Helmut Lang Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear SS2018 New York

The worlds of Helmut Lang and Shayne Oliver collided Monday night as the former Hood by Air designer put his distinct yet complementary stamp on the venerable label.

Many of the influences were the same — bondage, fasteners, metallics, monochromatic whites and lots and lots of black leather. The collection also featured a lot of Helmut Lang branded references. But Oliver’s penchant for deconstruction shone through in many of the pieces, providing the right balance to the overall collection.

Women’s looks channeled the brand’s history of provocation with Oliver’s disruptive spirit. Oliver was tasked with moving the conversation, sure to be divisive, back to the brand and incite a new following. Oddly shaped bras and bustiers, open-seam trousers and daring displays of skin for both day and evening winked at a kinkier and more adventurous customer.
In men’s, the tailored top coats were a highlight along with the fastening cummerbund worn with a pink shirt that made the look feel modern.

Sies Marjan Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear SS2018 New York

Lies Marjan designer Sander Lak wanted his spring collection to be personal. In his show-notes, he noted that the pieces were “put through a wash cycle, fabrics were squeezed, wrung, tumbled and hung up to dry.” That did not mean they looked lived-in or aged; on the contrary, the collection seemed fresh and spirited, perhaps because of his gently twisted slash-folded knits and his signature use of color. Guava and yellow, mint green and lavender, metallic orange and pink were all done in his signature slouchy drapy vibe.

Streetfashion New York Womenswear SS2018, Day 03

What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that Balenciaga-shirt or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: New York Fashionweek, womenswear SS2018.

Tom Ford Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear SS2018 New York

The spring summer collection Tom Ford presented was a classic one: the calculated decadence we know so well from Ford, rendered in a split between athletic-derived sportswear and power-woman goddess gowns. Crossover of athletica into the primary daywear vernacular aside, Ford loves tailored polish. He opened with a bold-shouldered pale pink satin tuxedo jacket over a liquid metallic top and short-shorts, rolled at the hem. Unlike the old Gucci days when he worked the daylights out of a single look, here he offered options, some approachably chic, others challenging to all but the most secure of attitude and body image: classic pantsuits, dressed-up dark denim, short leather trenches and racy jumpsuits. One, a long, backless drink of water in white crepe, rang the bell of a long-ago Gucci dress with a cutout abdomen. An infusion of wit came in an only Tom take on the twinset: slouchy chain mail shoulder bag and matching briefs worn with a louche pale pink top. As for the eveningwear, strong shoulders and sequined sleeves transported classic draping from ethereal to aggressive, as glam as it gets.

The takeaway was of familiar audacity. Ford believes genuinely in the transformative power of clothes.

It didn’t come easily. To replicate the original getups, Ford wanted old-school tube socks, to the knee, but his staff came up empty — today’s versions hit midcalf. Someone then thought to cut the sock foot into a thong, thus extending the overall length. Tailored tube socks. Aspiration realized takes many forms.

Céline Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2017

Phoebe Philo presented confident, distinctive women with a taste for classic luxury in her runway-show for Celine. That luxury looked advanced and individualized with a quirky cut, proportion, color or print. There was a sense of cosmopolitan practicality and versatility. Like the girl in the brown trench, crinkled as if it had been folded in a suitcase and worn with a leather hood tied around the neck, pants and galoshlike pointy leather boots. The woman in the black-and-blond fur coat over a casual navy V-neck sweater, aqua blue T-shirt and pants that zipped down over white heels, carrying a large, plain black canvas tote, like a reusable shopping bag, could have been trying to look like she wasn’t trying to look chic at the grocery store. A model — in a modernist Josephine dress, draped and gathered at the hem over lace tights and gold shoes — might have been headed to date night. Those carrying big fluffy blankets with their tuxedo tailoring and exotic prints, suggested travel, as did the model in a lightweight white trench done in a map print. We’ll definitely find parts of this collection back in mainstreet collections.

Balenciaga Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2017

Demna Gvasalia, Balenciaga’s talented designer, is genuinely experimental and unafraid to realize and run with audacious ideas. In a short time, that approach has garnered him a great deal of attention and a reputation as perhaps the coolest designer on the planet right now.
Again, Gvasalia displayed that sense of bravado, his collection packed with twists, turns and grand gestures made with a deliberate street attitude. The collection was inspired by the house photo archives, where he found pictures with the poses of [Cristóbal] Balenciaga’s house models as they clutch fabric and strike couture attitudes.
Gvasalia delivered a raw take on haute motifs, opening the show with a bold coat-and-dress series. One side of each coat was pulled way over and fastened on the opposite shoulder – and this was not a styling tric but the actual cut – apparently to give the look of a swath of fabric thrown over a model’s shoulder. These shapes looked bold and fresh, with a wearability range from runway only to real-word chic.

Dior Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2017

Maria Grazia Chiuri built her new collection for Dior on the color blue. And according to the houses founder – Christian Dior – navy blue is the only color that can compete with black, since it has the same qualities.
Chiuri opened with daywear: a hooded monk’s tunic in cashmere cut to jacket-length and belted over matching cropped pants. She listed uniform dressing among her references, and leather berets and cross-bodies slung with the bags in back imposed a militaristic ardor on some of the dark, unfussy clothes.
Chiuri went more obviously Dior with jackets over graceful full skirts, but less so with denim, which looked fine and young. Evening proved interesting, as Chiuri’s models wore her moody, ethereal tulles and embroideries with relaxed attitudes.

Streetfashion Paris Womenswear FW2017, Day 04

What are you wearing during the fashion weeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that vintage Prada or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Fashion Week FW 2017.

Streetfashion Paris Womenswear FW2017, Day 02

What are you wearing during the fashion weeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that vintage Prada or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Fashion Week FW 2017.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2017

Dries van Noten’s show yesterday marked a milestone: it was his 100th collection inclusing women’s and men’s. And he took the opportunity to look back, but without being nostalgic. He chose to celebrate with the clothes and the women who have telegraphed their power from the beginning – literally generations of runway models. He opened with Kristina de Coninck, followed by a roll call of his favorite go-to girls from the Nineties on — Amber Valletta, Anne Catherine Lacroix, Carolyn Murphy, Alek Wek, Cecilia Chancellor, Élise Crombez, Erin O’Connor, Esther de Jong, Guinevere Van Seenus, Kirsten Owen, Liya Kebede and Nadja Auermann — who shared the runway with the familiar faces of today.

Van Noten dressed them to play up their strength, both as individuals and as a gender. And it did work, powerfully and easily. Van Noten crossed traditional masculine and feminine elements on his runway.
Van Noten’s other big message: prints – he’s a master of the genre. As part of looking back, he revived favorite patterns from his archive, overprinting them with additional motifs so that nothing is today as it was then.

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