And then there was one.
One day of fashion week remains — Thursday — when Marc Jacobs will wind things out in New York, and the fashion crowd will pack its bags and head to London. But before I get ahead of myself, a recap of Wednesday’s highlights, from Michael Kors to Ralph Lauren.
The statement sleeve is the new cold shoulder
Cutie crooner Rufus Wainwright entertained the fashion troops Thursday morning, singing a medley of happy tunes as models walked the runway at the Michael Kors Collection, and pledging his allegiance to Hillary Clinton by slipping “I’m with her” into his performance.
SHIMMY SHOULDERS: Looks from Michael Kors‘ spring 2017 show. (Photos: Getty Images)
Kors’ feel-good clothes crystallized many of the week’s trends, including bright color, pop florals and flatform sandals. But my favorite takeaway was the statement sleeve, which is next season’s update on the cold-shoulder trend. Kors showed a number of romantic blouses in azalea florals; with puffed, or sequin sleeves; covered in chiffon ruffles, or in simple fluid white crepe with delicate rows of buttons running from wrist to shoulder.
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Like the off-the-shoulder trend, the decorated sleeve can be worn by all ages and sizes. And it’s a logical next step for the tricked out shirt-as-status symbol phenomenon, which is already all over the streets this week.
Although Kors has yet to fully commit to the “see now, buy now” model, several of the runway styles shown are available in stores now. The designer calls his approach, “ready-to-wear, ready-to-buy.” “When you watch the spring shows — it’s still warm outside, you’ve still got your summer tan, lots of women haven’t put away their sandals yet. My customers want something they can put on right away,” he says. “That’s what this is — something for now and for later.”
Baz Luhrmann syncs with fashion week
Australian film director Baz Luhrmann has been making the fashion show rounds this week in New York at the Tom Ford and Alexander Wang shows. And on Wednesday, he sat down with fashion industry vet Glenn O’Brien for a live recording of “Tea at the Beatrice with Glenn O’Brien,” which was live webcast on the fashion entertainment channel M2M.
DAPPER DUDES: Baz Luhrmann and Glenn O’Brien. (Photo: Ilya Savenok/Getty Images)
Coming off the debut of The Get Down on Netflix, Luhrmann discussed his creative vision (“If you’re not breaking rules, you’re probably not advancing anything creatively”); his love of music (“The thing about Bowie that I’ve been profoundly influenced by is that he would take on periods and genres and personas and create characters … he kept evolving”) and his style (“I didn’t always these wear suits, you know,” he said, “I think I’ve had every color of hair imaginable”).
Luhrmann also revealed the one film he wasn’t able to get made (Alexander The Great) and the one song he could not secure rights to for Moulin Rouge, (Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son”).
And if you’re wondering why this happened during Fashion Week, it’s all about the synergy. WME, which produces a bulk of runway shows here, represents Luhrmann, and reps O’Brien as part of its Art + Commerce agency of stylists and creatives. And M2M is WME’s fashion entertainment channel, the first to launch on Apple TV. The full Baz episode can be found here.
Ralph Lauren brings runway to register
Ralph Lauren closed down part of Madison Avenue on Wednesday night to bring show to sidewalk in front of his store, closing the gap almost completely between runway and cash register, and putting his own spin on the “see now, buy now” phenomenon sweeping through fashion.
Though the front row may have been star-studded (Julianne Moore, Jessica Alba and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), the focus was on the customer outside the specially constructed tent. There was a letter from Ralph on every seat, which was also printed online, where the show was live-streamed. “For the very beginning, I’ve always designed with you in mind. You are changing the way you live and the way you want to shop, and we are changing with you and for you.”
SOUTHWEST: Stella Tennant (left) and two more models walk Ralph Lauren’s fall 2016 runway. (Photos: Getty Images)
Lauren showed fall clothes — again — though it was a different fall 2016 collection than the one he already showed six months ago. (Confused yet?) Still, the themes were tried and true — cowboy shirts, fringed bags, Southwestern-inspired, diamond-patterned dresses, blanket sweaters, biker jackets and more.
A high point was seeing 45-year-old model Stella Tennant walk the runway. A bid for inclusiveness there, too.
When Lauren took his bow, dressed like a 7th Avenue cowboy in dungarees and an oversized silver belt buckle, he danced a little jig, and then, thumbs in the air, directed the crowd into his store for a champagne reception. The message? “Ya’ll c’mon in and shop now!”
