Images: Imaxtree
Despite the rain, The Big Apple was a hub of activity during New York Fashion Week Spring 2019. Marc Jacobs brought the week to a close last night and not even his hour-late show detracted from his brilliant collection.
Tom Ford kicked off the week with an immaculate collection that reflected his Yves Saint Laurent days. We watched Ralph Lauren commandeer Central Park and take his bow at his monumental 50th-anniversary show. Carly Cushnie went solo this season and front row attendees admired a pregnant and glowing Lily Aldridge take to the Brandon Maxwell catwalk all over the past few days. Rodarte is now firmly back on the NYFW calendar after a two-year hiatus, whileWes Gordon’s debut for Carolina Herrera received a standing ovation. Parisian label Longchamp flaunted its first-ever ready-to-wear collection before the eyes of Kate Moss and Kendall Jenner, while Sies Marjan remained one to watch by showcasing an “exquisite” collection.
Our unfiltered forum members have been on hand throughout the week deliberating over each collection. Here are their hits and misses of New York Fashion Week’s Spring 2019 season. Pack your bags for London!
NYFW Hits & Misses 1
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HIT: Carolina Herrera
"Great balance! There are the classic Herrera elements (the nipped waist, polka dot, floor-length details) and he's introducing new and more contemporary motifs and silhouettes which this brand desperately needs. Great effort!" [Benn98]
"Great solo debut from Wes [Gordon]. I would love to see him mature over the course of a few seasons at the house because I always enjoy his sophisticated youthful style. I love how you can see the intentions of going after a younger audience but it wasn't an in-your-face kind of way." [TaylorBinque]
"Great details here, this is lovely, and even better completely true to the brand's identity. Very well done." [HeatherAnne]
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MISS: Calvin Klein 205W39NYC
"Didn't Prada do those ugly sack dresses already last season??" [whippie]
"Those wrinkly dresses remind me of Prada. Everything else is forgettable at best." [mistress_f]
"Could he have tried any harder? I mean, it's better than last season, but that's not really saying much. Those shift dresses look odd and stiff in motion." [StoneSkipper]
See all the looks from the Calvin Klein 205W39NYC collection.
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HIT: Mansur Gavriel
"I think they are really growing. Of course, it's not groundbreaking but the brand started from bags and accessories and still are pretty much the focal point of the business. For them to branch out into RTW, outerwear and basics seems to be a wise business decision. I love the colors, the cutting and the feel to it." [TaylorBinque]
"Nothing groundbreaking at all, but I find this so beautiful! The neutral and pastel tones, shift dresses and coats (we all know Americans love their coats!). All very pleasing on the eye." [Benn98]
"Perfection, I can't stop looking at this!" [liberty33r1b]
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MISS: Gabriela Hearst
"She should just stick to handbags...the clothes are unnecessary and blah." [kasper!]
"This didn’t need a show. A cool presentation in a fancy suite would have been perfect." [Lola701]
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HIT: Marc Jacobs
"I'm in awe of everything in this collection. Is it derivative? Yes. But I don't care. I miss this kind of theatrics in fashion, and when someone like Marc--or Pierpaolo with his recent couture offerings for Valentino--did so in the most unapologetic way, I couldn't help but be won over. Overall, this is fashion escapism at its finest. I'm just glad that despite the turmoil he undergoes, he's still able to bring out the big guns in his arsenal when it comes to delivering fantasy." [Ken Doll Jenner]
"A nice departure from last season yet with some of the volumes and 80s inspiration staying intact. I thought this was a nice collection from Marc Jacobs, liked how coherent it was, how different it felt from everyone else in New York and as per usual it's the headgear which finish off most looks beautifully." [vogue28]
See all the looks from the Marc Jacobs collection. -
MISS: Oscar de la Renta
"Passable collection, didn't start off with a bang for me. I actually loathe the fringe detail, which looks like curtains most of the time. Maybe it's just the execution. End result looks like different ideas stitched together in haste." [Benn98]
"Some looks are really horrible, considering it's ODLR." [liberty33r1b]
"There are some cute pieces and I get the intention but the message is blurred. And the ballgowns weren’t necessary as they kill the easiness of the collection." [Lola701]
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MISS: 3.1 Phillip Lim
