The weekend of New York Fashion Week continued to present beautiful collections from Helmut Lang, Kim Shui, Tom Ford, and many more fabulous designers. We will be catching you up on collections from Friday until Sunday, concluding the first fashion week which made a return to in-person shows!
Helmut Lang
Helmut Lang brought minimalist, refined pieces with colourful details for Spring 2022 ready-to-wear. Each look is wearable, appealing more to formal everyday wear rather than explicit streetwear. Touches of the brands’ seaside inspiration for this collection are present in knotted, rope accessories, rain jackets, and an abundance of pockets.
Michael Kors
An amalgamation of the 1950s silhouettes, rich formal wear, and light evening dresses was present at the Michael Kors’ show. Duffle coats, blazers, and Capri suits brought Winter classics into Springtime through cropping, heavy fabrics, and opting for bralettes instead of full-coverage tops. Floral, pastel lace returned the looks to Easter Springtime outfits with swing skirts, gingham matching sets and loose, Cami dresses. Overall, Michael Kors presented a wide range of looks applicable to Spring, from coats for rain showers to flowy daytime dresses, closing with sparkling evening gowns.
Carolina Herrera
Sophisticated is exactly the way to describe Wes Gordon’s classy ready-to-wear looks for Carolina Herrera’s 40th-anniversary collection. Inspired by Herrera’s 1983 runway, elevated black and white looks opened the show from simple mini dresses to bubble skirts to tiered tulle gowns. The show closed with further dramatic ball-gowns, establishing the bubble silhouettes as a staple of Spring 2022.
Coach
Coach attempted streetwear with fun graphics, loose silhouettes and an abundance of denim for Spring 2022 ready-to-wear. Coach’s history of leather craftsmanship has been updated under the creative direction of Stuart Vevers. Traditional elements like houndstooth, woollen fabrics and lined coats were revamped with oversized silhouettes, broad sleeves, and denim pieces. Rather than present expected floral dresses for Spring, Coach offered an edgier story of comical graphic t-shirts paired with denim shorts and waistcoats.
Brandon Maxwell
Bright colours, shimmering fabrics, and flattering silhouettes appeared at Brandon Maxwell. The brand was created with the purpose to empower women through fine tailoring – this collection presented garments created to flatter everyone. Not shying away from bold patterns, the pieces focused on hypnotic spirals, pastel gingham, and ’70s psychedelic. Sleek 90s silhouette were mixed with pastel Y2K influences to create a flattering and empowering collection of loud clothes for every woman.
Rodarte
The Rodarte women layers boxy shirts wear lingerie-style dresses and have crystal-encrusted evening gowns in her wardrobe. This show was focused on movement, opening with looks including cape-like sleeves blowing in the wind, moving to loose silk slips and sheer lace dresses. The collection spanned natural landscapes with a bright, sky-blue dress transforming to rich orange looks. The show closed with a series of simple shift dresses spanning various sunset hues – a suiting close to a collection encompassing earthly landscapes.
Kim Shui
The western theme returned to the runways at Kim Shui. Cowboy hats, denim chaps, and thigh-high riding boots were paired with pastel pink ruffle dresses and sheer tank tops. The collection brought together funky patterns, Y2K high-low frills with animal prints, and everyday cowboy wear. Overall, the sweet florals and pastel printed on light fabrics made a heavenly pairing with edgier crocs, leather, and neutral brown accents.
Tom Ford
Speaking to Vogue, Tom Ford said ‘my clothes this season are simple in cut, but not in impact’, with the dominance of shiny, bright fabrics this statement is true. Contrasting colours came together through loose basketball shorts, blazers and tank tops in eye-catching, glitter fabrics. The collection was certainly loud, with most looks including multiple shiny, glittering, reflective fabrics. However, the show also included the typical chic, black and gold we expect from Tom Ford – these looks follow a similar silhouette of simple cuts, but appeared more refined in stripped-back colour palettes.
As NYFW draws to a close, we feel refreshed after following the return to in-person fashion shows. NYFW has allowed us to revisit our favourite fashion houses whilst seeing innovative collections from up-and-coming designers. Next on the calendar is London Fashion Week, taking place on the 17th-21st September!
Words by Caitlin Sahin
Photo Credits: @brandonmaxwell
