New York Fashion Week A/W 2016 womenswear editor’s picks
Calvin Klein Collection: Francisco Costa’s Spring Studios presentation explored an urban eroticism of deconstructed tailoring that walked a blurred gender line with plenty of tactile textures. Leather topcoats were finished with furry lapels, while hole punched shift dresses (themselves digital printed from blown up fur pelts) were jewelled with semi precious stones that provided a nature versus futurist vibe. Working in Prince of Wales check, wide leg trousers and deep V-neck dresses with fraying hems, softened the predominately tailored collection that was as polished in execution as it was raw in materials. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Theory: Theory’s seasonless, timeless approach to chic dressing embraced a decidedly luxe turn with a collection made up of streamlined, yet sumptuous pieces that every modern woman would want to wear. Details like fur linings and pleated waterfall collars brought an elevated feel to simple silk shirts and cocoon-like bomber jackets, while billowing culottes and slender, languid trench coats tapped into a mood that’s just so now
M2Malletier: The Barcelona-based handbag label M2Malletier found a suitable temporary home in DDG’s almost complete Xoco apartment building in Soho this week. Adding to its architectural line of handbags and backpacks, the design savvy brand introduced a new double-bar version of its cult bag style for added elegance, and a large envelope clutch too
Oscar de la Renta: Peter Copping continues the genteel, lady-like polish at the house of Oscar de la Renta, where not a speck of street grit or lazy footwear could be found. His hallowed ladies sauntered by in plateau-front stiletto heels and prim hourglass silhouettes buffered with vertical boning, harking back to a time when sitting up straight was the mark of a well-bred woman
Delpozo: Creative director Josep Font took notes from the German expressionist Fritz Lang’s 1927 film, ‘Metropolis’, to create his Victorian/futurist femme fatales. Holographic mesh and metallic embroidery gave extra impact to the label’s sculptural silhouettes, which this season included bustier jumpsuits, sculptural miniskirts and balloon-sleeved shirts and coats. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Rodarte: Let there be light! The Mulleavy girl’s Bureau Betak designed set with their now signature fluorescent tube lights was intermixed with a concrete jungle of building debris and flowering poppies for A/W. Videography: Antonio Camera
Jil Sander Navy: A master class in layering lay in wait at Jil Sander Navy’s A/W 2016 presentation. Combining sophistication and ease, the garments themselves were also infused with different volumes, such as oversized pockets on a v-necked dress and sturdy pleating on structured denim skirts. With refined knitwear adding softness and architectural tailoring bringing structure, this is the new uniform that we’re all going to want to wear
Coach: Stuart Vevers continued his patchworked approach at Coach for A/W with shearling and leather jackets featuring a checkerboard of snakeskin, matt and metallic leather, snipped into geometric shapes. Bib ruffled checked shirts and psychedelic Pucci-inspired minis further brought home the collection’s retro ride. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Maiyet: The artisan-focused, socially minded label Maiyet reaped the benefits of having creative director Declan Kearney at the helm this season. Citing the interiors of architects John Lautner and Carlo Mollino as inspiration, the sensual collection combined mid-century silhouettes with luxurious treated fabrics to elegant effect. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Scotch & Soda: For its NYFW debut, the Amsterdam brand walked to a tribal beat with its nomad, ‘Wondrous Wanderers’ collection. From the Silk Road to the Scottish Highlands via the rocky outcrops of Tibet creative director Marlou van Engelen’s autumn edit drew together a rich tapestry of colours and textures that wrap the collection’s blanket coats, tribal vests and soft, blouson dresses
Tommy Hilfiger: The New Yorker had us ship wrecked on a Titanic-sized ocean liner christened ’TH Atlantic’. Videography: Antonio Camera
Thom Browne: The avant-garde designer’s fluffy doggy bags were just asking to be walked around his garden square set that came complete with park benches, lamp posts and moist soil under foot. Photography: Antonio Camera
