Important Takeaways from NYFW Spring 2019
NYFW Spring 2019 has come and gone, an inasmuch as we saw many a fashion — some great, some just ok — we also learned a few things about NYFW, its designers and what is one to expect from the Big Apple in the future.
Is NYFW’s appeal over?
For several seasons now NYFW has slowly but surely declined in its appeal and offerings — it’s become a little less prestigious, if you will. And that has a lot to do with who’s showing. Yes, Proenza Schouler and Rodarte came back (thank God!) from a season in Paris, Tom Ford opened NYFW, and Ralph Lauren had a very elaborate 50th anniversary show in Central Park with the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton in attendance, but, even those shows couldn’t stop the mass designer exodus we saw this season. Victoria Beckham left for London to celebrate 10 years in fashion. Delpozo also left for London this season. And the darling of NYFW, Alexander Wang, was not even on the calendar because he has shifted his shows to a June-December time frame to be more efficient with deliveries, and had already shown SS19 back in June. Same happened with Rosie Assoulin. Oh, and both Public School and Helmut Lang chose to take a break from showing altogether.
Christian Siriano continues to lead in inclusivity
Inasmuch as many NYFW designers are trying to be inclusive when it comes to size, gender and race, so far all have failed. Sorry, but they have. All but Christian Siriano, who once again schooled NYFW on how to be inclusive. True to form, Siriano delivered a message of “fashion for all” and sent models of an array of shapes, races and sexes down the runway. The models included a dress-clad Nico Tortorella, a TV actor who came out as gender-fluid in May and has worn multiple Christian Siriano looks on the red carpet, as well as curve models Precious Lee and Candice Huffine. Oh, and all wore shoes from his Payless collection, which run for about $35.
Are you following, NYFW??
No one was missing Kanye
He was not on the official show schedule, and he didn’t pull off a crazy Kanye move at the last minute, and you know what — that’s perfectly ok. Remember how last September he cancelled his unofficial show days before it was due to take place, before issuing a lookbook featuring faux paparazzi style shots of Kim Kardashian wearing the collection? [sce emoji=”facepalm”/]
And just in case you wondered, Kanye is working on a similar style of campaign with both Kim and her sister Kylie Jenner spotted in public wearing what appears to be clothes from Yeezy season 8. Same clothes, different colors basically.
Rihanna closed NYFW
And rumor has it, Marc Jacobs was not very happy about that. As you know, he’s been the last show of NYFW for many seasons now, and Rih-Rih managed to dethrone him by holding a show in Brooklyn at 7:30pm. For those who couldn’t attend (or those held by Marc Jacob’s late start), Rihanna was broadcasting live via YouTube what some described as the anti-Victoria’s Secret show. Savage x Fenty showed women of all colors, shapes and sizes, in all stages of womanhood (even some pregnant models), contorting their bodies while wearing Savage X lingerie, pasties and thongs available to buy in the moment online. Watch Rihanna discuss her inspirations for the show below.
