This Week, Stars Sought Out the Next Generation of Design Talent

Although offhand and casual can still be cool, the world’s stylish women have recently been reaching for ornate pieces from young designers that offer a new twist on evening—and never more so than this week, with awards season and fashion month in full swing. At the Independent Spirit Awards, Tessa Thompson dazzled in sculptural Vaquera, while Kiki Layne celebrated If Beale Street Could Talk’s sweep in a dramatic gown by Natacha Ramsay-Levi for Chloé. In London, at the close of that city’s Fashion Week, models took looks directly off the runways and headed to the parties: Adut Akech danced at Victoria Beckham’s YouTube soiree in a glittering Halpern mini made for moving, and Adwoa Aboah debuted a voluminous Fall 2019 Simone Rocha at the Fabulous Fund Fair.

The trend carried over to Milan, where Liya Kebede stepped out in a romantic piece from her Lemlem collection moments before taking yet another look—this one from her Moncler Genius collaboration with Pierpaolo Piccioli—for a spin inside the Duomo. But not all winning outfits signify a youthquake. Keira Knightley’s turn in Chanel at the London premiere of The Aftermath showcased the enduring beauty of Karl Lagerfeld’s vision and craft. A lovely tribute in one of the defining weeks in fashion history.