The Fashion Business Epiphanies We Garnered From New York Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019

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brand consultant, fashion brand, fashion consultant, fashion designer, fashion labels, fashion startup, Fuel4Fashion, Mara Hoffman, Marc Jacobs, Naeem Khan, New York fashion week, NYFW, Prabal Gurung, Ready to wear, Rebecca Minkoff, RTW, Tadashi Shoji

The recently concluded edition of the New York Fashion Week held not so many design surprises as it did business lessons. It is only natural, then, that we wanted to do a feature right away!

Fashion is a form of expression- there’s a reason why people buy so loyally from the brands they love. This applies to all strata of the fashion society. People love their labels as much as they enjoy the ease and comfort of label-less, brand-less clothing. And that’s what NYFW was all about- shunning the label in favor of the individual.

Here, we deconstruct eight ideas from NYFW SS’19 that are worth exploring in your own fashion business.

1. The Return Of The Self: Colors to make you feel better, shapes and silhouettes to help you feel safe- clothing is now about your mood. You may remember from one of our earlier features that color is a huge determinant of how we feel and how we express this to the world outside. A similar idea was extensively visible in the designs of Prada and Givenchy.

2. Landmark Collections: Ralph Lauren turns fifty. Fifty years of bringing enhanced sports fashion to mainstream shows. Emotions ran high at NYFW, but what we took away is the message that sportswear is becoming the new casual wear. Looks that respect this notion will go very far.

3. Tailoring Done Differently: Was it only yesterday that form and fit were the fashion buzzwords to look out for? Well, both form and fit are on holiday at NYFW, and the focus is instead on comfort and function. Not surprising, considering the urban commuter who moves around so much, and people’s general lack of interest in buying pieces that only ever sit in the wardrobe.

4. Feminine Goes Fierce: This year, even the more conventionally minded designers shifted their focus to clothing that made a stronger statement. Case in point- Brock Collection. Their collection is so much more refined and represents strength, inside and out.

5. Subtlety Over Statement: While everyone is busy making a statement, The Row toned it down. This is a potent message for fashion houses designing their collections right about now. Sometimes, in a world that is screaming statements, not making any statement at all may just be the most powerful way to go about anything.

6. Nostalgia: Perhaps the harshness of the world we live in today, with its myriad issues and its elected leaders, is making us fond of the services, army, and even the eighties! Junya Watanabe and Isabel Marant both took this nostalgia and channeled it into something beautiful.

7. Beyond Visual: The tink-tink of Paco Rabanne’s dress collection proved, yet again, that there’s no end to innovation in fashion. Auditory stimuli aren’t the first thing you’d associate with a dress, but they need not be the last either. We’re not rooting for squeaky shoes and hopefully, haven’t descended to dresses that play songs, but as long as the sound is pleasant to hear, why not!

8. The Return Of The Unisex: There’s no way to know how much of it is because of a movement, and how much merely a factor of comfort, but clothing collections are no longer split along gender lines. Case in point- all of the designers who exhibited their collections for men and women at the same time, on the same stage. Come to think of it, why doesn’t love a multipurpose piece?

The looks we loved from New York Fashion Week SS’19: 

1. Mara Hoffman: We love a designer with a voice, and what a statement voice she has! We love her easy whites, stand-out silhouettes and statement florals.

2. Marc Jacobs: elegance never goes out to style, and neither do high collars and breezy cuts suggestive of the elite. Culottes can be statement pieces too, if you know how to stitch them.

3. Naeem Khan: contemporary has never been this classic. Spaghetti dresses and high collars meet more modern ideas of prints and embellishments in this highly versatile collection.

4. Prabal Gurung: did we say pops of colour? Prada is not left alone on that count, what with Prabal Gurung joining in. We love the bright shades sure to make any day better.

5. Rebecca Minkoff’s collection is perfect for a statement workwear.

6. Tadashi Shoji: a master of the feminine, if there was one. Also one of the few collections we spotted this season with animal prints. They’re not going out of style anytime soon.

Which of these ideas will you use as inspiration for your next collection? Tell us in the comments.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

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London Fashion Week Vs New York Fashion Week – Part 1

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apparels, fashion blog, fashion designer, floral, garments, layered, LFW, London Fashion Week, New York fashion week, NYFW, pink, runway, silhouettes, Spring 14

As the Spring’14 trends rolled out on the runway, London Fashion Week sketched out delicate elegant women with a tint of pink and floral prints in its layered flouncy dresses fabricated in sheer iridescent textures and New York Fashion Week portrayed the women’s power with a reflection of its eternal beauty draped in oversized white button down shirt feminized by the contouring of body lines and intricate detailing coupled with cropped denim pants. So we decided to do a comparative study between the key trends showcased during New York Fashion Week (NYFW) & London Fashion Week (LFW).

New York Fashion Week – SS’14
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/Za7Azf

Setting the trends: INSPIRATION

London Fashion Week (LFW) showcased the embellished, bejeweled, appliquéd designs with a subtle touch of unique simplicity. Runway bloomed with the incense of floral prints which had a pink hue in its textures rendering it the 3^rd dimension. Delicately crafted organza petals dispersed over dresses, heavily embroidered floral designs stitched into satin, and sheer layers of flora fabricated into designs that revived the decades of 60’s and 70’s.“Flower prints have been done to death,” admitted Christopher Kane after his show.

Floral Extreme – London Fashion Week
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/f6aqdC

London Fashion Week : Christopher Kane – Flower motifs
Image courtesy: http://goo.gl/zizgCC

London Fashion Week – Floral print rendering in 3rd dimension.
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/nJyNbp

London Fashion Week : John Rocha – Delicate pastel floral.
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/jYe1cw

London Fashion Week : Matthew Williamson – Flower power, cutouts.
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/iglHon

‘Soft’ collection by Burberry &feminine romance reflected in Temperley London collection. Breeze of elegant full skirts & feminine hue swept of some gentle memoirs of 60’s, 70’s & 90’s. Some collection were said to have strong 60s references included Mulberry and Sister by Sibling, while Holly Fulton, Henry Holland and Jonathan Saunders harked back to the 70s. Thats is all about the inspiration of London Fashion Week collection showcased by various designers.

New York Fashion Week (NYFW) men-inspired oversized attire, crop pants was feminized with embellishment and detailing. Post the restrained clothing of Fall, designers painted a relaxed look with the ease and attitude of the West Coast lifestyle and iconic California beaches.”We want to see a woman cooler, more relaxed, and that’s sexy,” said Max Azria backstage before the show. NYFW appeared to be largely influenced by 20’s and 30’s.

New York Fashion Week : Marc Jacobs – Contrast color florals
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/gUaWK9

New York Fashion Week : Bibhu Mohapatra – Fluid dresses / Figure-hugging sheaths / Boxy shells / Embellished gowns
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/d3qK97

New York Fashion Week : Prabal Gurung – use of bold colors and transparent fabrics
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/Lh5zYY

New York Fashion Week : Nicole Miller – florals with abstract graphic prints
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/xjn1ao

New York Fashion Week : Milly by Michelle Smith – Paint brush feminine print with Hawaiian influences
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/rcvoBf

On the canvas of NYFW Prabal Gurung painted an “idealized women” using transparency as his tool. Miller named her collection “Rebels With a Cause,” and offered a tagline: “Power Meets Pretty.”. Francisco Costa simulated the inspiration from Basquiat, Picasso and Madonna into layered dresses.

So here we end with this insight into what inspired the designers and what did their collection personify. We will soon bring you the COLORS that will enter your wardrobes this Spring’14 in our next part. So keep reading and stay stylish!!!