"Love him as a designer but this is so unexciting, it's more like a lookbook collection." [gossiping]
"I expected more, it's not terrible at least, but just so underwhelming. There's really not much creativity going in New York this season, is there?" [Benn98]
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MISS: The Row
"I would love to see or meet a loyal The Row customer because I refuse to believe that those clothes are designed for active women. I just can't get the 'loungewear' thing out of my mind." [Lola701]
"A lot of these looks would've turned out better if they got rid of their obsession with oversized fit." [Ken Doll Jenner]
"Same ol', same ol' — they have to evolve at some point." [HeatherAnne]
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MISS: Proenza Schouler
"I think they embody perfectly how much this NYFW is a mess: try-hard, a bunch of clothes that no one wants, no identity." [GivenchyAddict]
"Such an underwhelming collection and return to NYFW." [Sensation]
"Got chased out of Paris and ran back to NYFW with this mess. It looks so weirdly stuck in 2016." [RedSmokeRise]
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MISS: Zimmermann
"Her clothes always look so itchy and uncomfortable to wear." [modela]
"Yikes." [Nomar]
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MISS: Michael Kors
"What a Mess. Officially the worst thing this week! Where is the fashion? This looks so cliché, so literal and I see those Prada undertone references. He is losing himself trying to keep up with the trends." [Lola701]
"He is trying so hard to be something he's not and it shows. It's time to hit reboot and go back to the jet set rich bitch look." [GivenchyHomme]
"The entire collection feels like a mashup of various Prada and Chanel elements, with a little Michael Kors surfer thrown in for good measure, due to the fact it's a spring/summer collection. All the black looks toward the end come across very Chanel (including the footwear) and the prints are very Prada-esque. Another miss of a Michael Kors collection, for me." [vogue28]
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HIT: Tom Ford
"Thank God for Tom Ford. This show is already iconic. Truly high fashion. I got so entertained with Tom when he goes wild that I forget how much I appreciate when he goes 'sober' and makes me remember why I fell in love with his designs in the first place. Sexy and subtle. Chic and mundane. Provocative but quiet... Oh god, I love this guy." [ghostwriter10549]
"His best collection since his debut women’s show. Reminds me a lot of his YSL women’s collections...but it feels freshened up in a way. Love the turban styling...it’s just the right touch." [dior_couture1245]
"OMG Finally! Tom Ford is back! Not only is this chic and fabulous, but it also feels passionate, sexy, and natural. It's extremely refined, but it retains its sophistication with just the right amount of sex. It's Tom Ford for the modern era. How amazing is it to see him do ruching again? It's a great homage to his work at Gucci." [GivenchyHomme]
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MISS: Brock Collection
"Prada from various seasons meets Louis Vuitton by Marc Jacobs circa 2005. Another collection part of the « Vogue Runway Archive » series." [Lola701]
"I typically love everything Brock does but this seems a bit repetitive mixed in with some Proenza vibes. I definitely see the Prada references too." [kenndale]
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HIT: Ralph Lauren
"Honestly, it’s fabulous. Ralph’s collections have been really quite nice these days - maybe he has some fresh blood in his design team, but the runway line seems to have returned to that really glamorous, relaxed, super aspirational look. Less 'themey' than it had been in the late 00s and early 10s." [dior_couture1245]
"Beautiful, luxurious and very Ralph Lauren! It is good to have designers like him." [GivenchyAddict]
"Great job and congratulations Ralph! I'm always here for real and talented designers like him." [ghostwriter10549]
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MISS: Eckhaus Latta
"This is tragic and boring. A lot of posture and not a lot of design. Apart from the two checked dresses toward the end, this looks like a caricature of what an underground brand should do in terms of design. I don’t like this and it kills me because their previous show was stellar." [Lola701]
"Goodwill Haute Couture, mothballs are included at no extra charge. The clothes look old, tattered, and cheap. I will admit that I really liked the yellow suit and the orange pants, other than that the rest is unremarkably banal. Cow pants and Christmas tablecloths? Then you have those rave-colored cheesecloth dresses and the arts and crafts looking vest cloak things. I don't want any of this and I don't want to see it photographed either." [GivenchyHomme]
