Spring|Summer 2024

Everything you missed during Fashion Week month

This Article was originally published on The Intelligencer.

September was a busy month in the fashion world! The fashion weeks that started in New York and ended in Paris got us excited for the next year! For those who didn’t follow the Fashion Week events, we’ll keep you up to date with what happened.

New York

Peter Do’s debut for Helmut Lang on the first day of the New York Fashion Week was highly anticipated and perhaps for this reason expectations were high. Although the pieces presented on the runway were beautiful, they left a lot to be desired. Peter was criticized as many found the collection simplistic and lacking personality. Peter Do who also held a show in the Paris Fashion Week for his line got his redemption, his collection was powerful and each piece had a detail that exuded creativity, after all taking risks is worth it.

Ralph Lauren, who had not participated in the New York Fashion Week since 2019, and Christian Siriano, who celebrated his 15th anniversary shows were the celebrity favorites. Jennifer Lopez was one of the many celebrities in the first row at Ralph Lauren’s show that received a huge ovation at the end. Christian Siriano had Sia singing during the runway show with Janet Jackson and Avril Lavigne in the front row, his collection that was inspired by Ballet was glamorous and delicate.

Collina Strada’s collection focused on corsets, tulles, and frills, bringing a lot of femininity to the pieces. The models walked with a forced smile and clenched fists while the show’s soundtrack sang “Why are we here, the earth’s on fire”. Hillary Taymour said in an interview for Vogue “Everything sucks. We’re all doomed. The world’s on fire, but we’re doing a fashion show because that’s what we know how to do.” She also explained that the inspiration for the show was the meme “This is fine”.

Kim Shui, Adeam, and Palomo Spain shows were also delicate and feminine with lots of transparency and flowing pieces. In addition to satin and lace, some of Kim Shui’s corsets used mud silk, a sacred fabric in China. Palomo Spain collection was romantic, sexy, and elegant with camisoles, tap pants, and bed robes. The designer that advocates for gender-fluid clothes brought to this year’s collection man-bras, Palomo said “We haven’t played with collar bones; now it’s a thing for men and I think it’s really sexy”.

London

To everyone’s surprise, some amazing independent designers canceled their shows, including Nensi Dojaka, S.S. Daley, and the rising star Dilara Findikoglu. Dilara who was nominated for best emerging talent at the 2023 British Fashion Awards and was one of the most anticipated names on London Fashion Week, decided to cancel her show days before the event due to financial difficulties. Dilara openly said during an interview with CNN “I didn’t have enough budget to do the show. It’s as simple as that”. Despite this unfortunate news the remaining designers did not disappoint!

The angelic collection of Richard Quinn was dedicated to his father, who died in June. His attention to detail elevated the show and portrayed how much love he put into each piece. The dress with thousands of crystals hanging like tears was so touching and the entire collection was haute couture-level. Quinn stepped out for the finale in tears and his mother took him in her arms.

David Koma’s collection was a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and her passion for flowers. Rose has been the star of the Spring Summer 2024 throughout the fashion industry and it couldn’t be different on Koma’s show. The Rose was used as the emblem of peace during Henry VIII’s Tudor era and holds a symbolic meaning in English culture. The collection counted with elegant mini dresses adorned with 3D rose structures, ruffle skirts that mimic a flower blooming, transparencies, and a lot of colors. The pieces exhibited edgy femininity.

Daniel Lee’s debut for Burberry was successfully executed! London’s Bond Street tube station was transformed into Burberry Street, tea and pastries were served to the guests during the show making the atmosphere very relaxing. The collection marketing was extremely clever, Lee focused heavily on highlighting the brand and its logos.

Molly Goddard presented an inside-out collection inspired by historical underwear, some of the pieces resemble Victorian gowns and 1950s bras.

Simone Rocha’s collection, like many other designers, was inspired by Ballet. She presented trench coats made from pink organza, sheer dresses stuffed with roses, and lace dresses that resembled a wedding cake. The highlight was the pearl-studded Crocs.

Chopova Lowena’s show was presented in a Skate Park and the inspiration was the “skater boy you love or the skater boy you want to be” and of course, they nailed it! The collection was chic, rebellious, and with a lot of attitude.

Milan

Milan Fashion Week was buzzy and with so many great brands it is hard to highlight some of them.

Sabato De Sarno’s collection as a new creative director of Gucci was a big surprise, instead of the eccentric pieces that we saw in the past, his collection was clean, with straight cuts and besides the apparent simplicity, each piece was taken into consideration and details were added to reinvent the wardrobe-essentials.

Tom Ford’s first Milan show under the designer Peter Hawkings was much expected. Hawkings worked with Ford for 25 years and consistency was the idea, the collection portrayed very well Ford’s code, “of glamour, sexiness, elegance, and beauty”.

Kim Jones launched the Milan Fashion Week with a stunning Fendi collection. On a plain white stage, colossal bags were placed like statues reminding us of the power of the Roman Empire, his collection was of course inspired by the classical statues of Rome, and he brought a 90s nostalgia with an easy and timeless elegance. The dresses were tailored with no draping, just a long fluid line shaping the models’ bodies, the straight-cut pieces carried a peculiar combination of colors that brightened the collection, and many of the models gracefully wore gloves giving the final touch.

