New York Fashion Week is a really special week and something Court and I feel extremely proud and honored to be apart of season after season. We have been going for 5+ years now and have seen the ebs and flows, the good and the bad changes and the impacts of culture on the shows. For Court and I, we love making this seemingly “elite” or “untouchable” week feel attainable, approachable and fun. We love putting outfits together in the living room, getting glam with makeup and hair artists we have grown relationships with over the years and supporting designers who have always supported us.
I wanted to give you a wide overview of my thoughts on the week as a whole, what was missing, what was buzzy and things we liked.
What Was Missing
Body Diversity: While designers have aimed to “do better” in terms of diversity there was still a huge lack of body inclusivity and diversity. Most shows still feature models who have the typical “model body” which is surprising considering the vast amounts of mass commercial campaigns highlighting body inclusivity. I am 5’2”, extremely curvy and generally love my body – though I did find myself self-conscious during the week and couldn’t really figure out why. Until it hit my DUH, I have been watching 5’11” size 0 models walk up and down the runway posing as today’s beauty norm. I was disappointed by the lack of size inclusivity and thought it was a huge miss among designers who claim to champion females.
Recycling/Green Efforts: I think there is such a large opportunity for NYFW to become more environmentally conscious. From the packets of printed out show notes that are scattered around the room and left behind to be trashed, to the abundance of half drank Evian water bottles (that are given out for free) there seems to be a lack of awareness in a space that is meant to set trends.
Making a Statement: This year, not one designer (that I saw) had any sort of political statement or “cause” for their show. Look I get it, fashion week is about the clothes – but shouldn’t it be beyond that too? When quite literally 50 photographers are lined up from the world’s biggest magazines, there is an opportunity, some may say even a responsibility to make a cultural statement. The season that Trump was elected, most shows had some sort of political statement that received a ton of press and went viral on socials. It made fashion feel extremely relevant and underscored the importance of using a stage for social or cultural impact.
Things That Were Buzzy
The Savage x Fenty show did not allow phones and actually locked them up in a box, urging onlookers to actually experience the collection. Influencers and editors alike RAVED about it post-show.
Things We Liked
Influencers are Here to Stay – so scoot over. I’m sure a lot of people remember when the Vogue article came out a few seasons ago exclaiming how influencer were basically ruining fashion week. Well fast forward 3 years and Influencers are now taking up at least half of the audience at show. Designer and publicist understand the importance of bringing their collections to the masses and what better way than inviting influencers who are immediately posting content and bringing the show to their followers around the world?
Shows That We Loved
Laurence & Chico – It was our first time attending this particular show and a major shoutout to Lex of @lexiconofstye for inviting us as her plus ones! It was the perfect way to start out fashion week as every look was more MAJOR than the next. The attention to detail was exhilarating, unique and creative.
“For Spring 2020, Vancouver-based design duo Laurence Li and Chico Wang, who work as Laurence & Chico, presented a bright, lively, glamorous collection. The clothes and accessories — including cartoonishly enormous wide-brimmed hats and Flinstones-style necklaces and earrings —were a Wonka-like take on the lady who lunches.“- Quote From Paper Mag
Flor et.al Presentation – From the moment we entered this small West Village restaurant where the presentation was held, we felt as if we walked into a whimsical fairytale book that we didn’t want to leave. From the delicate ruffles to the flowy gowns we couldn’t help but want every piece!
I Love Pretty – For all my Hills fans out there this particular show was put on my Kelly Cutrone aka Peoples Revolution LLC! Going in we didn’t know much about the brand but we were both pleasantly surprised at this gorgeous collection. Creative Director Yang Juan (China) added touches of her culture, show stopping moments and pieces that left us wanting to see more from her!
Chiara Boni La Petite Robe – The show started in a fabulous way featuring models and icons Pat and Anna Cleveland (mother/daughter) taking the runway… SINGING! We knew from that moment on this may be Boni’s best show yet. The evolution of her pieces from body con one toned dresses too loud colorful prints, tulle, western touches just brought this collection to life. It was hard to pick one individual favorite.
“The show, the best of the brand’s so far, offered plenty of options for its loyal customers, proving that Boni can continue innovating for her label while remaining loyal to her signature certified sustainable jersey fabric.”- Quote From WWD
Nicole Miller – Echoing off the Vogue article below, we also felt strongly that this was one of our favorite Nicole Miller shows… well ever. The fact that she brought iconic models that walked in her first ever show back to the forefront (including Pat Cleveland!) truly MADE the show. Being able to see her clothes on women of all ages was truly a fabulous touch.
