by Asiya Khaki
The Shows Must Go On
two perspectives on new york fashion week 2009
PrintWomenswear Features Form and Function
New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which wrapped up last weekend, was fighting against the odds this season. With a rapidly deteriorating economy, bombing magazine ad sales and designers skipping out for less costly presentations—not to mention that shows began on Friday the 13th—it didn’t seem like this was going to be style’s year.
But as Fern Mallis, the senior vice president of IMG Fashion, points out in an interview, functions like these are needed more than ever when times are rough. As Mallis reflects, “I believe Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will bring some positive energy and activity to the industry. It’s the creativity that we now need to celebrate more than ever. Our schedule is full and despite the constant focus of the economy, we will be back to business almost as usual.”
While, as Mallis alluded, artistic encouragement is a significant motive, running fashion week smoothly is also imperative for more practical reasons. Never were these two sides more evident than at this Fashion Week. Designers had to tailor their visions to financial reality. As even the richest of clients are prioritizing their purchases these days, brands demonstrated smart marketing by falling into one of two categories—irresistible statement pieces and investment basics. Luckily, this means shoppers will have a choice between 3.1 Phillip Lim’s exotic goat hair shrug and Ralph Lauren’s luxurious tweed coat, or maybe Alexandre Herchcovitch’s unusual bi-silhouette bedazzled frock and Hervé Léger’s classic bandage dress. Though all of these clothes are highly creative, in order to be successful, designers must also bow to commercial pressures, including an extremely rapid turnover cycle.
The fashion world works on a unique calendar—these fall/winter collections were presented about six months ahead, just like the spring/summer collections were presented in September—allowing the press and buyers ample time to preview designs and incorporate them into their media, marketing, or store’s stock. Because of this scheduling trick, consumers can incorporate trends into their wardrobes in time for the appropriate season, and designers get a chance to publicize their latest work, potentially making or breaking their careers.
Beginning in 1943, New York held the first formal Fashion Week in order to give new American designers exposure when the collections of popular French brands were held overseas. Since then, shows have evolved into major prêt-a-porter (ready-to-wear) events that are watched, covered, and coveted in the fashion capitals of New York, London, Milan, and Paris. New functions continue to emerge every year, much to the advantage of young, fresh designers who can’t make it to one of the “big four.” Today, there are nearly a hundred fashion weeks taking place everywhere from Scottsdale, Arizona to Zagreb, Croatia. Though native designers typically dominate each city, fashion weeks are international affairs that allow industry members to sample what‘s new in a variety of places. Editors and buyers globe-trot for a month in order to cover and take in all of the major shows.
Of all of these, New York Fashion Week is a highlight, and this season was no exception. The panicked rumors that events and collections were going to be dramatically downsized due to the economy were far worse in the pre-Fashion Week gossip than in reality. Despite the doom and gloom of some telltale signs, such as smaller guest lists and a tragic lack of orgy-like parties, the shows were just as—if not more—fabulous than ever. Maybe it was overcompensation, but it felt more like determination: The fashion industry took the opportunity to band together and turn a potential disaster into an Obama-esque moment of audacious, gold sequin-clad hope.
What better way to express optimism than by bringing back the over-the-top exuberance of the 80’s? It was the unanimous look of the season, channeled in the clothing of almost every major designer. Legging pants popped up in the collections of Yigal Azrouël, Rag & Bone and Peter Som, to name a few.
Elbow-length gloves also made a comeback as the new accessory, thanks to designers Charlotte Ronson, Anna Sui and Zac Posen. Erin Fetherston’s lacy confections, with their distinct Madonna vibe, stuck closest to the theme.
And then there were the Joan Collins shoulders. Max Azria put pronounced, squared ones on his dresses at Hervé Léger, Miss Sixty’s blouses featured pouffed sleeves and Marc Jacobs’ outrageous padding stole the show. Although neutrals usually dominate fall collections, color palettes at Fashion Week were the brightest they’ve been in years. “What? Is all black going to help the economy?” Marc Jacobs reportedly joked backstage. Jacobs’ pink, yellow and green neons, complemented by his new Stephen Sprouse bags, blinded. Keeping up with the movement of offering investments as well as statement pieces, traditionalists like Oscar de la Renta and Michael Kors also featured neon frocks and suits, praising their refreshing urbanity.
