Stories from the world of fashion

The latest updates from New York, Milan, and Paris Fashion Week

Samantha Anciano / Copy Editor / The USD Vista

Fashion Week is the most anticipated time in the fashion world. 

Famous houses from Tom Ford to Saint Laurent, Christian Dior to Valentino and designers alike put together collections that reflect not only their creativity but also pop culture, upcoming trends, and even societal issues. 

We go from the Spring/Summer (SS) season from January until June, then continue into the Fall/Winter (FW) season that runs from July all the way to December. 

New York (NYFW), Milan, and Paris Fashion Weeks are big hosts to the SS and FW seasons, all of which happen one week after another. 

Here’s the latest from one of the biggest events in fashion. 

NEW YORK (NYFW)

NYFW began on Tuesday, Sept. 7, opening the SS 2022 season. Fashion Week in New York is always exciting to see because of emerging designers and the stunning street styles. 

Among these designers was Prabal Gurung. Gurung, the  Nepal-native brought emphasis to  woman empowerment. The designer celebrates the female figure and challenges the ideas of identity through his work. This season, Gurung asks the question, “Who gets to be a girl?” 

The designer shared, “America has always been a woman, but she has not been treated beautifully.” Inspired by the rallies and protests he attended, he exhibited that fashion is a free space for everyone. 

Gurung designed colorful suits and corsets, dresses and outerwear that broke away from tradition. 

He reimagines the idea of race, gender, and beauty by sharing fabrics, prints, and shapes across a spread of identities, proving that fashion and politics can be mixed. 

Another highlight from NYFW was Peter Do’s show. His first runway show debut was a highly awaited event of the season. 

The Vietnamese designer gave a handwritten note to all his guests talking about the similarity of his collection to making Pho with his father. 

He writes, “A good Pho is reduced and edited, to an essence. It is comforting and it feels like home… Welcome to our home.” Inspired by his heritage, Do displayed immaculate and timeless tailoring with his deconstructed suits. 

He looked at the fashion of the “people before us.” Seeing old photos of his grandmother wearing a traditional “ao dai” inspired the shapes of his SS 2o22 collection.  

With the Manhattan skyline right behind his runway, Do wanted to make a statement on the Asian hate crimes. He notes that this space (New York City) belongs to everyone – to him and his team of Asian-American designers, and other identities as well. 

MILAN

Directly following NYFW is Milan. This city holds some of the most innovative and interesting designers such as Max Mara, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, and Prada.

On Sept. 23, Emporio Armani celebrated the 40th anniversary since the opening of “Emporio Armani,” or “Armani Emporium” in English. 

This brand became an avenue for a more affordable and accessible expression of the “Armani Code.” 

The collection featured Armani’s roots covering both menswear and womenswear with “sexless” tailoring. 

Armani made excellent transitions from one fashion chapter to the next by sending models off in clusters that would show the general style of that decade. 

The collection was full of strong silhouettes, colors, and prints, reminding all of us that Armani will stay relevant and timeless for many more years to come. 

Although Emporio Armani reinvented its brand history, the Fendi x Versace show, “Fendace” (fen-dah-che), made history at Milan Fashion Week. 

For this collection, Donatella Versace (Versace), Silvia Venturini Fendi and Kim Jones (Fendi) switched roles and designed pieces for opposing brands. 

Showcasing the brands’ friendship and iconic culture, the Fendace show was one for the books. 

Fendi and Jones took the signature prints and silks of Versace and combined it with Fendi’s staple handbags and architecture. Versace, on the other hand, took the classic “FF” design of Fendi and combined it with Versace’s iconic medusa head. 

The collaboration of the two brands definitely made its impact, in hopes of more designer collaborations in the future. 

PARIS 

Paris holds the title of the “fashion capital of the world” and continues to show why. Well-known names and design houses like Chanel, Givenchy, Valentino, and Hermès call this city their home. 

Stella McCartney gave light to an important issue. McCartney is one of the only designers that puts an emphasis on sustainable fashion. Her collection uses mushroom leather as its main material. The designer began researching and working on developing mushroom leather back in 2017. Moved by the process, McCartney made the  whole collection and ambiance mushroom-themed. 

There were mushroom prints, silhouettes and even the sounds of the mushroom’s growing process were featured in the show. Her collection consisted of different dresses, coats, jumpsuits, and ensembles that are ready to be worn by the world. 

The designer cut her pieces in unique ways, pairing them with complementary colors  and accessories. 

Aside from that, the Louis Vuitton’s (LV) show was definitely something memorable. Nicolas Ghesquière, LV’s Creative Director since 2013, called this SS 2022 collection, “a grand ball of time.” 

Ghesquière is fascinated by the ideas of the past, present, and future, and carries those ideas into his designs. 

One could see oversized jackets inspired by the 80s, dresses reflective of the 70s, and gowns that just draw us back in time. 

Interestingly enough, the biggest surprise about the show was when a climate change protester interrupted the runway carrying a banner that read, “OVERCONSUMPTION = EXTINCTION.” The protester hoped to make a statement on the impacts of fashion on the environment, as it is the industry with one of the highest amounts of waste and pollution. 

Fashion Week is back and continues to make its statement to the world. 

Designers work extremely hard to create their vision and channel their messages onto their collections.  

As time progresses, the world of fashion just becomes more diverse, more reflective, and more creative. 

A 15-20 minute walk on the runway can affect the trends for the next weeks, months, and even years to come. Season after season, it is always so interesting to see what designers come up with, what styles they want to bring back, and how fashion can potentially pay it forward to society.