The new frontiers of New York and London Fashion Weeks

Minimalism at the Guggenheim

While major American brands such as The Row, Gabriela Hearst and Peter Do left New York Fashion Week for Paris, and designers such as Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta now showcase outside the traditional calendar, one notable Parisian label made the journey in the opposite direction. Under the creative direction of Pieter Mulier, Alaïa took over the Guggenheim Museum, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

As soon as Rihanna took her seat, the models began their long descent down the museum’s famous spiral ramp. Mulier infused his collection with references to American fashion, paying homage to sportswear pioneer Claire McCardell and iconic 1970s designer Halston. Evening gowns with asymmetrical cut-outs, skirts with cascading ruffles – some quilted – and oversized wool coats seemed to swirl around the models. A sense of minimalism prevailed: simple bandeau tops, long hooded capes, flowing harem pants and skater skirts. This collection revived the spirit of New York Fashion Week.

Performance art

For a long time, Lee Krasner was reduced to the status of “Jackson Pollock’s wife,” but her reputation has soared over the past five years. She even had a retrospective dedicated to her at the Guggenheim in Bilbao in 2020. The foundation preserving her legacy has, for the first time, allowed three of her abstract paintings to be reinterpreted: Portrait in Green (1969), Comet (1970), and Palingenesis (1971). Ulla Johnson, who founded her brand in 1998, transformed these works – featuring bright pink and forest green – into flowing pants, long silky or ruffled dresses, and even a long trench coat worn by a man. At Proenza Schouler, the expressionist Barnett Newman (1905-1970) is evoked. His large canvases with horizontal and vertical stripes are reflected in the omnipresent stripes throughout the collection.

Rising stars

Too commercial, lacking in fresh talent… For nearly a decade, New York Fashion Week has been dogged by the same criticisms. The rise of Catherine Holstein (and her brand Khaite) and Willy Chavarria is a brilliant response to these criticisms. Holstein, whose success since 2016 has been based on sober, well-constructed feminine basics, presented a series of organza pants, lightweight dresses, crochet tunics, boleros and bold-shouldered leather coats.

Chavarria, who founded his brand in 2015, presented a men’s collection this season that blends his American and Mexican heritage. Red “America” caps and strict shirt-and-tie combinations met wide-leg pants, ranchero sombreros and guayabera shirts (with visible double pleats). Nothing sums up this blend of classic uniforms and Mexican references better than the image Chavarria himself shared with the press: “I’m approaching it from a way where I’m cholo Ralph, Lauren or even chicano Michael Kors.”

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