New York Fashion Week A/W 2017 womenswear editor’s picks
Coach: From gas stations to railway tracks, the runway sets that British designer Stuart Vevers creates for Coach reflect his own exploration of American history. For A/W 2017, the designer imagined a dusty prairie landscape, with models sporting equestrian and floral print smock dresses, jumbo-plaid jackets and snuggly fur hats.
M Martin: Hillary Clinton may have lost the US presidential election, but M Martin still used the politician and her suit as a starting point to explore the notion of female empowerment through Clinton, and other strong women like Loulou de la Falaise, Oprah Winfrey and Meryl Streep. What Jennifer Noyes and Alex Gilbert came up with was their version of the power suit — stylish, yet relaxed with a tie belt — and a number of comfy chic separates, like their signature pyjama tops, wide legged trousers, crisp white shirts and graphic dresses. Photography: Hans Neumann
Rosie Assoulin: It was all about volume, shape and form in Rosie Assoulin’s A/W 2017 collection, inspired by furniture, and the feeling of being at home. Colourful flower patches embellished sheer dresses, while others featured delicate pressed flowers and smiley-face stickers pressed between two layers of silk.
Public School: Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne’s politically charged collection featured baseball caps and sweaters emblazoned with the slogan ‘Make America New York’. The resistant offering also incorporated imaginative silhouettes and fabrications, from deconstructed pinstripe tailoring to layered puffer jackets, patchwork paisley print to rich plaids. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Self-Portrait: Designer Han Chong’s A/W 2017 woman is confident, assured, and quick witted, just as many females who live in New York City are. That woman wears a velvet Le Smoking tuxedo, and loves to wear ruffles, so Chong chose to put them on velvet rompers, lace tops and sexy dresses. That attitude was also seen in Self-Portrait’s collaboration with shoe designer Robert Clergerie. A chunky-heeled, pointed boot with cut outs and straps wrapped around the ankle, sealed with leather buckles. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Rag & Bone: Rag & Bone eschewed a runway show to present it’s A/W 2017 collection, for an exhibition celebrating 15 years in the business that included portraits of friends of the brand. Shot by longtime collaborator Glen Luchford and Frank Lebon, the images included CFDA president and CEO Steven Kolb, dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Kate Moss, modeling a collection of timeless basics, that included a merino wool crew neck sweater, a fur-collared camouflage flight jacket, a red plaid skirt and a camel overcoat.
R13: Designer Chris Leba continued to tell the story of his grunge girl through the lens of his masculine muse, Kurt Cobain. Leba took the floral-print slip dress, a staple of the 90’s, and morphed it, plunging the neckline into a deep V, layered with a collared button-up shirt styled backwards. He added a modern take and exaggerated the sleeves on other grunge basics — oversized sweaters, Carhartt-inspired jackets and shearling coats — but the biggest ode to Cobain was a blown-up photo of the musician’s face on an oversized sweatshirt.
Maryam Nassir Zadeh: For the designer’s debut runawy show Maryam Nassir Zadeh selected an impactful, yet open space for her show, located in the Guggenheim. The minimal collection including geometric grid prints on a skirt and blazer, and a soft pink crinkly dress, both essential uniform for elegant art curators.
Prism: Captivated by jungle and urban scenes, Anna Laub imagined beachwear in city-professional fabrics, from pinstripes to micro-houndstooth, presented against a backdrop of tropical plants. The designer, who gained initial renown for her optical designs in 2009, also imagined angular sunglass frames in lush green tones, which echoed the presentation’s verdant backdrop.
Tomas Maier: If Tomas Maier’s A/W 2017 collection was See Now Buy Now, it would have been perfect timing for Valentine’s Day, as the designer covered everything from a sparkly tie-neck dress to camouflage smoking slippers in hearts. The inspiration actually came from the holiday season at year’s end and all the love that comes with it. Maier also added warm blanket ponchos, a sexy black evening dress, and revealed a new signature mark for his handbag line: studded metal corners.
Diane Von Furstenberg: Chief creative officer Jonathan Saunders continued to breathe new life into the DVF brand through technicolour furs and graphic, optic art prints. The bold paintbrush florals and colour blocking are sure to catch the eyes of any aesthete, as are the luxurious nappa leather and charmeuse silk fabrications the designer used in the collection. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Area: As one of New York Fashion Week’s most anticipated runway shows the pressure was on for Area’s Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk. As the Aaliyah track ‘Rock the Boat’ played throughout show, the closing look, crystal chain pants worn over a halter-neck jumpsuit did just that. Several of the collection’s pieces will also surely be spotted on the streets of New York in the coming months, like the plush furs and the cheeky burgundy ’j’aime DRAMA’ t-shirt. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Paul Andrew: The recently appointed footwear design director at Salvatore Ferragamo looked to the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși for his eponymous A/W 2017 collection. Renowned for his innovative approach to fabrications, Andrew imagined footwear in marble patent, silk velvet and hand painted python, and sandals that appeared to have been cast in metal.
Lacoste: René Lacoste wasn’t just a tennis player; he was also a businessman who founded Air Equipment, a company that helped develop the Concorde and Airbus aircrafts. Creative director Felipe Oliveira Baptista paid homage to Lacoste’s fascination with aviation and the space age, creating baggy parachute cargo pants, parachute jumpsuits, leather aviator jackets and a cosmic print-covered zip top. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Dion Lee: The designer’s A/W 2017 collection started off on a serious note, with a series of clean, nude looks that included a tuxedo blazer with a contrasting black lapel and a military-inspired jacket. Then followed a parade of fun coats, including a an oversize blue velvet puffer and bright, shaggy orange furs that would bring life to any drab winter street. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Zadig & Voltaire: Zadig & Voltaire made a trip across the Atlantic for the first time in its 20-year history to show its collection during New York Fashion Week. The French brand found a New York muse in the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, encompassed in her chic, energetic and sporty styling. This meant bold sporty sweaters with the slogan ‘MUSE,’ biker jackets, and slouchy colour-blocked separates.
Frame: Jens Grede and Erik Torstensson explored proportion, with a bohemian yet masculine A/W 2017 collection. It was very much the stylish era of 70’s Saint Laurent meets American sportswear: flat studs embellished denim jackets, and black polo-necks were layered beneath a black leather trench. Ruffled feminine shirts also softened tough leather overalls.
Jil Sander Navy: This season, Jil Sander Navy’s woman was a Parisian girl embarking on a Venetian journey during the Baroque era. This woman wears rich, fuchsia wool coats, skirts hiding pops of color and prints in between pleats and Baroque-inspired footwear, complete with large, ornate buckles.