This year’s New York Fashion Week had the streets of New York buzzing with anticipation and filled with the latest fashion trends. From the surge of celebrities, editors, models and influencers around the city to the online frenzy of the unique approaches designers took this year. These designers brought their pieces to life through the way they were styled and curated. More than just the design of the clothes goes into fashion week. These designers create a vision for their whole show for the theme of their collection to be executed correctly. Many behind-the-scenes aspects go into fashion week which plays as an accessory to clothing being modeled. Here are some of fashion week’s biggest catwalks and popular trends.
Runway Shows
Mirror Palais
Marcelo Gaia is a local designer from New York who has come to light in the fashion industry more recently. His simple 90s-inspired pieces are catching the eyes of more and more people every year. This fashion week he presented his Spring 2023 collection which was inspired by the church and “old religious references.” For him, this collection was much more than the designs it was the story behind them. His collection represented the time in his life when he had to hide his homosexuality from the church. The pieces in his collection take a more modern approach to symbols and religious figures in the church. The chokers, corsets, sheer fabrics and miniskirts represented him escaping the traditional and conservative morals that religion holds. Many of the models wore silk vails and chokers that were embellished with crosses. Cindy Kimberly, one of the models, was selected to wear a sheer white gown that had the essence of a wedding dress. Another featured model wore a headpiece tucked behind her ears that embodied what a nun’s coif may look like.
LaQuan Smith
LaQuan Smith is a designer of womenswear from Queens, N.Y. This fashion week he debuts his spring 2023 collection. This show was based on the elements which explain why it was located at the Intrepid Sea, Space and Air Museum. This year in his collection most of his pieces were vibrant sheer, loose-fitting, and featured abstract cuts and silhouettes. He wanted his collection to have more of an airy and feminine feel, while also throwing in edgy pieces. The reason behind the diversity in his pieces this fashion week was that he wanted to include pieces that can be worn during the day but also transition into night wear. This collection includes anything from a purple sequined two-piece to an orange sheer draped maxi dress, to a sleek black maxi dress with a metal top over the chest. What ties this collection together is the femineity and the uniqueness behind every design.
Trends
Oversized Suits
On many runways, oversized suits made their mark. They were styled in a very minimal way but with lots of layering under them. Most models had simple makeup and sleek hair which let the suit do the talking. Even though this was an extremely common design, many different patterns and colors were featured on these suits, making them such a standout piece this fashion week.
Crochet
Crochet will not be left in summer as these knitted pieces did not leave the runway this week. Designer Ullah Johnson created a suede patchwork crochet maxi dress that was styled with a sheer yellow patterned body suit. These features of crochet and knitwear throughout the catwalks this season is a sign boho style might be back.
Balaclavas
Balaclavas whether crochet, silk or wool was featured plenty of times in many designers’ collections. Balaclavas are traditionally a mask that is worn over your face and has a cut-out just for your eyes. This season many were seen with that same cutout or just covering the surrounding area of your hair and ears and just leaving a cut out of your face.
Makeup
There was not an in-between this year when it came to make-up trends at fashion week. It was either minimal clean skin or bold blush and eyes. Many models were seen with smokey eyes and 80s-inspired blush that rises to their temples. Some makeup artists took the approach of simple dewy skin to coordinate with the clothing.
Sleek Hair
Many hairstylists this season opted for more simple hair whether in a ponytail or behind the ears. This sleek back hair allows for the face of the model to be seen and does not take away from designs being debuted.
There were lots of stunning debut designers and looks during this year’s New York Fashion Week. Keep an eye out and maybe some of these looks will inspire fashion trends this fall.
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