5 top trends at New York Fashion Week

This New York Fashion Week is a wrap. The mixed schedule of men’s and women’s shows and presentations saw daring silhouettes and bold uses of color that reflected a search for joy following the intense political and social upheaval occupying the U.S. in recent years.

1) Bright hues

Eye-popping colors cropped up everywhere this season, bringing a certain optimistic warmth to the cold winter months. At Carolina Herrera, the label’s Fall 2019 collection offered a bouquet of yellows, oranges, greens and blues, as creative director Wes Gordon continues to bring a younger, more contemporary edge to the brand. Meanwhile at Sies Marjan, a crystal-covered floor set the stage for an array of grape purple, yellow and pink pieces. In particular, neon shades made multiple appearances across different labels, especially current Instagram favorite highlighter green, as well as neon orange.

2) Think pink

If one color were to be crowned king of this season, however, the title would have to go to pink. In addition to appearing on the runways of colorfully feminine brands like Kate Spade, the hue also stood out as a dominant accent color at Helmut Lang and Hugo Boss, where sudden bursts of all-pink outfits broke up collections of mostly black, white and gray. At Zadig & Voltaire, hot pink stood out in a nearly monochrome women’s turtleneck, jacket and skirt look, while men got a cozy alpine sweater with bright pink sleeves. A deep and intense fuchsia made multiple appearances at Robert Geller and Tom Ford, and the color also spread to accessories, with Mansur Gavriel serving up baby pink handbags in every shape and size.

3) Suiting

This season, the precise tailoring of the men’s suit was expanded into looks for everybody. At the forefront of this trend was Helmut Lang, where the principles of fine suiting were applied to men’s and women’s Autumn/Winter looks in all their iterations thanks to the expert eye of creative director of women’s and men’s, Mark Thomas. A similar structure appeared on both the Boss and Proenza Schouler runways, where looks inspired by architecture, sculpture and modernist art resulted in sartorial silhouettes.

4) 70s revival

This season, it looked like many designers had caught the nostalgia bug for the 1970s – perhaps a rebuttal to the not so groovy present. The intensely influential music of the decade played an important role when it came to aesthetics, with Longchamp producing a high-energy rock 'n’ roll women’s collection fit for a Rolling Stones tour, while Michael Kors recreated Studio 54 in all its glittering glory. Among the decade's many iconic fashion statements, shearling and fluffy, furry coats were front-and-center at both the Kors and Longchamp runways, as well as those of Tory Burch, Coach, Zadig & Voltaire and up-and-comer, Area. Elsewhere, at Tom Ford, fuzzy, 70s-style floppy hats dipped seductively over models’ eyes as a Bee Gees cover played in the background.

5) High shine

If this NYFW’s intense pigments weren’t enough, dazzling fabrics were also there to keep the audience's eyes stimulated. At Ralph Lauren, this meant a wash of luminous gold on jackets, dresses and shoes, while Michael Kors kept to his Studio 54 theme by packing his collection full of sparkles. Over at Carolina Herrera, a floor-length gown covered in reflective silver squares rivaled any disco ball, while Zimmermann sent more than one metallic silver coat down the runway. Adding another dimension to the trend were younger brands like Romeo Hunte and Descendent of Thieves, whose collections featured looks in glistening satins and sateens.

5 top trends at New York Fashion Week

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