NYFW SS24 Recap/Style Report

my personal experience with NYFW, emerging designers to know, and the runway shows/trends that really stood out to me

I am very grateful to have attended a few cool shows/events this NYFW season. Something great about living in New York is that I don't have to travel to participate in NYFW. There are also many new and emerging designers who hold their shows during NYFW, some that are completely open to the public (you just got to do a little sleuthing to find them or hear them from your cool internet friends). Echoing something I talked about on my Instagram last year during NYFW, there are a multitude of ways to participate in NYFW as a fashion lover if you are not a large creator/work in the fashion industry. Don't get me wrong, it is still a dream of mine to attend large household name designer shows (like Sandy Liang, Tory Burch, Helmut Lang, etc.), but nowadays there are so many emerging designers who are doing some really cool work holding presentations and shows. And that is something I want to share with my audience here on Substack and my Instagram, introducing cool designers/brands (sustainable of course) that people may not know of. In a way, NYFW has become more accessible, in both good and maybe not so good ways (but that's another conversation for another day; I would recommend listening to Mina Le's most recent podcast episode on NYFW hot takes if you are interested in the topic of the accessibility of fashion week/influencer attendance at fashion shows - High Brow on Spotify).

Also, a little off topic, but fashion week really is the best time to experiment and go all out with your style. I always love having fun dressing up during fashion week because it challenges me to style pieces in my wardrobe in more interesting ways, experiment with layering, overdo it with the accessories and overall just say f*ck it and wear that dress that I haven't worn yet because I thought it was "too much" (trust me, nothing is too much when you are in New York). For example, I wanted to wear this findmenow sheer dress that I had already worn a month ago but struggled with styling it differently. 10 minutes before I had to leave, I got the idea to cut a bunch of black ribbon and tie it into bows on the dress, and it immediately elevated the whole look.

Anyways, I wanted to highlight some shows I attended in person this season and also talk about some designers/runway shows that really stuck out to me this season with their SS24 collection.

What I Experienced:

• Tension Archive Debutante Presentation

  • Truly one of the most beautiful presentations I've experienced in person. Tension Archive is a sustainable knitwear brand. Their Debutante NYFW Presentation continues to showcase the brand's love for nature with many floral and nature motifs. They used bio-fiber yarn, sticking with their brand value of sustainability. One thing I love about presentations vs. runways, is that you get to see the looks up close. The models walked around the room and posed and you can go up to see all the details. I definitely need to see some of these dresses on red carpets or magazine shoots. Here are some of my favorite looks from the collection:

    

    

    look at the ruffles, beading, and webbing details! (all images taken by me)

• Michelle del Rio Milagros Runway Show

  • I wasn't planning on going to this show but my internet friend, Francine (@_francinevega) told me about it on the day of and we decided to go and I am so glad I did. Michelle del Rio draws on her ancestral Spanish heritage in her designs, which you could definitely see in this collection, especially in the accessories. All her pieces are handcrafted in NYC using uniquely sourced materials. The runway show took place at the Laura Lombardi store, where models walked out one entrance and into the other entrance. There was something very Sex and the City about this show to me, like I could 100% see Carrie Bradshaw wearing this look walking out of her apartment.

    

  • At one point during the show, a guy who lived in the apartment in between the store, cut off a model to get inside and if that isn't the most New York thing to happen, I don’t know what is. Here are some of my favorite looks from the collection:

    

    

    (all images taken by me)

• Hauteline launch party

  • Not a fashion show, but Hauteline had their launch party during NYFW and I was invited to attend. Hauteline is a marketplace platform showcasing cool brands like Sandy Liang, Paloma Wool, Shushu Tong, to name a few. Their collection of pieces are available to buy new/used and rent, making fashion more accessible and sustainable to a larger group of people. I got to meet the founder, Kristie Chow (@krrristie), and she talked about wanting to share these unique brands with more people and that she procured all the pieces available on the Hauteline website herself. So if you're a fashion girlie, I would definitely check out Hauteline (I already have my eye on the Sandy Liang Bommy Puffer for the upcoming colder months).

    

    Left: Hauteline pieces IRL to look at and feel Right: My friend Susan and I at the launch party

Runway Shows/Collections that stood out to me:

• Sandy Liang

  • If you know me, you already know I love Sandy Liang. Her SS24 collection continues to showcase the theme of girlhood, with her signature motifs of bows and flowers. In a interview with SSENSE, Sandy showcases her inspiration board for this season, featuring images of Cecilia Lisbon, a character from The Virgin Suicides, wearing a vintage lace dress, which seems to suggest a darker side of girlhood for this season. Images of the seashell phone from Aquamarine were also seen, introducing a new theme of mermaid-core to the collection. I particularly loved the oversized bow satin bags models were seen carrying down the runway, the 3D rose appliques on dresses and skirts, and the overall color palette of black, ballet pink, red, white, and beige. I appreciate how wearable Sandy's pieces are, while still being elevated and detailed in a if-you-know-you-know kind of way.