“After several seasons of youthful insouciance, Miller’s girl hit a growth spurt. The standout pieces displayed sophistication. Sure, you could pair the georgette wrap dress on Pat Cleveland with a pair of Doc Martens and hit the club, but the piece was also fit for a grown-up date night.” – Quote From Vogue Magazine
Alice and Olivia Presentation – Consistently one of our favorite presentations of NYFW, we couldn’t get enough of this years Alice + Olivia. Upon entering you found that the stages were set to different playful scenarios that showed all of her clothing in such beautiful situational ways. I mean she had a room full of orange teddy bears surrounded by models showcasing her black and white designs! Talk about a moment!!
Cynthia Rowley – Oh where to begin with Cynthia’s show! Truly I (Courtney) may be a bit biased as everything she makes is so, so ME. I would wear it all! This year’s show took place on one of the most iconic streets in New York. Where people were literally hanging out of their fire escapes to get a glimpse of the show! Rowley’s inspiration for this Spring 2020 collection was none other than Dr. Seuss and his novel Oh The Place’s You’ll Go!
“Coincidences aside, my seatmate also mentioned that Rowley has started making surfwear completely out of sustainable materials. “Think about all of the microplastics in the ocean!” she said. Rowley later confirmed this: she is substituting petrochemicals with limestone and recycled materials. The designer’s choice is a necessary one given the crumbling state of the environment” – Quote From Vogue Magazine
Shows We Weren’t Major Fans Of
Tadashi Shoji – Prior to getting into what we didn’t like, I wanted to say that this was one of the only shows we attended where the designer hired some sort of diversity within the model choices. It was a breath of fresh air to see and truly something that we wish there was more of. Especially when designers (like Cynthia Rowley) offer plus size, yet don’t showcase it on the runway. So kudos to Tadashi on that, truly.
Unfortunately overall we found this collection to be lacking imagination. Nothing really jumped out as NEW and we felt the styling choices of the big earrings, half back bun ponytails & blush lacked somewhat of a taste factor.
“The lacework and prints sometimes made the shorter dresses look busy.” – Quote From Vogue Runway
Rag & Bone – To start out the people watching at this show was next level. We saw cousin Greg from HBO’s Succession, McLovin AND James Charles (for my Gen Z’ers) all sitting front row. I think I was starstruck when I saw cousin Greg and I still haven’t returned to normalcy.
The show started out with beautiful dancers and a full choir which were all gorgeous touches. Unfortunately when it began there were few moments we could really get behind and into. It all begged the question of does Rag & Bone truly need a New York Fashion Week Runway show?
“Two takeaways emerged. The first was artful layering. If a sweater wasn’t shrugged across the shoulders, a shirt was tied around the waist, and many of the looks featured dresses over pants. The second was bare skin on display thanks to low-slung, waistband-less jeans, unbuttoned shirts and solo blazers, and strappy 1990s-ish mules.” – Quote From Vogue Runway
Pretty Little Things Show – So this may be the only show we review that we didn’t actually see lol. The process of getting into it was the most unorganized chaos we had ever seen. It was like no one with PLL had ever put on a runway show before. They were holding it at The Plaza Hotel and it seemed not only were the PR teams stressed to the brim but also The Plaza staff stressed to the brim! EVERYONE WAS STRESSED.
We got there @ 6pm which was when the show was supposed to start and they were not letting anyone in. Even SI Supermodel Hunter McGrady. I mean come on – at least let this Queen in! They then decided @ 6:30pm that they were going to let one PR person go person to person checking in (there were about 150 people waiting) and thats when we decided to leave. We later learned the show didn’t end up starting until 8pm.
Zero + Maria Cornejo – Overall she stuck to what she knew. Neutrals and splashes of polka dot. I believe the Vogue quote below sums it us best.
“That sense of experimentation extended to a polka-dot grouping. Polka dots are another fairly unlikely sighting, predictable to the point of banality, but these had a nice graphic pop in navy and white and a more girlish orangey pink.” – Quote From Vogue Runway
SONJA by Sonja Morgan – THIS SO PAINS US TO SAY. Our Queen, Icon, Legend, Sonja Morgan unfortunately fell short. The main reasoning behind this was the venue choice. It was cold, dark and you could barely even see the clothes. It also turns out (from the tabloids) that she had a major meltdown before the show even started. Hmmmm. Hoping to see this all play out on next season of #RHONY!
“Sonja seemed to be in a completely manic state as people arrived for her show. She kept shouting, and even pushed a female guest! She and her showrunner seemed to be having some logistical issues, and neither of them handled it well,” an eyewitness told OKMagazine.com. (FROM OK! MAGAZINE)
THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!!
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