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- [00:05]
A
I'm just leaving the Kate Barton show. First show of the season. I'm just leaving. Jonathan Simchai. Okay, I'm just leaving. My last show of the day one it was Love Shack. Fancy. It was at nine Orchard on the rooftop. So such a beautiful view. I'm just leaving. Antonio Marasa. You know, we're watching what's happening with international brands with tariffs and if we would be seeing presence in New York this season from other brands. So it was interesting that they were here for the first time at this time of crazy tariffs. Okay, last show of the night. I'm just leaving. Alexander Wang at his new building. I interviewed him before the show and he bought this HSBC building. It was always a bank and he has high hopes for what he's going to do with it. It sounds like something east meets west and talking about Chinatown and catering to the community. So this was a preview of it. There were people playing mahjong in the midd but wow, it was the highest energy show of the week thus far. We're only in day two. Just leaving Joseph Altazara this morning on Saturday. What stood out to me was that he had some rich brown fur which actually called to mind last night's Alexander Wang show which was full of fur. We're going into this is for the spring season which is interesting. I'm leaving the Jason Wu show. I almost didn't make it. Ran in right before I started and despite having a seat I stood the whole time. But it made for us some nice, made for a nice view. I'm just leaving the Sandy Liang show. It was great. I mean always very feminine and, and the details this year included lace capri pants, a lot of bows. There was a large bow at the back of one of the looks, some light colored floral prints. Feminine, nothing surprising there. Capris, there was always. There were some rumblings that capris were making a comeback. I think Sandy is on board. That's it.
- [02:05]
B
Hello and welcome back to the Glossy podcast. I'm your host, senior fashion reporter Dani Parisi and I'm joined today by our editor in chief Jill Manoff. Hello, Jill.
- [02:14]
A
Hello, Danny. Happy Fashion Week.
- [02:16]
B
Happy Fashion Week to you as well. You are recording in your hotel room right now, I believe. But we have both been running around all week. It's, it's New York Fashion Week. We did a preview episode the other day and now it's about to be the last day of of New York Fashion Week. I thought we could do a little wrap up and look back episode, talk about some of the things we saw, some of the shows we went to go back over some of the topics from our preview episode and see if our preview kind of how did some of the things we were looking forward to shook out. And then another thing we're going to do in this episode is that you and I, while we were running around, recorded some voice memos, like, live in the moment, as we were going in and out of shows on some of our observations, some things we saw, funny encounters. And we're going to try to sprinkle in some of those little recordings into this podcast so that you can hear our thoughts in the moment and our thoughts now kind of at the end of the week. But, yeah, it was a good time. I mean, I always have fun. I know you enjoy it. What's your overall feeling coming out of New York Fashion Week?
- [03:15]
A
Oh, it feels like a typical fashion week, I would say. I think we talked a little bit about the venues and how that could change things. I do feel like I'm running around as much as ever, so that didn't change. And I also. We've talked on the side about some of the trends that we're seeing. I thought it's been interesting. One of our competitors noted that there's not a lot of color on the Runway. I noticed that, too. I also kept questioning, like, when I was talking to designers, this is for spring, right? Like, this is not see now, buy now. And they're like, oh, no, it's for spring. But a lot of, like, thick fur and leather and outerwear. And it feels really heavy. I don't get that.
- [04:00]
B
But heavy and wintry and dark. Yeah, I absolutely. I noticed the same thing myself. I also saw the same note from a competitor that you saw. And actually, I also. I recorded a voice memo about the lack of color. We can throw that up right now. I've gone to a couple shows now where there's been a contrast in kind of color and the use of color at all color, or lack thereof, I should say. So, like, I went to the Melk presentation. The designer, Emma Gage, her collections always are very fun and have this kind of sense of humor. The theme of this collection was gone fishings, and the theme was very, like, Midwestern lake fishing kind of trip, which was just very fun and funny, but it was very colorful. And then in contrast, I went over to the venue Collective showcase, and there was a brand called 5000 showing there, and they just had their entire rack of clothing was all black, everything. Just a funny observation. I mean, I don't Know what to make of that. But it does feel like there's maximalism and minimalism both on display At Fashion Week this season. I noticed the same thing you noticed Jill. And actually, after that recording, I saw a couple other collections that I thought made good use of color. Dwarmis, who's a new brand that was showing for the first time this season, had some really cool pastels, but definitely a lot of dark, heavy, wintry, cold kind of feelings to some of the collections I saw.