    

    

    (images from vogue.com)

• Tory Burch

  • I feel like Tory Burch has been going through a rebrand over the past few years and this season's collection really set a tone of a new direction for the brand. I historically associated Tory Burch with a preppy kind of style, sometimes a little bohemian. So when I saw photos from this season's runway, I was very happily surprised. There was a overall theme of Space Age with the collection, with futuristic shapes and silhouettes, like bouncy hoop skirt dresses. The jewel-tone color scheme also invokes an outer space aesthetic, with deep purples, muted green-greys, bright yellows and of course a plethora of silver. I was particularly obsessed with the accessories: chunky silver earrings and arm cuffs, retro looking tinted sunglasses, and sandals with silver toe details. Tory mentioned in a interview (I can’t remember where I saw the interview) that she wouldn't describe the collection as minimalist and I agree; the pieces are very sleek but the intentional choices of silhouettes, colors, and accessories make it very interesting to look at and a step up from minimalist. I also love how she chose to have the runway at the new Gilder Center at the Museum of Natural History, with its unique architecture serving as the perfect backdrop for this scientific, space age theme collection. I'm excited to see what she has in store for future collections.

    

    

    (images from vogue.com)

• Palomo Spain

  • This was my first time seeing anything from Palomo Spain and I can't wait to see more of how the brand redefines menswear. The looks shown in this collection are truly gender-fluid, playing with traditionally feminine clothing aspects like lace, corsets, feathers, and silk on more masculine models and masculine body types. In an interview with Vogue, Palomo says "We haven't played with collar bones; now it's a thing for men and I think it's really sexy", which I think is really refreshing because collar bones are typically a feminine feature that people point out.

    

    

    (images from vogue.com)

  • After seeing this collection, I posted on my story that we need to see more male celebrities wear Palomo Spain on red carpets instead of the usual boring black suits. Literally a day later, Lil Nas X wore a Palomo Spain look straight off the runway at the VMAs so thank you Lil Nas X for setting the example.

    

    (right image from @lilnasx)

  • Another thing I love about fashion shows these days is that designers are becoming more creative with where they have the shows. For example, to complement the grandiose and extravagance of the collection, Palomo Spain held his show at the famous Plaza Hotel, where the red and gold interior served as the perfect backdrop. It really adds to the overall experience when the location of the show complements the clothes.

• Wiederhoeft

  • If I only had one word to describe Wiederhoeft's runway show, it would be Theatrics. Wiederhoeft really put on a performance, with a dramatic beginning where models all sitting in fold-up chairs at the center get up to part to the opposite sides of the stage, two models drag the center model sitting on the chair to the back of the stage, and she stands up and begins walking down the "runway" (I described that terribly so please watch the video for yourself: video from imanbubblegum on IG). The dramatic runway performance reminded me of 90s runway shows like Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood when models were more theatrical and the shows were more camp. As for the collection itself, the pieces were equally as extravagant and embellished as the performance. The bride and groom look was especially fun, with exaggerated fur puffs reminiscent of poodles.

    

    

    (images from vogue.com)

• Other Designers worth mentioning:

  • Allina Liu - presented her first NYFW Presentation, drawing in Greek mythology themes and her personal experiences as an Asian American

  • Dauphinette - this dress made up of over 200 vintage matchbooks is so kitschy and fun

  • Selkie - probably the most diverse runway in NYFW, with models of all different ethnicities, ages, and inclusive of disabilities. I forgot where I heard this from but someone said if you can’t design for all bodies, you’re probably not a good designer and yeah I agree

  • Bad Binch TongTong - super avant garde and theatrical performance featuring “alien” models

  • Mirror Palais - never disappoints with beautiful vintage-inspired dresses

  • Mila Sullivan - another designer that showcased the theme of girlhood in their runway show

  • Collina Strada - used AI to help design the collection; models walked down the runway with a pained smile on their faces, representing the ironic nature that humans are still caring about trivial things like fashion when the world is dying because of climate change

  • Helmut Lang - the first Helmut Lang show with Peter Do as the creative director, drawing from the history of the brand in New York

If you read all the way to the end, you’re a real one xx. Until next fashion week!