Prada’s collection wanted to bring freedom with lightweight and floaty fabrics. The highlight of the show was a reinterpretation of a handbag designed by Mario Prada in 1913. Originally proposed in silk moiré, it was recreated in Napa leather with a hand-carved fastening mythological figure.

Donatella Versace brought back Claudia Schiffer in a collection that fuses the 60s and 90s. Ice cream pastel colors, checkerboard patterns, and cocktail dresses dominated Versace’s runway. Definitely a fun collection that is just right for the spring and summer.

For a moment we could almost confuse Dolce & Gabbana’s collection with the Victoria’s Secret fashion show! The collection entitled “Women” was seductive and luxurious, with lingerie-inspired shapes that left almost nothing to the imagination, we could clearly see the femme fatale engraved in each piece.

Moschino celebrated its 40th anniversary in style! Four renowned designers were invited to create a collection inspired by Franco Moschino’s ideas. Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, Katie Grand, Lucia Liu, and Gabriella Karefa-Johnson.

Cerf De Dudzeele emphasized elegance with a classic and clean look. “Mr. Moschino loved all the classics, so I decided to do this,” she said in interviews for Vogue.

Karefa-Johnson came up with something completely different, with visual dissonance in mind, she was inspired by Moschino’s maximalist tendencies. Her pieces were bright and included patchwork denim and lace, tie-dye with beaded fringe, and nice cowboy hats to give the final touch.

Lucia Liu’s inspiration was florals and knitwear, she created romantic pieces with ruffles, bows, and hearts.

For Katie Grand, everything was about Moschino’s slogans. With the slogan “loud luxury” her black-and-white looks were worn by a troupe of dancers, bringing so much life to the show.

Paris

After 26 years Sarah Burton bid farewell and presented her last collection for Alexander McQueen. In the collection note, she explained “ This collection is inspired by female anatomy, Queen Elizabeth I, the blood red rose, and Magdalena Abakanowicz, a transgressive and powerful artist who refused ever to compromise her vision. The show is dedicated to Lee Alexander McQueen, whose wish was always to empower women.”

The collection was dramatic, and the color palette was black, white, and blood-red with a touch of gold and silver. Naomi Campbell closed the show and received a standing ovation from the audience.

Anthony Vaccarello scored 100 out of 10 with his opulent and impeccable show for Saint Laurent. Although some critics believed that Vacarello played safe with his pieces, his collection perfectly portrayed his vision. “I wanted to do almost nothing. I see so many decorative things, that I wanted to take it all off, to do no more than necessary” he declared backstage.

Many times it is hard for the public to guess the collection’s inspiration without seeing the notes, which was not the case for Vaccarello. The show was inspired by pioneering women and that was exactly what we got!

The synergy between femininity and masculinity in each piece was indescribable, and the inspiration of female aviators was evident. The models walked on a marbled stage with the Eiffel Tower as the background, jumpsuits, service jackets, cargo trousers, glittering mini dresses, mesh tops, and oversized sunglasses, all added to the “quiet luxury” style of the collection.

Some brands went above and beyond using their creativity. Elsa Schiaparelli’s lobster dress painted by Salvador Dali and worn by the Duchess of Windsor shocked England in the 1930s. Daniel Roseberry brought the lobster back in a giant gold necklace that was paired with an elegant black dress.

Oliver Rousteing cultivates “French luxury” and displayed Balmain’s signature embroidery pieces whose theme was roses and thorns in this collection. Rousteing explained “The Balmain rose cannot just be a romantic rose. There is also toughness and strength.”

Undercover presented terrarium dresses showing how ingenious Jun Takahashi is. The lights went black and three models came out of the darkness with dresses whose skirts lit up, you could see through the skirts colorful flowers and even a butterfly.

Harris Reed’s collection for Nina Ricci was exuberant and the unique zebra-striped dress arched out on a half-moon shape was a real show stop.

The Mugler collection was inspired by Casey Cadwallader’s passion for octopuses and jellyfish. The show had pieces giving the illusion of floating sleeves, skeleton structures revealing bones, corset waist jackets, body-con dresses with chiffon rippled like a tentacle, and dresses with transparent structures that resemble jellyfish.

Chanel brought a colorful and “relaxed look” collection. The pieces were chic, young, comfortable and casual. The collection was inspired by a modernist Villa that belonged to friends of Coco Chanel in Hyères southern France.

Louis Vuitton’s venue mimicked a hot air balloon inside out and the inspiration was the spirit of traveling, with a travel-ready wardrobe that is also eye-catching.

Hermès also embraced the “quiet luxury” concept. The collection was discreet with pieces that had tonal color head to toe.

The fashion week month ended. We sure have a lot of inspiration for next spring and summer. We hope that so many more incredible artists can continue to contribute to the fashion world and give life to amazing ideas. We can just wait until the next season to witness what the fashion world has to show us.