This season in New York, designers are embracing all the iconic landmarks the city has to offer, from the New York Public Library to the new Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History.
The spring/summer 2024 ready-to-wear catwalk season is here, with hundreds of shows set to take place in New York, London, Milan and Paris over the next month. This season in New York, designers are embracing all the iconic landmarks the city has to offer, from the New York Public Library to the new Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History. There are even shows on Roosevelt Island and Governors Island.
We saw debuts from Peter Do at Helmut Lang, Peter Hawkings at Tom Ford and the much-awaited first collection from Sabato de Sarno at Gucci. We also saw Australian designer Christopher Esber join the Paris schedule for the first time, and Louise Trotter will present her first collection for Carven. And most importantly we saw the return of Ralph Lauren to the New York Fashion Week schedule this season for the first time since September 2019.
New York Fashion Week brings together top American clothing brands and renowned fashion names, presenting a preview of what’s to come next spring. Through a series of mesmerising runway shows and presentations, the event offers an exciting exploration of the latest fashion and accessory trends. Below, we will round up the most beautiful collections from this season.
PRABAL GURUNG
Prabal Gurung unveiled his Spring/Summer 2024 collection at Roosevelt Island during New York Fashion Week. The collection was deeply inspired by his recent trip to India, where he had the opportunity to spend time with his family, including his grandmother.
Gurung’s designs seamlessly combined elements from his native Nepal and India, resulting in a collection that exuded femininity with a global flair. The pieces showcased a vibrant and diverse palette of colours, incorporating fluid fabrics alongside contemporary Western elements such as blazers and tailored trousers.
The runway show presented a range of styles, including dhoti pants, breezy dresses, and jackets adorned with fringes. Each garment exuded a chic and effortlessly wearable vibe, showcasing Gurung’s unique vision and cultural influences.
DION LEE
Dion Lee’s signature ethos mashes up utilitarian codes with a subversive, sexy mindset. For his spring collection, the designer said he further explored this narrative by “playing around with tool shed corsetry.” “I’m quite rough when I like to pin things, cut things up and collage them together. It was a cut-and-paste of a lot of ideas that I’ve kind of been working into over my whole career,” he said of his naive, fashionable approach to industrial language.
PROENZA SCHOULER
Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have revealed the Proenza Schouler Spring Summer 2024 collection. This season, their collection made a striking debut at Phillips’s Park Avenue headquarters, a non-traditional runway location that added an intriguing element to the show.
McCollough explained, “After finishing the fall show, we immediately knew we wanted to carry on its spirit.” He further expressed the desire to build upon the foundation of the previous season’s board of women and explore similar ideas within a spring context. This commitment to continuity was evident in the way the Fall and Spring collections engaged in a dialogue with each other.
The Proenza Schouler collection showcased a harmonious blend of the ordinary and extraordinary. Simple yet statement-making, bleached straight-leg jeans and a black leather coat with trailing straps, reminiscent of equestrian wear, demonstrated the brand’s dedication to simplicity with a touch of uniqueness. The Spring Summer 2024 collection marks a departure from the trend-driven fashion industry, embracing a more understated and refined approach while staying true to the brand’s distinctive style.
RALPH LAUREN
Ralph Lauren’s return to the official New York Fashion Week calendar with his Spring/Summer 2024 show was highly anticipated. On September 8, Lauren’s comeback took place in a modest warehouse located at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Inside the venue underwent a breathtaking transformation into a rustic artist’s loft, adorned with glistening chandeliers, draping canvas, and wooden textures. It provided a wealthy and charming setting for Lauren’s idyllic silhouettes, which beautifully contrasted with the pastoral backdrop.
According to Lauren, his Spring 2024 women’s collection embodies a new kind of romance – cool and sophisticated. The line sought to celebrate personal style through timeless classics rather than conforming to fleeting trends. The collection showcased artistic faded denim followed by painterly floral prints, with glamorous black and gold dresses exuding a luxurious shine that remained true to Lauren’s iconic Americana aesthetic.
COACH
Coach’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection commemorates Creative Director Stuart Vevers’ 10-year milestone and embraces a slightly different and more provocative approach. The brand makes a bold statement with leather, lace, and sheer knits taking centre stage, showcasing a prevailing trend of sheer dresses on the runways, red carpets, and streets. This trend is set to continue into the upcoming spring season, as models confidently strutted down the runway in sheer dresses layered over neutral undergarments.
The collection cleverly blurs the line between nightwear and outerwear, presenting lace dresses that could easily transition from lingerie to a stylish outfit for a night out. In terms of styling, the “less is more” mantra takes precedence, with many looks embracing the no-pants trend. With meticulous attention to detail, the collection features double-layered bags, heart-shaped sunglasses, and whimsical pendants featuring dinosaurs and arachnids, injecting an extra dose of coolness and playfulness.
