We all know that fashion is an obvious expression of the artistic and cultural sentiments of the generation and of its time period. However, fashion additionally expresses rampant inequity in representation, cultural appropriation, and body image issues. It’s easy to feel like we have progressed more than the concept of “high fashion” has.
Amidst all of these concerns, the designers of New York Fashion Week gave us a glimmer of hope through their fabulously progressive looks. The designers handled political and social concerns with poignancy and all the glamour you would expect of a fashion show.
Immigration is a hot button issue in political discourse. Prabal Gurung brought the issue to the forefront of NYFW featuring models of various ethnicities all wearing Miss-America-Esque sashes that read, “Who gets to be American?”
Rogers’ show addressed concepts of beauty standards for women by showing models in high fashion clothing and stilettos with unshaven legs – Proving you don’t have to be hairless from chin to toe to be feminine and gorgeous!
The Hilfiger show featured not only models of color, but models visibly over 25 with all the gray hair and wrinkles that come with it. With all of the emphasis on anti-aging in the beauty market, it’s refreshing to see designers and brands embracing the changes that come with aging.
Lots of designers embraced the concept of gender ambiguity in this years shows. In most cases, it featured male models in stereotypically feminine attire or vice versa. Chromat and Ralph Lauren make the list for rejecting the gender binary entirely with ambiguous styling, models, and looks.
While many designers have embraced size inclusivity, many do so in the form of concepts designed to “flatter” a larger figure — a word that typically means making models look slimmer. Smith’s designs this season embrace models celebrating their fuller figures and showing off their curves rather than hiding them or trying to slim them.
Streetwear and younger designs have embraced the ink-craze with tattoo clad models left and right but Carolina Herrera’s show featured a model in a gorgeous floral gown with accompanying collar-bone ink.
Siriano’s model strutted the runway with a high boat neck and a light blue tulle skirt with a plunging slit and visible black panty. His risky look questions what it means to be “modest”.