- [05:26]
A
Yeah, it's reminiscent of what Zofia was talking about with Hilary Taymor. She put color on the Runway and had a kind of a matching. A matching silhouette in black for, like, options and I guess, like a safety net, because going big on color, like, not every customer wants to do that when they're pinching their pennies, and they want longevity, and they don't want to buy into a trend. But, yeah, it was interesting. I talked to the creative director of Theory, and he said something where I kind of chuckled. He's like, the Theory woman wants more color. And I'm looking at the racks, and I'm not seeing a lot of color. And I'm like, like, what?
- [06:00]
B
And he was, she wants more color, and we're not giving it to her.
- [06:03]
A
And he was like, Theory's take on color, which for them, you know, they are known for kind of neutrals and T workwear, and they were doing kind of soft pastels and kind of this brownish eggplant color where it wasn't exactly brown. It had a little more purple to it and some, like, olive greenish green colors. And then also interesting, I was talking to Jenny Kane. Their big business is their core assortment, which they're known for beige. And she did also say that they, you know, they bring newness every season with kind of pops of color, which, again, it's not extreme, but. But some fun color throughout. Like, Tibby did a hot pink turtleneck, kind of their slouchy kind of turtleneck, which was cute. And, yeah, definitely good pops of color here and there. But a theme is lack thereof, just as you said.
- [06:52]
B
Yeah. And it's funny you mentioned the Theory thing. Cause I also noticed plenty of color on the attendees of people walking around and going to the shows, and not so much on the Runway, which, again, is just kind of a funny contrast between what people are actually wearing and then what you see up on the Runway. So, anyway, something I mentioned a second ago, but I saw that rack of all black clothing that was at the venue Collective Showcase. This was something we Talked about a little bit in the lead up that the CFDA and kfn, this organization they were working with, are trying to get the shows to be a little more consolidated. I certainly felt like I was just as busy as ever. But I do think, geographically at least, the shows I went to were mostly downtown Manhattan. Like, I didn't have to go to any weird, distant, remote regions of Brooklyn to do my coverage, which was nice. The worst was probably there's some parts of the West Village that are like perfectly all 15 minute walks from any subway station. So that was a little bit annoying. But for the most part, I did feel like things were a little bit more centralized. And not all of these were shows that were part of the venue collective. It just seemed like a general vibe of everyone was just kind of focused on downtown, like below 34th Street. So that was. That was nice. I don't know if you had that feeling too.
- [08:04]
A
Yeah, that's nice. Nothing too wild. The most extreme distance I guess I went was last night, where I underestimated it. I mean, at the beginning of the week, I was really like in my voice memos bitching about the fact that, you know, people are taking my seats and the line's so long and I can't get in. And I have a seat. On the flip side, these PR folks have been so nice to me as I'm running late to like, go get in, get in right before the show starts. And that happens. Happened last night when I was at Jason Wu. It was at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. And, you know, once you get in, you had to like, tell them you're with the show, there's a gate. And then once you get in, my Uber driver, we were so late, like, there was nobody around. He's like, where do I go? And I'm like, I guess left.
- [08:44]
C
I don't.
- [08:45]
A
We were just guessing. And I really got in like 30 minutes before, 30 seconds before it started, and had had to stand instead of sits instead of sitting because of the tardiness. But yeah, that was far. And then today, Pier 36 was coach, which actually wasn't that far. But there was no. It was logistically challenging. Like, everybody was sitting on the off ramp to get off the highway. And I finally got off and was basically like, I'm going to walk on the highway to get to the show. And I did. But it was worth is.
- [09:17]
B
And I do think sometimes the PR people are a little bit unsung heroes of helping reporters and editors like us get in five minutes after the show already started and find a good place to be. So shout out to them for. Yeah, for. For being helpful. But, yeah. So actually, you mentioned Jason Wu. Tell me a little bit about that show. Cause I didn't get to go to that one, but I thought it looked pretty cool. From some of the pictures I saw, it was cool.
- [09:41]
A
I talked to him before and after the show, and I also did a little story on him because he was one that had one of those very interesting sponsors, like Melki, the one you mentioned that teamed with Hidden Valley Ranch last season. Jason Wu teamed with Purina Dog Chow this season.
- [09:59]
B
That's right. Yeah.
