New York Fashion Week always paints couture black
Q. What is the deal with Fashion Week? I know it’s New York, but does every show really have to be almost exclusively black clothes or is that just what they show on the quick news clips?
A. Black clothing flatters most people and gives an immediate impression of sophis- tication. Its pre-eminence is understandable.
That said, I couldn’t agree with you more. Even though the world is full of beautiful colors, year after year the designers seem intent on sending at least 90 percent of their models down the runways dressed in black. At New York Fashion Week that just ended, I saw more examples of this than ever.
The phenomenon of Fashion Week has become an even more sought-after hot ticket since the TV show Project Runway began in 2004 and the movie The Devil Wears Prada came out in 2006. This is partly because it offers a glimpse into a seemingly exotic other world, and partly because it is unique and doesn’t seem real. Well, the truth is, it isn’t very real.
Fashion Week is that time when the clothing industry previews what’s going to be big next season. The top designers present their coming collections in a mix of runway shows and staged presentations. (It’s hard to believe that the models in the staged presentations can stand so still for so long! Runway shows are brief, but the staged presentations can go on for a couple of hours.)
Fashion Week happens twice a year, in February and September. Designers actually show off their collections for the season ahead. In February, when all the world is looking forward to warm spring/summer weather and the bright colors we enjoy at that time, we saw what will be in the stores next fall.
The shows have a lot to do with cut, length, style, fabric and some bizarrely eclectic looks. All those elements are generally easiest to present in black without the distraction of color or patterns. In the summer months, designers have to present something bright, but in these shows, they generally avoid it at all costs. When people refer to Fashion Week in the states, they mean this biannual event in New York they’re talking about, though of course Paris and Milan and Dusseldorf — I myself was there one year — have their own.
It has been going on ever since World War II. Because the American fashion press could not get to Paris to see the next season’s designs, American designers began showing their new styles in New York.
Fashion Week attendees dress every which way, from the fashionable and chic to the clueless. Most guests (men and women) wear smart and sometimes eye-catching street wear that’s closer to reality, from jeans and pants to unique exhibitionist pairings … many with a heavy emphasis on extremely high-heeled and high-priced stilettos. While observing the women who attend the shows, I’ve often thought that anyone who possessed the total amount spent on their shoes would indeed be very rich.
THE SHOWS?
Inside a venue, the lights dim, the music blasts, and the show begins. The models, who are dressed (mostly in black) in that specific designer’s clothes and all with the same hairdo (sometimes a sleek pony tail, sometimes a wildly teased huge style, sometimes long curls), enter, walk down the runway one at a time, then disappear backstage. The last garment shown always used to be a wedding gown, but today it is a particularly beautiful and elaborate example of the show’s pieces. Then, all the models walk the runway once again in close succession to big applause. At this point, the designer appears briefly to take his bow. The surprise is how often he is wearing rather ordinary, if not scruffy, clothes that belie the elegance of the designs he has just shown.
THE CLOTHES?
Elie Tahari brought together two seemingly incongruous elements — lace and fur — in many different styles. To emphasize the point of lace for a fall/winter collection, the heart-shaped cookies that were given out as favors for that Valentine’s Day show were imprinted with a lace pattern. Besides lace, there were lots of sheer mesh and openwork designs, many worn with fur vests.
I remember thinking that any woman who has an old, out-of-style fur hanging in her closet should have it remodeled into a fur vest for next winter. She will be the height of fashion.
Two days later, Dennis Basso, a designer known for his exquisite high-end furs and gowns, also showed a series of elaborate examples of fur and lace together. The furs came in every conceivable style, from fur collars to full coats, and unusual trim on coats, even stoles. His over-the-top lace gowns (many with huge, Cinderella-like full skirts and trains) and bejeweled dresses looked perfect with the furs. Every piece was unique — something you’d wish to own, if only you could afford it and if only you had some place to wear it! Mr. Basso, unlike his fellow designers, took his bows after the show dressed in a well-cut dark suit and white shirt that set off his distinguished full head of silvery-white hair, looking as if he would fit in perfectly with his many socialite clients.
Rachel Zoe’s runway show also featured black, but her designs introduced a lot of white for that dramatic and classic black-and-white look that is always beautiful. She was one of several designers who showed wide leather belts set into the garment in contrasting colors for next fall.
RED IS THE NEW BLACK
One of the most memorable fashion shows each February is the Red Dress Collection, which is sponsored by Macy’s and the American Heart Association. Designed to promote women’s awareness of heart disease and related issues, this show differs in many ways from all the other shows. First, the models are all celebrities, not professional models. Second, each of the more than 20 models wears a gown from a different designer. Third, being real live women/celebrities, the models have fun on the runway and show a lot of personality (models are typically expressionless). And last, every gown is red. This year’s list of models included such familiar names as Wheel of Fortune’s Vanna White, actresses Fran Drescher and Marilu Henner, and ballerina Misty Copeland. The first year I attended the Red Dress show, Laura Bush was the featured speaker.
For a taste of the Fashion Week experience, and to get an in-depth look at this year’s show, check out www.goredforwomen.org/red-dress-collection-2016/. The video is long, but fun. It almost feels like you’re there.