The rest of America may be counting down the days to Super Bowl LVIII, but in these parts, we’re living and breathing for New York Fashion Week. The schedule officially kicks off this Friday, February 9, with Peter Do’s sophomore outing at Helmut Lang, and Vogue Runway will review close to 100 collections before Thom Browne caps things off on Valentine’s Day. (Pressing question: will we get boxes of chocolate, like we did last year?) But the goings-on start tomorrow with a 40th anniversary screening of Sophie’s Choice hosted by Lanvin, which is supposed to be announcing its new creative director any day. Meryl Streep, a frequent Lanvin wearer, will be in attendance, along with a host of other Oscar winners and nominees. We’ll be bringing our Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers! By the way, Vogue Runway is adding a new feature to our iOS and Android app, just in time for the fall 2024 season; with the Live Feed you’ll get up-to-the-instant posts about all the goings-on from Vogue editors around the world. See you at the shows!
Swanning Around
Feud: Capote vs. The Swans may have debuted just last week, but dare we say this is going to be the season of the swan? Designers are no strangers to the allure of Truman Capote or his socialite pals—and his famed Black White Ball has been providing inspirational fodder for glamorous gowns for almost 60 years. But now there’s the added power of the iconic actresses embodying the most glamorous women of the last century. Will we see Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, or Demi Moore sitting front row at the shows? Which designers will invoke the glamorous spirits of CZ Guest, Babe Paley, Slim Keith, Lee Radziwill, and Ann Woodward on their runways? Will sculpted waves make a comeback? And for some cheeky fun, who will redo Björk’s Marjan Pejoski swan dress? We’re not turning this into a drinking game, but you can, if you want to.—Laia Garcia-Furtado
Many Happy Returns
Speaking of drinking, let’s raise a glass to the designers celebrating milestones this season. Tory Burch opened her first store on Elizabeth Street in NoLIta 20 years ago this month, Joseph Altuzarra’s brand is turning 15, and Adam Lippes is marking a decade in business. “I’m quite proud to be celebrating our 10 year anniversary as an independent New York designer,” Lippes says. “There have certainly been a lot of ups and downs—but aren’t there always?—and I’ve learned to very much appreciate the good days. Through it all, we’ve been able to remain true to why we started the collection on day one. And that is to make the finest collection of American sportswear through fabric, fit, and construction—quiet luxury before quiet luxury was a thing.” Getting a jumpstart on the festivities, Marc Jacobs gave his 40th anniversary show a name, Wonder, and delivered on multiple fronts, from the swans-on-psychedelics wigs and curvy-heeled doll shoes to the shape-shifting clothes. Fashion is cyclical; you’re up, you’re down, in and out. That the job still brings Jacobs joy, and that he shares it with us so dependably in return? That’s the real achievement.—Nicole Phelps
Now on View
The woman question—i.e. Why is it that too few top design jobs are held by women?—is likely to be animating many front-row conversations this season. Off the runways, though, female forces of fashion are taking up plenty of space. “Women Dressing Women” and “Mood of the Moment: Gaby Aghion and the House of Chloé” are respectively on view at the Costume Institute and The Jewish Museum. Also worth a visit, with 1980s proportions on the upswing, is the Museum at FIT’s “Statement Sleeves” show. For those more compelled by the industry’s here and now, “The New Village” at Pratt Manhattan Gallery will put the spotlight on New York’s most experimental designers and labels of the last decade, from SC103 and Elena Velez to Susan Cianciolo and Bernadette Corporation.—Laird Borrelli-Persson
From Paris With Love
Ludovic de Saint Sernin, the French designer who made a splash with his season-long Ann Demeulemeester stint, and has been pushing the boundaries of gender expression on his runways since 2018, is on the schedule this season. “Now feels like the right time for me to finally tend to my community [in New York] and give them my best work,” he told Vogue Runway of his plans. “I feel like it will be my most important collection since my first.” He’ll be going up against the Super Bowl’ Chiefs/49ers matchup on February 11, but the Swifties can have the game. One look at Hunter Schafer in the feather top and bias-cut maxi skirt from de Saint Sernin’s Ann Demeulemeester debut at the Oscars last year and we were #TeamLdSS forever.—NP
