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New York Fashion Week isn’t exactly known for its star power – and then Beyoncé arrived at Luar.
It was a punch of energy and a powerful endorsement for one of the city’s hottest rising designers. Beyoncé in Bushwick? Anyone who’d written NYFW off at that point was forced to reconsider.
And why shouldn’t they? The week brought with it a strong showing from both the establishment and the anarchists, says Nicole Phelps, global director of Vogue Runway and Vogue Business – the two camps in which most of New York’s designers fall.
“I heard quite a bit about the absence of buyers at New York Fashion Week, which is a shame because I thought designers were making bold choices despite the macro challenges,” Phelps says. Tory Burch and Altuzarra — both celebrating milestone anniversaries this year — as well as newcomers Colleen Allen and Lii by Zane Lii got people talking.
Still, there’s an uncomfortable reality underpinning NYFW: many designers on the calendar have barely any business to stand on, and their financial runways are startlingly short.
It’s not just New York; it’s hard to be a designer anywhere. But this season, it seemed a line in the sand was drawn between the city’s success stories and its struggles. Do you have a lock on who your customer is? Can you design for them?
Overheard at a coffee shop near the Starrett-Lehigh Building in West Chelsea — this season’s IMG nexus to the condemnation of many — one industry insider spoke to an international designer visiting New York: “Why do a show if you’re not selling?” It was a point reminiscent of something that CFDA president Steven Kolb told me before fashion week started, that the organisation will try to discourage designers from not showing if they’re not ready. They don’t always listen, and it becomes clear when collections are going down the runway for the runway’s sake rather than a real end consumer who’s going to wear the clothes.
The ROI on a runway show has always been tenuous, but as the cost of living crisis and inflation persist in New York, disruptions and delays snarl the supply chain; and sampling, manufacturing and shipping costs mount, it’s getting harder to get the numbers to add up. This strain on American designers was put into sharp relief by the arrival of Parisian designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin, who showed during NYFW for one season only. From the collection’s constructions down to the red-soled Louboutins worn by the models, it was clear what running a brand in Paris can afford you.
“Paris sucks the air out [of the surrounding industry],” an e-commerce executive said after admitting that most of their business is based around Milan and Paris buys.
There’s plenty of talent here to celebrate and support, many of whom really need that support to continue. Financial support, to be more specific. But as one consultant told me, there are no investors knocking and no mergers and acquisitions on the horizon by American companies.
For now, designers are finding workarounds to snag a spot on the schedule without breaking the bank. Nearly half of the brands on schedule showed via presentation, appointment or digital release. PH5 held a presentation on Wednesday after the brand’s runway debut in September. Going forward, PH5 will do a September runway and February presentation. “It s manageable for us budget-wise,” says founder and CEO Wei Lin. The plan was to also use the presentation to get Instagram content for marketing purposes (PH5 invited friends of the brand), squeezing as much value out of the investment as possible.
The winners
Luar ascended to a new level on Tuesday night when Beyoncé, carrying an iridescent Ana bag and wearing her newly signature cowboy hat, appeared in the front row at the Bushwick warehouse venue moments before the show began. The collection rose to the moment, ushering in Luar’s next chapter and a resurgence of “metrosexual”, as designer Raul Lopez told Vogue Business in the lead up to the show.
On Friday night, Willy Chavarria claimed his spot as New York’s rising star with a moving short film, Safe From Harm, preceding a runway collection with cool but wearable clothing, a burst of bags and a new shoe collaboration to boot. Chavarria has been in the game long enough to know that certain sellable items can do the work for the rest of the collection to continue standing.
Both designers are redefining what American fashion means by diverging from the norm, says Vogue Runway fashion writer Jose Criales Unzueta. “Much of the language that is intrinsic to American sportswear derives from or is attached to whiteness — think prep or Western Americana. What’s an ‘American classic’ for those labeled as the other? The brown, the Black, the queer, the immigrant. Raul and Willy have found the answer.”
CFDA emerging designer of the year Diotima also got people talking. Designer Rachel Scott’s presentation was a packed house, with guests lining up outside to gain a glimpse of her crochet knits and expert tailoring. Nordstrom picked her up last season, and this season, Scott returned from Paris, where she met with US and international buyers just in time to show. “It has become increasingly important to have presentations,” she told Vogue Business ahead of fashion week, now that there are more eyes on the brand. Clearly, the demand is there.
