The Top Shows of New York Fashion Week Fall 2019
If you have followed us on Instagram long enough, you know by now that this season’s New York Fashion Week completely disappointed us, when it comes to pushing fashion forward. Yes, inclusivity and care about the environment do count, and the new class of NYC designers showed that they care. Yes, casting famous folk does count — Barry Manilow thew a performance to close the Michael Kors show, which, okay. A slew of the legendary supermodels of the 90s walked a handful of runways, like Carolyn Murphy at Ralph Lauren, Patti Hansen at Michael Kors, Carol Alt at Dennis Basso, and, closing the week, Christy Turlington Burns at Marc Jacobs — All this is great, and important, but not when it masks unimaginative design. And after all, we look to fashion designers for fashion.
Of course, there were a handful of collections that quite literally saved New York Fashion week this season. And we are here to talk about them. So below, are the top shows from New York that brought creativity and pushed the envelope forward.
The Row
Soft colors, elongated silhouettes, and masterful layering is the essence of The Row Fall 2019. Mary-Kate and Ashley proved once again that they do, indeed, know fashion, how it works, how to stay true to the brand’s aesthetic yet push it forward. Everything about this collection is perfect — the series of coats and elongated jackets mostly stripped of any detail but gently nipped at the waist; the slightly volumenous dresses and shirt layered over and over to perfection. This collection was not full of noise, but rather impact.
Proenza Schouler
There is a reason why Proenza Schouler is the crown jewel of New York Fashion Week, and thankfully they returned to New York after a couple of seasons in Paris. For Fall 2019, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough focused on deconstructed knits worn underneath suits. They also experimented in oversized tailoring – which is nothing new on the runway, but when designed to show flashes of skin couple with the aforementioned knits, it takes a new life. And then there were the trench coats — oversized, slouchy, fashion-forward.
Rodarte
Inasmuch as the Rodarte and the Mulleavy sisters did not show in New York, but in California, we must mention their spectacular collection. Showed in front of a slew of Hollywood it girls, it was only appropriate for the collection to be inspired by the icons of Hollywood musicals from the ’30s through the ’70s. Hence the oversized shoulders, palazzo pants, gowns, and a charming trio of of sleeveless tulle evening dresses covered in black, yellow, and red hearts. One of the most intriguing things the Mulleavy sisters posses is an incredible ability to combine innocent and sexy, sweet and horror, hard and soft, much to our delight.
Mark Jacobs
Hauntingly beautiful. These are the first words that comes to mind when trying to describe the Marc Jacobs Fall 2019 collection, which closed New York Fashion Week on (thankfully) a high note. Jacobs has been experimenting with volume for a couple of seasons now, but this collection took his talent to new heights. Grand shapes were coming in droves — capes, skirts, shredded tulle dresses, oversized pantsuits. It’s hard to pick only a few good looks, it was all very good.
A few honorable mentions: Tom Ford, who brought back red velvet; Christian Siriano, who handled controversy like a champ; and Michael Kors, who brought the 70s albeit thanks to Barry Manilow.
How do you feel about New York Fashion Week this season? What were the top shows in your opinion?
