched Mirror Palais in 2019 and immediately made a splash with a flirty aesthetic influenced by his Brazilian heritage. The brand famously played a key role in Kylie Jenner’s second pregnancy reveal. Will these three fashion week newcomers inspire NYC to show some more skin?—L.G-F.
Look Who’s Back
All eyes will be on the international brands and new-to-the-calendar names crowding up the schedule, but don’t count out returning designers! Gauntlett Cheng’s last show season was spring 2020, a collection the likes of Arca, Julia Fox, and Chloë Grace Moretz all wore for performances or editorials. “We wore our last collection for three years and got to really spend time with the clothes,” Esther Gauntlett and Jenny Cheng wrote via email. “We watched our friends wear our archive and saw how the clothes came to life on them. It was a real luxury to be able to step back and see the things that work and be able to build off that.” The plan for now is to proceed slowly; they’d like to try showing just once a year. Priscavera’s Franchetti stepped back from shows during the pandemic, too. “The lockdown was a time for me to regroup and think in a deeper way about the kind of ongoing dialogue I have with my customer,” she said, emphasizing that she wanted to take time before returning to the runway, “because some lessons learned I feel needed to really sink in.” Franchetti’s collections have since become more focused and feel more idiosyncratic, which the off-center and arguably funny lookbooks used to show the collections have helped highlight. A–Company’s Sara Lopez, who skipped the runway last season in favor of a quieter release, said that while developing her upcoming collection “the show started to render itself alongside the clothing, and it seemed impossible to avoid creating it.” Expect a collection featuring Lopez’s signature additive design lexicon and downtown cool at Abrons Art Center underground theater.—J.C-U.
COS and Effect
If you never in a million years expected to hear COS and grunge in the same sentence, you’re not alone. The H&M owned minimal-leaning label, which is sometimes jokingly referred to as “the poor woman’s Céline,” will be presenting its first-ever runway show, and phygital experience, in the Big Apple. “We wanted to give the collection a new tone in styling, so it’s a little bit more grungy,” explains creative director Karin Gustafsson. Don’t expect a dark or nostalgic lineup though; COS has focused on the layering aspect of the popular ’90s style, and, from the sound of it, leaned on some shiny, happy rave energy by way of a neon bright palette as a way to celebrate new beginnings. Says Gustafsson: “We just felt that the colors, and the creative community [in New York], and the place in itself is perfect.”—Laird Borrelli-Persson
So, What’s Puma Doing at New York Fashion Week?
.JPG)
On September 13, Puma will present “Futrograde,” an immersive runway show that the sportswear brand is billing as an opportunity to rediscover its “sport fashion vision” through a “future-forward classic” concept that will tap into nostalgia and reimagine it for 2023 and beyond. A tall order! Curated by stylist and Puma Creative Director June Ambrose, the show will feature men’s and women’s collections with remixed retro signatures, collaborations (from the likes of Dapper Dan, Palomo, and Koché), and custom pieces, all worn by a cast that will include athletes and celebrities from the Puma family. The show will also include a digital experience designed to establish the brand in the web3 space. About the show, Ambrose said in a press release that she is “excited about the audience’s perception of how we are presenting the idea of ‘a future-forward classic,’” and that she hopes the concept will challenge the audience to be “creative with their present, as they forecast what’s next.”—J.C-U.
The All-Important Sophomore Show: Two Designers on Facing Up to Their Second Runways
Ever heard of the sophomore slump? It happens when a second effort fails to live up to the high standards set by the first. Spring 2023 will see two on-the-rise talents put on their sophomore shows: 2021 CFDA Emerging Designer of the Year winner Evin Thompson of Theophilio and 2022 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Elena Velez. So, how are they avoiding this particular pitfall? Thompson is preparing a collection that will “revisit his approach to fashion and art in the early 2000s”–it seems like a healthy dose of nostalgia and on-trend self-referencing is in the cards. Velez, on her end, said, “I’ve never felt, nor acknowledged any sort of pressure from the industry to meet fashion week expectations, my own are impossible enough.” Overseeing a runway production is grueling, “physically, mentally, socially, financially.” But this season she said, “I’m lucky enough to have the finances and the visibility to afford the privilege of running myself ragged on another spectacle d’horreur.” Sounds promising to me!—J.C-U.