The New Kids on the Block…
With every New York Fashion Week comes a crop of fresh talents, be they new-ish names who’ve just made the official calendar or younglings who’ve chosen this moment for their debuts. On this season’s list is Colleen Allen, a former Vogue assistant who cut her teeth at Raf Simons’s Calvin Klein and The Row; Project Runway season 20 winner Bishme Cromatie; Jane Wade, the Pacific-Northwestern who examines the intersection of the corporate and utilitarian in her work and presented off-calendar last September; and the Kazakhstan-born designer Meruert Tolegen. I’m particularly curious about Allen, who is a trained menswear designer that decided to launch her label with womenswear. Also on my mind: which stores will pick up Wade, who is wrapping up a two-season exclusive with Bergdrof Goodman. —José Criales-Unzueta
…And the Comeback Kids
The week also features some notable returns. Derek Lam, who was last on a NYFW runway in the fall 2018 season, leaving fans of his perfectly tailored flared pants bereft, has taken the helm at Câllas Milano, which was co-founded by his partner Jan-Hendrik Schlottmann and entrepreneur Marco Panzeri in 2021. Also staging a comeback is Delpozo. The Spanish label, which briefly captured the fashion world’s attention when the Spaniard Josep Font designed it, is re-launching just in time for its 50th anniversary under the new ownership of Spanish entrepreneur duo Enrique Mellado and Joaquin Trias. Tommy Hilfiger and Monse are on the calendar, too, after a few seasons away. —JCU
Location, Location, Location
Ladies, get your walking shoes ready. Fall 2024 is shaping up to be the season of the hard-to-get-to Hudson Yards, with Fforme and Thom Browne hosting shows in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, IMG has vacated Spring Studios, conveniently located near both the A/C/E and 1/9 lines, in favor of the Starrett-Lehigh building, three long avenue blocks from the nearest subway. In other location news, Mercer Labs, the new immersive museum by artist Roy Nachum and developer Michael Cayre, is currently open for previews, with its official opening date to be announced soon. The experimental space boasts a number of rooms with impressive LED installations. The best part for us Vogue editors: It’s a six-minute walk from the World Trade Center. So, who’s calling dibs?—JCU
Retail Landscaping
Luxury department stores may not be what they once were, but people still have to shop! Now, smaller, independent brands are taking the opportunity to carve out spaces in the retail landscape, further cementing their identities and creating a deeper connection with their customers. This month will see the soft opening of the first-ever Batsheva store at 166 Elizabeth Street. “It will be a jewel box of ruched and pleated fabric,” Batsheva Hay explained, adding she’s “literally covering the walls in fabric.” One of the designer’s pandemic projects involved reupholstering vintage chairs in groovy textiles, pieces which will also be available. Over in Williamsburg, KidSuper’s Colm Dillane is unveiling his brand’s massive new headquarters on February 10. Billed as “a sanctuary for dreamers and innovators,” Dillane’s plan for the 10,000-square-foot location includes a store, an art gallery, and design, screen-printing, and photo studios. But that’s not all— there’s also a recording studio and a soccer field planned for the space. A one-stop-creative-shop.
Other labels are taking advantage of the week to stake their claim on the city. Gucci will be unveiling the renovation of its Wooster Street flagship—we’re betting on luscious Gucci Rosso interiors. But perhaps we shouldn’t be so hasty about declaring the end of department stores; on February 8, Nordstrom will be hosting a tea party in honor of JW Anderson’s new pop-up shop. Apologies to your credit card in advance.—LGF
The Best Places to Eat, Drink, and Make Social Content During NYFW
May we suggest starting your day at Colbo, the Lower East Side’s coolest multi-disciplinary retail space? Not only do the baristas make a great third-wave coffee, the boutique stocks the best selection of vintage shirts from Charvet and an excellent range of IYKYK designers including Hed Mayner and Camiel Fortgens, so you can shop while you caffeinate. Later, you might see Colbo’s owners Tal Silberstein and Eldar Hadad out at a show or event.