Zero + Maria Cornejo: Maria Cornejo’s label Zero has always respected a natural flow with its cocoon silhouettes and avoidance of unnecessary embellishments. For A/W 2016, protective, cosy pieces like long haired alpaca coats, funnel-necked jumpers in eco-conscious cashmere and kimono wrap dresses exuded an avant-garde, nomadic feel that took direct inspiration from nature. Apart from being rendered in an earthy palette of pine, dusty olive and sandy blush, the collection focused on natural textures and patterns, such blurred grids, fractured ice and simple blanket stripes. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Opening Ceremony: Always one to keep one eye on the future, Opening Ceremony teamed up with Syd Mead, the legendary artist responsible for sci-fi favourites such as Blade Runner, Tron, and Aliens, to use a selection of his iconic artworks from the Eighties screen-printed on pieces in the collection. These images included a 1980 rendering of hydroponic agriculture in space and a vision of Los Angeles in 2013, as considered in 1988. Staged on a pier in the Hudson River, the show’s setting itself seemed to replicate the imagery in real life, with inflatable spaceships suspended in the air of the nostalgic, carpeted setting as models circled around
Hood By Air: Show notes in the shape of a boarding pass might have hinted that a journey was in store at Hood By Air’s show, but there was no preparing us for the trip that the edgy label took its audience on. With references ranging from straight jackets to Victorian collars and ruffles, and patent leather thigh high boots, the label’s individualistic, club-kid oriented ethos was certainly untempered for autumn. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Brooks Brothers: Zac Posen’s second season as creative director of Brooks Brothers’ women’s collection saw a remixing of proportions for a refreshed, classic look. In addition to camel hair coats and slim, fitted suits, the collection included a smattering of evening looks, including a velvet gown, a sumptuous brocade coat and sharply tailored tuxedos
Alexander Wang: Presented within New York’s Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Alexander Wang served up a somewhat unholy collection that rocked out shrunken tweed skirt suits, preppy corduroy, blocky prison stripes and lashings of pierced leather. Marijuana leaf cuts-outs completed the counter-culture excursion. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
M Martin: Inspired by vintage Seventies street photography, the minimalist label paired softly sculpted suiting and menswear-inspired pieces with bold textures, such as crushed velvet, mohair and cashmere, in a nostalgic palette of mustard, moss, terracotta and brown
Derek Lam: A broad, striped carpeted interior set a cosy tone for Derek Lam’s decidedly feminine collection. Graphic prints such as painterly lines, houndstooth and gestural crosshatch patterns gave girlish staples like hourglass shapes, round-collar jackets and pinafore dresses an extra oomph
Baja East: This show went from earthy hued, cashmere ribbed knitwear and khaki military garb finished with peace symbols, to ‘Baja Babe’ 1990s monograms blinged out with thick gold chains in a flash of retro rebellion by designers Scott Studenberg and John Targon. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Lacoste: The brand’s retro vibe was in full swing for autumn with a collection that paid tribute to the nostalgic chalet vibe of the 1980s. Designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista imbued slope-side mainstays such as velvet leggings, shearling jackets and quilted tracksuits with hidden functions: mittens disappeared into sleeves, panels zipped off to allow different lengths for coats and scarves revealed hoods within their folds. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Claudia Li: Former womenswear designer for JW Anderson, Claudia Li is set to establish a name of her own with her complex, yet easy-to-wear A/W 2016 collection. Inspired by the idea of self-preservation, Li embraced cocoon-like silhouettes, origami folds and multiple layers of fabric. Finished with elaborate knotted details and expressing a deft use of fabrics, this collection was elevated comfort dressing at its best
Trademark: Inspired by the American West and the 1970s’ Arts and Crafts movement, Trademark’s autumn collection saw prairie dresses, pinafore shapes, multi-coloured tweed coats and fringed leather moccasins all get a contemporary twist
Protagonist: It’s an exciting time for Protagonist. The label’s latest collection (its 7th) inaugurates the arrival of its new design director, Georgia Lazzaro, who previously logged time at Narcisco Rodriguez and Calvin Klein. Under Lazzaro’s hand, Protagonist takes on the sculptural forms of vintage couture while continuing to embrace the utilitarian ideals of American sportswear. Slender, masculine shapes are combined with cashmere, fluid crepe and clinging jersey to imbue a undeniable sense of beauty to the everyday