Thursday Night Supper Club
Everyone agrees that the energy in the city feels different this season. (We don’t want to say that “NYFW is back” because where did it ever go? But NYFW is back!) For proof we have to look no further than the three competing dinners by European labels happening this Thursday night on the eve of the shows. Bottega Veneta is holding court at the New York institution The Strand, reinforcing Matthieu Blazy’s vision for the brand as one for the intellectuals (and those of us who haven’t read a book in a year but have a continually growing “to read” pile on our desks). Fittingly, The Attico’s Giorgia Tordini and Gilda Ambrosio are having their dinner in the cooler-than-cool, impossible-to-get-a-reservation, red velvet-covered, piano-and-martini mecca The Nines. It’s an apt backdrop for the Italian duo’s wildly colorful dresses. Farthest downtown, Isabel Marant will be celebrating her new flagship store on Madison Avenue, by holding an exclusive dinner at The Fulton, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s first seafood restaurant located at Pier 17. This will be Marant’s 66th store worldwide, but we’re certain the dinner will be one-of-kind.—L.G-F.
Meet Me In the Bathroom (at the OC Party)
Opening Ceremony is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year by releasing trademark collaborations with some of our favorite designers (Peter Do and Luar, so far!), but if there’s another thing that Carol Lim and Humberto León are known for, it’s throwing a great party. Their celebration on September 8—yes, another Thursday night event—promises to be the happening of the week. With an insane lineup of performers (Papi Juice! Bubble T! Kevin Aviance!) it’ll be the perfect place to run into old friends, make new ones, and get revved up for the months ahead.—L.G-F.
The Off-Calendar Names to Know
According to the CFDA, more designers than ever requested calendar spots. There’s 101 names on the official schedule, as opposed to 82 in February and 90 last September. There’s plenty more showing off-calendar, of course. Among them are the eveningwear pro Cucculelli Shaheen, the downtown darlings behind SC103, and newcomers Nguyen Inc by Kim Nguyen and Bad Binch Tong Tong by Terrence Zhou–who has already dressed Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde, and Camila Cabello. Nguyen launched a small offering of upcycled tees during the pandemic that were an instant hit. “I actually didn’t intend on making so many upcycled tees!” she said, “but as soon as I put them on my website, they sold out quickly and people kept requesting them and that was what I could afford to continue to do at the time.” So, is she anxious about her first NYFW show? Not really, she’s been at this since she was 14 and in high school. “I set up a meeting with the principal to convince him to let me do it, which wasn’t an easy feat since I went to one of the biggest public schools in Houston. I bought dresses from thrift stores to make new ones out of. I bought a roll of brown paper and duct- taped it down to the gym floor as the runway. For this next step,” she continued, “no one told me to do it, I just decided that I was going to make it happen—the same way I’ve always done.”—J.C-U.
The Return of the Minimalists
This season sees the return of beloved designers known for their practical, minimal clothes returning to the runway. Former Lanvin menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver will be showing his first capsule collection for Theory, a collection of clothes for men and women driven by wearability and ease. To make his point, the Theory Project by Lucas Ossendrijver presentation will showcase dance performances choreographed by the likes of Kyle Abraham, Heidi Duckler Dance, Rashaun Mitchell, and Silas Reiner. Meanwhile, the great Narciso Rodríguez has created a collection for the Spanish behemoth Zara based on 25 archival pieces spanning his illustrious career, including a slip dress from his days at Cerruti. This is a Y2K revival we can get behind.—L.G-F.
And On the Subject of Collaborations…
It wouldn’t be fashion week without them! We’re looking forward to Collina Strada’s collaboration with Unspun’s 3D-printed and custom-made jeans, and Willy Chavarria’s take on Chicano style staples Dickies and Pro Club. And for those who can’t wait until next spring, Rentreyage will be unveiling their collaboration with Madewell, available to shop on September 29. Better start saving up now!—L.G-F.