Although the Vogue Runway team is likely to be eating lunch at our desks, we don’t say no to dinner invitations. As usual, we’re looking to our colleagues at GQ, who have a knack for sussing out the trendiest restaurants a season before the rest of us. Last September, Will Welch and co. hosted a New York Fashion Week party at the yet-to-open Jean’s, which has since become the hardest reservation in New York. For those fortunate enough to get in, we hear the seafood tower and gigantic cookie are worth trying.
If you don’t want to venture too far from the Starrett-Lehigh building, where Ludovic de Saint Sernin and Area are showing, Coqodaq and Portrait Bar are in the vicinity. Coqodaq and its fancy fried chicken and caviar has quickly become a fashion in-crowd favorite after opening last month. For late-night drinks of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety, Portrait Bar serves a multitude of options. The moody interior has been likened to Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar, but is more conveniently located for those who live downtown.—Irene Kim
And the Award for Day Doing the Most Goes to: February 8
Every NYFW there is one day that somehow winds up The Only Day an Event Can Take Place. This season, the honor of the most cursed day goes to February 8. We get it, brands were trying to think of everyone’s busy schedules, but, of course it doesn’t work if everyone has the same idea. Here’s a thorough, but probably non-exhaustive list of every February 8 event in our inbox: a Puma runway show, a Private Policy runway show, a Stone Island film screening, a High Snobiety x Levi’s dinner, a Phillip Lim Lunar New Year dinner, a Maria Cornejo dinner, the opening of “Vivienne Westwood Corsets: 1987 to Present Day” at the brand’s uptown boutique, the public reception of the aforementioned “The New Village: Ten Years of New York Fashion” at Pratt Manhattan Gallery, a KITH brunch toasting the release of Danielle Cäthari’s New Balance collaboration, that tea party to celebrate the JW Anderson x Nordstrom pop-up we just told you about, and a CFDA pre-NYFW cocktail party. May the odds be ever in your favor.—LGF
AI Will (Literally) Be in the Background
Last season, Collina Strada’s Hillary Taymour used AI in her design process. This time around, she’s once again experimenting with artificial intelligence—but not on her clothes. Instead, Taymour is using text-to-image model Stable Diffusion to generate a video that will play at the show on February 9. This will follow Private Policy’s off-schedule show the evening prior, which promises to delve into “the untamed frontier of the AI revolution,” as per the invite. Designers Siyinq Qi and Horan Li harnessed AI for thought processing when creating their fall 24 collection, which explores the sentiments and perspectives the industry is forming on AI. That’s all the murmurs on the AI front, for now, but if Paris men’s is anything to go by, there’s sure to be a couple more backstage mentions. Speaking of technology, Phillip Lim isn’t going full-throttle AI, but his installation (which directly follows the Collina show) will feature tech enhancements by way of projections and sounds by AAPI artists and creators who are interpreting his fall/winter collection. It’s a sign of where fashion is at with AI tech: wrestling with what algorithmic input means for creation and storytelling; juggling AI’s practicalities with human touch. As Private Policy puts it: It’s both the AI gold rush and the Wild West.—Madeleine Schulz
Don’t Miss It: New York Men’s Day
New York Men’s Day will once again kick off the CFDA schedule. The February 9 showcase features Landeros New York, Sivan, Terry Singh, Y.Chroma, Bulan, Pas Une Marque, Tarpley, and The Salting. Singh’s signature move is a pleated skirt—where else can he go from there? The last time Bulan designer Beam Rachapol Ngaongam showed, he had knit most of his impressive collection himself. I’m excited to see what he’s put together this time around. Read about last season’s presentation here. —JCU
Rain Rain Go A-WAY!
We’re sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but for all of you excited to show the world your take on the Mob Wife look (aka an excuse to bring out furs that have languished for too long in the “politically incorrect” side of your closet), Mother Nature has different plans. Currently, the forecast is showing a week of light layering temperatures (40s to 50s) accompanied by a bit of rain to spite those of you who were looking forward to wearing your prettiest hair bows. Will we still see all of these things, plus a few pants-less looks, to boot? Absolutely. One thing about dressing for Fashion Week—make that Fashion Week in general, it’s certainly not for the weak.—LGF