Top Shows at New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020

[eureka]

We’re officially in the 2020’s - at least on the fashion calendar. Spring/Summer 2020 kicked off on September 5th with a six-day extravaganza in New York City. The shorter schedule was an effort by the new Chairman of the CFDA; none other than Tom Ford himself. However, just because there were fewer days didn’t mean there was any less excitement. Read on to see just some of the highlights from this most recent New York Fashion Week.

CHROMAT

This season marks ten years in business for Becca McCharen-Tran and her brand, Chromat. The collection was not just a retrospective, featuring reimagined takes on iconic Chromat designs, but a look towards the future. McCharen-Tran cited NASA as one of this season's inspirations and it was apparent in the clothes. Three-dimensional boning formed cages and corsets around several looks - and a few towards the end were even woven with LEDs that allowed the looks to light up. Primarily a swimwear brand, this show also included tops, bottoms, and even a gown or two. With a cast filled with the brand’s previous collaborators, the show was a celebration of everything Chromat.

KATE SPADE NEW YORK

It seemed fitting that a show inspired by the book, The Secret Garden would show in a park in the middle of a bustling city. Clothes were at once feminine and sporty, like the look that showed a white, A-line tunic over a pair of emerald green wide-legged pants. Outfits that didn’t contain some kind of floral - be it in lace, or crocheted, or just in a print - included a flowery bag. And, as one would expect from a Kate Spade show, every look came with a bag. There were large totes, elephant-shaped handbags, and some very on-trend cross-body bags. Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the collection was the cast, which included all kinds of celebrities, like TV host Karley Sciortino and The Haute Pursuit’s Vanessa Hong, alongside runway regulars.

LONGCHAMP

A house mostly known for its bags, French brand Longchamp has recently begun showing during NYFW. Longchamp also has a history as a leather goods manufacturer, so the amount of leather and suede in the collection was to be expected. However, there were also plenty of garments rendered in pleated, gradient chiffons or smocked jersey. Nylon was also featured in several looks, giving the collection a sporty edge. In more feminine pieces, like appliqué-covered skirts, the logomania trend made an appearance in the form of the brand’s name sewn into the tiers between the lace.

MARC JACOBS

This season’s Marc Jacobs show was all about eclecticism. Guests sat on mismatched white lawn chairs all facing one direction as the parade of models walked across them. Some models in colorful, dapper suits tilted their hats and winked at the audience, while others swished their floor-length summer dresses or danced along to the show music. Every color of the rainbow was accounted for, and then some, along with prints from plaid to floral - sometimes even in the same outfit. There were a wide variety of clothes to choose from here, but absolutely none of them are boring.

PRABAL GURUNG

Like Chromat, Prabal Gurung celebrated his tenth anniversary this season. Gurung used this milestone show to ask the important question; “Who gets to be an American?” This season, he not only examined his own work, but traditional Americana staples. There were summer dresses, knit patchwork prints, and tie dye pieces in red, white, and blue. Gurung also included his own signatures, like wrap skirts, and undone rouleau buttons. Live flowers were included in the styling as bouquets, headdresses, and even sewn into the clothes themselves. When the diverse cast of models did their final runway lap wearing a sash with the collection’s primary question across the front, Prabal Gurung made his answer known.

TOM FORD

Though he’s busy with his new job as CFDA Chairman, Tom Ford is no slouch. To stage his show, he turned an abandoned subway station into a runway and lit it like the entrance to a nightclub. As for inspiration, Ford wanted to focus on minimalism, with the stipulation that simplicity doesn’t have to mean boring. While the collection started primarily with black and white, he showed quite a few looks in neon colors. The only pieces that used prints were a couple of mens blazers. He focused primarily on clean lines, but also used plenty of draping and ruching. Perhaps the buzziest looks of the collection were a pair of plastic bustiers, custom-moulded to the models that wore them. It was a nod to the moulded bustiers artist Charles Lalanne created for Yves Saint Laurent - a house Tom Ford worked for in the early 2000s.

TOMMY HILFIGER

Unlike most other designers, Tommy Hilfiger is working on a see-now-buy-now model, meaning the collection he presented this season was actually for Fall/Winter 2019. It was also the second Tommy X Zendaya collaboration. For this season, the dynamic duo looked to the Harlem Renaissance, showing in the landmark Apollo Theatre. There were many nods to the seventies and eighties, from the shapes of the lapels, to the not-quite-bellbottom pants, to the muted black/white/burgundy color pallet. Zendaya has recently become known for her ability to rock a pantsuit, and their was no shortage in this collection. A couple looks also included a TZH monogram print.

TORY BURCH

Continuing on with last season’s eighties nostalgia, Tory Burch chose to reinterpret the decade. Nods were light, like a double-breasted suit and wide-legged pants combo, or wide belts that were cinched with a separate leather cord. A major theme of the collection was handkerchiefs, though not in the form of hems. Instead, there were several pieces that looked like multiple antique handkerchiefs patched together with lace inserts. Much of the embroidery wouldn’t seem out of place on a family heirloom, and gave the pieces a fun, vintage flair. Elsewhere, there were looks rendered in watercolor print silks that could’ve easily been an archival fabric. However, the modern cut of the garments made them feel anything but dated.