The Blonds Really Did Have More Fun Closing Out New York Fashion Week
The Blonds
The Blonds proved again that yes, they do always have more fun. Closing this season’s New York Fashion Week was a sparkly affair hosted by fashion’s most fun duo, David and Phillipe Blond.
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Going back to their metaphorical roots, this collection paid homage to the brand’s greatest moments in chain hardware. Never ones to shy from excess, buxom models wore “I Dream of Jeannie”-styled ponytails and sashayed vigorously down the catwalk, while rapper Saucy Santana performed to raucous applause. More continued to be more as fringe swished and swayed from structured bodysuits, catsuits, jackets and gowns that were bedazzled in Preciosa crystals, and covered in a chain-themed print. A buff model tore off his shirt and lovely lithe models offered a taste of the new limited edition chain print ready-to-wear line of t-shirts, hoodies and leggings. Sarah Shears
The Blonds.
Willy Chavarria
On the final evening of New York Fashion Week, California-born menswear designer Willy Chavarria could only have been feeling elated—the audience at his Fall 2022 presentation, staged at the stately and slightly drafty Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue, was packed with heavy hitters, from industry insiders like Thakoon and GQ EIC Will Welch to clouted aesthetes like rapper G-Eazy. Plus, days earlier, Chavarria had been awarded the 2022 National Design Award for Fashion Design from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Not bad.
Chavarria, whose clothes draw equally potent inspiration from Chicano culture and Calvin Klein, favors exaggerated silhouettes and high waistlines as well as jackets that seam to leap upwards and away from the wearer’s body, like a peacock unfurling his plumage. The new collection, titled “Please Rise,” hurls the designer’s casual staples into an entirely new, romantic dimension: huge blue and red rosettes adorn sashed waists and shield crotches, while dramatic trains spilled out behind at least one key ensemble.
There’s a thrilling 70s excess to the peter pan collars adorning Chavarria’s black cropped papal capes, and despite the throwback glamour, the collection was very distinctively Chavarria’s: the ultra-wide culottes, oversized tees and cropped workwear were all there. When the designer stepped out to wave to the audience, he got the loudest round of applause I’ve heard all week. Helen Holmes
Willy Chavarria.
Wiederhoeft
Why settle for ordinary when you can be extraordinary? Enter Jackson Wiederhoeft, the theatrically fun and cheekily glamorous designer of Wiederhoeft whose show on Wednesday brought together theater, dance performance and fashion in a dazzling ballet at the Mulberry Street YMCA that ended with a standing ovation.
Amid the Dracula-themed goth drama, models and dancers wore brightly colored corsets and bedazzled gowns. Oversized long hooded opera coats came in a variety of textures, an exposed crinoline cage graced an angelic corseted model and puffy taffeta and tulle made their way into skirts and frocks. The collection and show was a much needed reminder of the the simple pleasure and beauty of playing dress-up. Sarah Shears
Wiederhoeft.
A--Company
Pragmatic and functional, A--Company’s new collection of professional attire released Wednesday skipped the unnecessary frills and over-the-top features. Instead, Collection VIII circled back to the true meaning of wear-to-work, but simultaneously embraced a more relaxed fit that has encompassed millennials and GenZers beginning to blossom in corporate settings.
The brand sought to address the disappearing acts of workplace ties and tights, “two garments with the potential to hold things together that have traditionally been utilized in fashion to do the opposite,” according to A-- Company’s NYFW press release. Neither of the iconic items, which have been slammed for being too stiff and cumbersome, were incorporated in any of the pieces.
The looks brought business attire into a modern, non-gender conforming era. The line focused on opacity and transparency. Soft tones, loose suit jackets, trench coats, and chinos were obvious in their professional-serving purposes. But delicate textures, like silk, prevented the aesthetic of being too hard or angled and eased versatility. Brooke Leigh Howard
A--Company.
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