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HIT: Sies Marjan
"Definitely one of the few to watch during NYFW." [TREVOFASHIONISTO]
"Exquisite! Although not as bombastic as his last collection, it's quite perfect for spring. Lak's draping is just beautiful, as with his treatment with stripes! The colors, even though some were too bright for my liking, were just right and not garish! He's rivaling Haider Ackermann as the best colorist in fashion today." [ToniOrtega]
See all the looks from the Sies Marjan collection. -
MISS: Longchamp
"Do we really need a Longchamp RTW collection? And if so, why does this look like a bad Just Cavalli collection? Longchamp is actually one of the houses that could use all of the clichés of Parisian style to its advantage. Longchamp bags are the definition of practical, easy and timeless. Their fashion should reflect that: simple, sexy, romantic and urban." [Lola701]
"Good god that’s a lot of fringe." [kenndale]
"What is this Cavalli lite mess?" [khyrk]
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HIT: Ulla Johnson
"West Africa meets Eastern Europe? Love it! Because she dealt with it in such a sensitive manner. The showstoppers here are the bodices, and definitely the setting which oddly enough doubles for both cultures. Overall very modern and feminine." [Benn98]
"This is just lovely. Wearable, stuff you'll buy on her website, and not trying too hard to be F A S H I O N [eye roll]. She's so good." [HeatherAnne]
See all the looks from the Ulla Johnson collection. -
MISS: Prabal Gurung
"I usually love color on the runway, but this was just too much! He should learn from Sander Lak (Sies Marjan) or Haider Ackermann on how to do color in a sophisticated way!" [ToniOrtega]
"His take on colours is atrocious, sorry! It's not so much that there's a 'right' way to play with it, but his just look visually vile. And then you have the patterned looks which bear zero relevance to the collection really, but because they're in colour, he added them? It just ruined an already trite collection for me." [Benn98]
"This looks so immature, I'd expect better from him at this point." [liberty33r1b] -
HIT: Cushnie
"Nice color range. I like seeing Marquita, Candice H. and Yvonne Simone, too. Pro plus models." [classic1908]
"Inoffensive and not very original, so glamorously executed! Love the flow of colours and simplicity, and the bronze satin looks won me over with their unfussed appeal." [Benn98]
See all the looks from the Cushnie collection. -
MISS: Rodarte
"Did they aim for a dreamy feel? Cause this is a nightmare." [gazebo]
"There are so many candidates for the ugliest dress you've ever seen thread, I don't even know where to begin. *Some* (very very few) looks are nice, but this is ugly as hell. I just don't understand what happened to them, they used to be among my favorites but it's been such a long time." [mistress_f]
"Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse..." [liberty33r1b]
See all the looks from the Rodarte collection. -
MISS: Christian Siriano
"That was violent! Wow! The menswear is also slightly offensive. He should leave the florals + leopard thing to Dolce & Gabbana. What a mess..." [Lola701]
"It's just so aggressively tacky." [RedSmokeRise]
"I will agree to disagree. Some of this works, particularly the chartreuse against the rich chocolate skin. The menswear, though, is mind-boggling. No man of a certain age and stature will wear it." [classic1908]
See all the looks from the Christian Siriano collection. -
MISS: Brandon Maxwell
"Basic. Sies Marjan did these colors in a much more unique and interesting way last season." [RedSmokeRise]
"There are some awful things like that bottle green dress and that weird styling. I’m also going to question the taste level. Shiny, expensive fabrics are tricky. But shiny, expensive fabrics in flashy colors can be a disaster... And here, we have a perfect illustration of the subject. This is something that should only be reserved to those C-list couture houses showing in PFW." [Lola701]
"These designs are just so basic, you can find them in every major capital of the world." [Benn98]
See all the looks from the Brandon Maxwell collection. -
MISS: Escada
"So disappointing." [liberty33r1b]
"Looks like Moschino Cheap & Chic from a few years ago." [gossiping]
"Too stuck in the 80s, too close to the archives, too much of tacky fabrics so it is very Escada. I guess the job has been done." [GivenchyAddict]
See all the looks from the Escada collection. -
MISS: Christian Cowan
"This looks like a lineup of Project Runway challenges from 2010." [Lola701]
"Very 'fashunn' in every sense. Clichéd and unevolved at best." [Benn98]
"The clothes themselves are too gimmicky for their own good..." [YohjiAddict]
See all the looks from the Christian Cowan collection.