But don’t stow your black suede boots just yet—the bad-girl chic trend isn’t going anywhere. Alexander Wang, who has found his niche in tough but sexy pieces, showed crocodile shorts alongside skintight cutout-laden dresses. Even softer brands, such as Charlotte Ronson and Cynthia Steffe, are joining the pack, offering fringed biker jackets and leather leggings. Matthew Williamson had a more playful take on the look, featuring leather trousers in punchy colors like red and blue.
No matter what you end up wearing next fall, all of these collections were designed for a good time. Though today might have its problems, thanks to designers, we have something beautiful to look forward to in the future.
—Alexandra Owens
Menswear Designers Exhibit Strong Personality
“Life must be a straight line of motion from goal to further goal.”
This quote, from the Objectivist author and philosopher Ayn Rand, was printed across the invitation for designer Shipley and Halmos’ fall 2009 presentation. Those words seemed a bizarre muse, but as fashion week went on and I attended more shows, it became clear that Rand could be an apt, though perhaps absurd, paradigm through which to view the seemingly disparate, even schizophrenic fall menswear collections.
Across runways this year, young menswear designers showed styles that ranged from sartorially serious to casual versions of vintage finds or work wear.
Rag & Bone showed off black ninja pants and collarless jackets that came with dramatically angular cuts. Robert Geller, winner of the second annual GQ/CFDA Best New Menswear Designer award, offered a morbidly Victorian elegance. Meanwhile, Yigal Azrouël (another contender for the GQ prize) rolled out comfy, chunky knits and deconstructed garments. Still, not everyone managed to settle into the either/or of dumpy comfort or sleek severity. Band of Outsiders, Loden Dager and Trovata showed off absolutely wearable, if a bit predictable, lines with mixes of Francophile, nautical, and uptown casual in each. Patrik Ervell seemed torn between manly outerwear and daintier sweaters with skinny schoolboy pants cropped at the ankle, while Justin Timberlake’s William Rast eschewed all of the above to go with shredded jeans and leather biker vests.
With so many possible directions for menswear, it seems fashion is certainly no “straight line of motion.” Where does this diversity come from? What is it reacting to? It seems too convenient to decisively pinpoint the recession as inspiration when Patrik Ervell’s powder blue denim jacket goes by, or when Depression references from bowler caps to suspenders pop up at Diesel Black Gold or Gilded Age. It seems too simplistic to deem the brooding ninjas at Rag & Bone as decked out for more dire times. Is men’s fashion just an illustration of context?
We’ve certainly seen sharply structured, slim-cut garments before, and men’s luxury work wear has been making a home for itself for a number of seasons. Their most recent appearance on the runway cannot simply evoke the economic downturn.
Instead, this greatly contrasting assortment suggests Rand more than random: it represents the empowering of the individual as designer and consumer. In recent years, young menswear designers have been offering increasingly diverse ideas for the future of menswear, and its place in a world where fashion for women gets a good deal of the limelight. They’ve revitalized interest in menswear, and demonstrated a new confidence in shaping their own collections. The clothes don’t reflect singular, sweeping trends, but reveal a wide variety of sources and inspirations. These looks become the concrete (or wool, leather, even alpaca) forms of a designer’s vision.
Meanwhile, this fall, men looking to pursue their own aesthetic happiness will be offered a smorgasbord of suiting and sweaters, be it Yigal Azrouël boho baggy or Tim Hamilton’s slim and structured. With fashion as one of the most capitalist of industries, the only question remaining is why Rand herself didn’t throw her hat into the menswear ring for fall ’49. On second thought, maybe Atlas Shrugged instead of Atlas in a Fencing Coat and Twill Trouser was the right choice.
—James DeWille
26 February 2009
vol. 6, issue 5
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