New York Fashion Week—would it were only a week!—has just wrapped, and what did we see? Well among many, many other trends (yes, we hate that word, but OK)—was a bit of a battle royal, a sartorial throwdown between two evenly matched adversaries—punk harlots vs. overprivileged peasants! Whether tis nobler to stomp down the runway in a fisherman sweater defaced with studs, your greasy hair in front of your face like the bad girl at Alexander Wang, or waft gentle into that good night, a flirty flower child clad in ankle-length chiffon from Thakoon. Will you stomp around in a crazy but fabulous scarlet spangled bondage getup (a scarlet harlot!) over a fishnet bodysuit from Proenza Schouler, or trip the light fantastic in a Talitha Getty-in-Marrakech caftan from Anna Sui? Do you want to sit under a tree and write poems about peace in Tory Burch’s kilim-inspired frock, or impersonate Debbie Harry in Rag Bone’s lace slip over skintight leggings?
Time to choose! No middle ground! But remember, looks can be deceiving—you may think these punk Jezebels can kick the living daylights out of a gaggle of silky serfs—but sometimes the softest glove can conceal the toughest fist. No reason to assume these latter-day hippie chicks are wimps—haven’t you ever heard of a whim of iron?
