1. As February brings along icy drizzle and winter blues, it also marks the moment when day
dreaming about clothes we’ll never wear is not an abstract endeavour anymore but a tangible
experience called Fashion Week. New York fashion week began on the 10th
with all the excitement
and anticipation that comes with it, setting the mood for an entire month worth of shows with a
more variegated atmosphere than we are used to. For decades, New York fashion week has
represented a response to the tradition of European craftsmanship and Couture by drawing heavily
from post-1920s sportswear and southern opulence. American designers conjure a similar
atmosphere year after year, where preppy outfits and miles of taffeta are the protagonist of retro
dreams of modernity.
Carolina Herrera, who never fails to provide gowns worth of Cotillons, proposed an array of classic
ball gowns as well as day-wear pieces. The collection was rich but not extravagantly opulent;
elegant, but with a touch of youthfulness in short periwinkle fur jackets casually thrown over flowy
silky gowns. On the other hand of the spectrum, Tory Burch managed to revive patchwork, as
colourful knitwear was thrown on sleek trousers, stripey skirts or under preppy jackets that will take
you from tennis-practice to 7 o’clock aperitif.
The eponymous American girl-next-door was not forgotten either. Coach took a late 60s high-
school girl in her boyfriend baseball jacket and soft suede skirts and placed her on a bus to New
York: preppy, fresh, fun and fur-loving, her slightly retro appeal has nothing to envy to the urban
style of city girls. A little outside town, in the Hamptons, the American girl lives in a dream of
countryside luxury and wears Polo Ralph Lauren’s oversized knits in plain or Native American
patterns, knee-high suede boots and tailored trousers borrowed from her husband’s wardrobe.
While NYFW seems to be focusing more on the extravagance of minimal luxury, when it comes to
Americanness and the idea of expressing a sense of identity, designers keep sheering away from
cultural instances that have little to do with tradition. What we see is the New York heiress, the
country girl, the Southern Belle. Indeed, Tommy Hilfiger took us to Californian beaches last season
but while we do get a glimpse of urban style at Baja East, it’s still far too clean to represent reality.
Rather, what we see is a game fostered by money, where imitation tastes more like cultural
appropriation than a desire to understand and celebrate. The vast array of cultural expressions that is
the United States is left out, while what finds representation is either within the four walls of the
élite or their representation of the world from a higher ground. The result is an eternally trapped
Cinderella to whom the dirt and the beauty of the real world are completely denied.
Yet, New York is far from being at a dead end: while designers are not as experimental as on the
other side of the pond, they do get out of their comfort zone with amazing results. Karen Walker’s
take on magpie fashion inspired by the Gucci frenzy over attic-finds brought us retro shades, midi
pleated skirts cinched at the waist and unexpected layers. It doesn’t get quirkier than this. Victoria
Beckham continued her personal journey of development that took her from young 60s’inspired A-
line dresses to softer lines and a niche market of daring working women. Clashing prints balanced
out modest cuts, while subtle flashes of skin were left bare under delicate bralettes. Finally, the
Olsen twins catapulted us to a world of pure comfort and minimalism á la Céline that was heavily
European, with plain knits, shapeless dresses and simple coats. It’s precisely this effortless elegance
and a je-m’en-fous attitude that makes The Row so appealing. Impeccable, yet undone, the clothes
move like liquid waves of fabric that we’ll dream of until autumn comes.