Jawdroppers from NY Fashion Week '23

picture retrieved from USA Today

From Carolina Herrera, to Michael Kors, to Christian Siriano, and rising designers, our favourite season has arrived. The New York Fashion Week has never failed to impress, and this year was no exception to the rule. Having included some of fashion's favourite faces, the shows continue the long-lived legacy of one of the USA's hottest events.

pictures retrieved from CDFA

Having combined old and new, NYFW is an opportunity to experience not only the debut runway show of Raul Lopez; winner of the 2022 CDFA Fashion Awards for Accessories Designer of the year, who will be closing the 2023 Fashion Week, but also the spectacular return of an all-time favourite Ralph Lauren after their last appearance in 2019.

as pictured in order from left to right: a model in Carolina Herrera, a model in Ralph Lauren, a model in Raul Lopez

A large number of designers used the week as a means of promoting eco-friendly fashion where high couture met sustainability in a flattering and world-saving manner. On that list is designer Collina Strada who geniously used two of the most pressing matters of our time: AI and Climate Change, to promote a collection of eco-punk edge and designs that were created with the assistance of AI. On the contrary however, Coach's runway show was crashed by protestors who were holding up signs speaking against Leather use. This disrupted Coach's runway as well as the brand's overall image as it created an uproar regarding animal cruelty and the use of leather in fashion.

pictures retrieved from GettyImages

Fans are already taking onto social media to express their likes and dislikes about NYFW 2023. Whilst Michael Kors admirers congratulated it for its coherent and 'quiet luxury' aesthetic others raised concerns on the brand's lack of courageousness in exploring something we have not seen them do before. Wiederhoeft's collection wowed with its phenomenal bead work and extravagant glamour whilst Christian Seriano's show disappointed as the clothes did not complement the models that were wearing them and appeared ill-fitted, although he was given credit for his genderless and ageless casting of his models.

In the meantime, the queen herself is back and she has not come to play! Naomi Campbell has returned on the runway as both a model and a designer this time, having collaborated with a British and a Nigerian designer as well as Pretty Little Thing on a collection that is said to offer affordable fashion in all sizes. She stunned the audience in a metallic silver dress.

Naomi Campbell for PrettyLittleThing - pictures retrieved from Google Images

Onto the stars of the week...

RALPH LAUREN'S GOLDEN RETURN

After several years of absence from the New York sensation event, Lauren returned with a bang. The designer's Collection had a wide range starting with denim-on-denim looks, and moving on to bohemian style draped clothes, finishing the runway off with bold and mainly golden fabrics and materials, a staple of Ralph Lauren over the last few years. The designer's inspiration stemmed from a Western aesthetic where all clothes, although unique from each other in many ways, matched the venue decor and art interpretation of the space, as it was 'dressed' by taking heavy inspiration from Lauren's Colorado Ranch.

The bright colours and collection dripping of Glamour was said to remind of the reincarnation of a party straight out of Great Gatsby, succeeding in charming anyone who was lucky enough to attend.

Christy Turlington in Ralph Lauren- picture retrieved from Google Images

Attendees were ecstatic for the originally New Yorkian's return, as they felt that “New York Fashion Week finally feels like New York Fashion Week, because of him,” according to one guest. The authenticity in his return to his home town, pulls at all the strings in everyone's heart, as Ralph Lauren in many ways represents the origins of fashion in New York. Since his return, Ralph Lauren has gone viral for his collection and especially supermodel Christy Turlington's appearance in a Greek Goddess style golden dress that closed the show dynamically in declarations alluding to the fact that the fashion week "felt like New York because Ralph Lauren is New York" (online access).

The Blonds Bring Hollywood Glamour Back

Nothing screamed Glamour louder than the Blonds this year at the NYFW 2023. The designer Phillipe Blond and creative director David Blond have proven once again that a girl can never have too many diamonds.

The Collection circulated around the aesthetics of Old Hollywood and the life of Elizabeth Taylor, with its many affairs and scandals as well as her famous obsession with jewelry. It was heavily bedazzled with diamonds, sparkles, jewelry and an overflow of femininity and seductiveness, as is the creative vision of the designers for their every collection.

The Blonds are best known for creating collections full of glamour and extravagant beauty. Their inspiration of this collection evidently stems from a line of Old Hollywood movies such as "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Valley of the Dolls" or should I say "Valley of the Blonds"? In an interview David Blond mentioned that the collection is "all about celebration of color, sparkle, glamour. And this is sort of a tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, one of our style icons. And the idea of falling in and out of love”.

The big Jewels impressed, the eccentric hair and makeup wowed and the inspiration filled the room one model at a time!