What Happened at New York Fashion Week?
Five Prompts to Inspire Your Outfits this Week
Happy Fashion Month!
The Fashion Weeks of New York and London have already concluded, and Milan Fashion Week is well underway. This week, all of the outfit prompts will focus on the news and runway shows of New York Fashion Week. Next week will be dedicated to London. (I loved London Fashion Week!!!! I’m very excited to discuss it with you!) I’m not sure, yet, if I’ll continue into Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks, as well. Please let me know if this fashion week commentary is something that interests you.
Perhaps the biggest news of the past two weeks is the appointment of Sarah Burton to Creative Director of Givenchy. A year ago, Burton left her post as Creative Director at Alexander McQueen after 25 years at the house. Her designs were beautiful, sculptural, interesting, and often surprising. They were a respectful, but exciting, continuation of McQueen’s design ethos.
For the last three years, Givenchy has been helmed by Matthew Williams. His work as Creative Director is often referred to as unmemorable. (Ouch.) The house of Givenchy was founded by Hubert Givenchy. His designs are remembered, specifically his work for Audrey Hepburn. After their collaboration on the film Funny Face, Hepburn wore his designs exclusively saying, “His are the only clothes in which I am myself.”
When a new Creative Director is appointed, particularly within older luxury houses, it is rather commonplace for fashion commentators to say, “It will be interesting to see how they interpret the codes of the house.” In Sarah Burton’s case, that is most definitely true. I will be fascinated to see in which era of Givenchy she finds inspiration.
Can you try interpreting design codes in your own wardrobe? Can you choose a fashion house or brand, define their design codes, and then make an outfit that puts your own spin on these elements?
Luar continued to cement their status as the hot ticket at New York Fashion Week. Last season, Beyonce sat front row. This season, it was Madonna. The Spring 2025 collection was inspired by the punk culture of the Lower East Side in the late ‘90’s. The looks were far from a direct copy of ‘90’s punk. The inspiration material was clearly there, but reimagined and modernised so specifically that the show felt nearly cinematic. In discussion after the show, designer, Raul López, said, “Punk is a feeling, it’s an attitude, it’s how you present yourself out of the norm and stand out and be you.”
This reminded me of the early days of Vivienne Westwood and her store in Chelsea, which is largely considered the birthplace of London’s punk look. Every few years, she would change the style of her designs entirely. She would even rename the store to reflect these changes. She continued this until she started her runway line in 1981.
What kind of punk are you? How do you, “present yourself out of the norm”? Can you wear an outfit this week that epitomises your current season of punk?
J. Crew celebrated the return of their catalogue with a dinner party at the New York Public Library. J. Crew’s CEO, Libby Wadle said, “We are in the most incredible setting that appreciates, like J.Crew, the power of print.” In-real-life, tangible, experiences are gaining momentum with Millennials and Gen Z, and with that, has come an embrace of pre-internet fashions, as well. The Instagram account, lostjcrew, shares pages from the early years of the J. Crew catalogue. They’ve amassed nearly 83,000 followers.
This week, can you find inspiration from vintage J. Crew? Do these styles feel relevant to your way of life today?
In 2019, Tory Burch stepped down as CEO of her eponymous brand to focus solely on design. Since then, her label has transformed from safe and preppy into compelling, surprising, wearable fashion. This period has been dubbed the “Toryssance” by fashion media. Each season seems to compound her artistic exploration, and Spring 2025 was no exception. This season, Burch even ventured into weird territory, showing pencil skirts with wire-shaped waistlines that sat away from the body.
When it comes to your own interpretation of fashion, is there something that you can outsource to give yourself more creative license, more creative space? It could be as mundane as the laundry, or as lofty as letting go of personal or societal expectations. Can you plan an outfit with this creative mindset? Can you start your own renaissance?
Melitta Baumeister closed New York Fashion Week with her first runway presentation. Fashion commentator, Timothy Chernyaev, (relaxitsonlyfashion on Tiktok) said the clothes were, “dark and whimsical at the same time, mean but also goofy which feels very modern.” Baumeister, herself, said, “I do feel like we have a lot of humor in our collections.” This week, can you embrace dark humor? What would a “mean but also goofy” outfit look like for you? Do you feel modern in it?
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My outfits prompts tend to lean cerebral. I love thinking about different ways to explore your own personal style (and by extension, your personal art!). But, sometimes, doing one-to-one copy of a look is fun, too. I have a folder saved on the Vogue app of all the looks I’d like to recreate. Do you follow fashion weeks? Which looks would you recreate? I’d love to see them! I’ll share some of mine on Instagram on Monday.
Wishing you a week of dark whimsy!
Your friend,
Rebecca