Another designer with a strong handle on her customer is Daniella Kallmeyer, whose presentation was one of the best of the week for Vogue Runway senior fashion news editor Laia Garcia-Furtado. “It’s obvious that having direct access to her customers has changed her perspective and approach for the better.” Kallmeyer, now 12 years in business, is known for her suits and tailoring – “real clothes for real women to wear in their real lives,” Garcia-Furtado says.
“It s a spirit that I think she shares with Fforme s Paul Helbers who showed a sensual collection with a moody live performance. Everything he makes is very aspirational-but-grounded and I m still bowled over by the most beautiful elastic waist trousers he showed with a delicately gathered waistband. He s really a master at what he does.”
New York’s staples designers — many of whom celebrated anniversaries this year — have also proved that steady consistency equates to staying power. “For me, the best show of the week was Anna Sui in the Rare Book Room at the Strand. I love a small-scale venue, where the clothes are practically brushing your knees as the models walk by, and she has the best crowd, full of authentic originals like her (this season Richard Butler of the psychedelic furs was there). The ’30s [and] ’90s vibes of the clothes were totally up my alley, too — my two favourite decades for fashion,” says Phelps.
TikTok trends drip through
Corpcore, girlcore, bogcore (don’t ask) and mob wife: TikTok trends are infiltrating the runway. Real fur and faux fur and fur made from cashmere (as seen at Gabriela Hearst) were everywhere, as were pinstripes and grey suit pieces. Loud luxury dominated the runway at LaQuan Smith, who served caviar before the show and evoked a return to the excess of the ’80s when you could still smoke indoors.
At Sandy Liang — perhaps the poster child of the girlhood trend — bows and ballet flats reigned supreme even as the designer showed signs of maturation. Models appropriately walked to a soundtrack repeating, “Do you know what it feels like for a girl?” Even as other designers, like Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera, leaned into the power of womanhood, girliness doesn’t show signs of going anywhere.
Mytheresa buying director Katie Rowland said the trends that stood out were all-black ensembles, pops of red, sheer fabrics and “timeless luxury” — all of which suggest many of the New York runways played it safe. Neutrals sell. Colour moments stood out where they could be found: orange and blue at Tory Burch; tomato red and Kelly green at Fforme.
Originality, where it could be found, shone through. Phelps gives Altuzarra high marks for his showing this season, which followed a collection critics weren’t thrilled about. “[Altuzarra’s] collection came from a personal place, and the salon-style presentation worked for the clothes, which weren’t theme-y or about grand statements, but the little details that make certain pieces your favourites,” she says. “Our audience development team won’t like to hear this, but what I want is intimate moments, not viral ones.”
What’s going to give?
New York needs an angle. Is it a launch pad? A commercial hub? Maybe sustainability could come to the forefront of fashion week as it has in Copenhagen, which sits outside of the Big Four shows but has managed to carve out a distinct identity. Coach’s Stuart Vevers spoke about how important it is for designers to lead on sustainability this week, off the back of recent successes for scrap-leather brand Coachtopia, and he also sat front row at Hearst’s show in Brooklyn the day after Coach’s runway (which Peta once again crashed to protest its use of leather). But sustainability is still very much a fringe issue judging by the runways, as well as the earnest return of fur.
New York also needs a mom, Christina Binkley wrote this week. For now, organisation is up against strong individualism among its designers. It feels as though everyone is out for themselves, scraping by, and so, making it difficult for the city’s fashion scene to really come together as a community. Some veterans are hoping to work on that. Menswear designer Todd Snyder, who doesn’t show in New York but co-hosted the NYFW kick-off party alongside the CFDA last Thursday, said he wants to get more involved in order to help emerging designers the same way that the CFDA helped him when he was starting out.
Thom Browne, now CFDA chairman, has returned to New York to do just that. His business trajectory – culminating in his stunning week-closing spectacle – is a lesson to young brands: don’t compromise.
With contributions from Christina Binkley, Nicole Phelps, Laia Garcia-Furtado, José Criales Unzueta, Maghan McDowel and Madeleine Schulz.
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
New York Fashion Week needs a mom
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