- [10:00]
A
Yes. And when he was talking about it, I was like, really? He was telling me, like, how it's, you know, it's going to be very subtle. We don't want it to read like an ad or like a commercial. And I was like, we'll see. And then when I got there, he was true. Jason wu's whole show, the inspiration was Robert Rochenberg. Rauschenberg had the centennial anniversary of this great artist. And so Jason Wu is a fan. And apparently this artist's work, it's like collages of everyday items. And so when he was kind of poking through the collection, he wanted to focus on the series. He wanted to focus on. He saw Purina. Purina, the symbol and also the dog chow. And so approached the company to sponsor his show. Um, and, yeah, they were all for it. They were at the show. They. I'm from St. Louis. I knew some of the people who were there, and they were basically saying that, too. Like, this is a great. They were also celebrating the centennial of Dog Chow. And it just made sense for them to be there and take part in, I don't know, a cultural moment. What was also funny, talking to Jason afterward. They had dividers on the Runway, kind of like creating an interesting walkway for the. The models. And they had artwork on them. I thought they were reproductions. And so I'm, like, interviewing people and talking to people. After the show, I did, like, kind of bumped into one, and somebody goes, oh, watch it. And they were being very nonchalant. And then they started to, like, I don't know, be very worried, like, everybody, like, pushing people back. And Jason Wu said, it's the. It's the art. It's insured for a billion dollars. Oh, my God.
- [11:42]
B
Oh, my God. And, Jill, you almost destroyed it.
- [11:45]
A
What if I knocked it over? But it was. It all made sense once you were there. The artist and Jason Wu and the puppy, the dog chow. Good for him that he got that sponsorship.
- [11:58]
B
Yeah. And you wrote a great story, I believe, last season about some of the kind of funny sponsorships that kind of show up at New York Fashion Week. And definitely some of these brands are aware. I think that it's a little goofy to have Hidden Valley Ranch. Like, when I talked to Emma Gage from Milk, she was like, obviously, it's a little bit funny to have Hidden Valley Ranch sponsor show. Like, she was aware of that. Also, she told me it's pronounced melk because it's like a reference to how Midwestern people say milk. So you should know that one.
- [12:25]
A
Oh, my God. My 8th grade teacher used to say that. Do you need milk today? And it would drive me crazy.
- [12:31]
B
I didn't know that that was a Midwestern thing. I'd heard that pronunciation. So I learned something new this week.
- [12:36]
A
And on the same note, Christian Siriano this year had Capri sun as a sponsor with a Capri sun pouch purse or something like that on the Runway. When I saw it, anyway, I would say that was not seamless. It did stick out a little bit like a sore thumb. Sorry, Christian. I like the rest of the show. I wasn't a fan of that pouch.
- [12:56]
B
I'm glad you mentioned that, because I was going to say, I feel like there were not as many goofy sponsorships or things like that, at least that I saw. But I forgot about the Capri sun one. That one is a little bit on the sillier side.
- [13:09]
A
His show's worth mentioning. It was at Macy's. It was at Macy's. And so I was like, what is this gonna be? Like, the line wrapped around the store on the main level of Macy's. Everyone's like, what's going on? What's going on? And then the people who had, like, a shop and shop, like Gucci and, I don't know, Louis Vuitton.
- [13:26]
C
Not Louis Vuitton.
- [13:27]
A
Anyway, the shop and shop folks were kind of like, get out of my entrance. So, like, we were all stanchioned off to the side and then just waiting and waiting and waiting. That show started over an hour late, but it ended up being like, on the bott. And it was beautiful. There were a lot of, like, draping curtains. It almost looked like wedding. Like, once we got to the basement. The basement. And I mean, it was great. The usual. A lot of celebrity star power. There was Oprah Winfrey and Lizzo and somebody. Anyway, I don't know that. I can't confirm these others, but there was good star power. And also Coco Coco Rocha always opens and closes that show, and she did, and it was fun. But, yeah, it was great.
- [14:10]
B
Yeah. And I feel like that's one of the few shows that was, like, on a grand scale, which is something we talked about in the preview of some of the. Like, whether we thought some brands might do something a little more low key, which a lot of them were saying. And I wrote a story last week about the fact that a lot of them were. I talked to several designers who were like, we're doing something intimate. We're doing something. You know, we talked about a lot of people doing dinners and little things like that. Some, like, unique stuff. Guess had, like, a cafe that I went to and got some limoncello gelato in the middle of the day, which was very. There also was, like, a show, too, actually. I have a funny recording from that I think we can listen to. There's a lot of talk about cutting through the noise, trying to make a big splash, doing something unique, something memorable that people will actually keep in their minds for more than two minutes after they leave. At New York Fashion Week, I feel like it's very easy. A lot of designers have told me it's very easy to put a lot of money into a show, and then the moment it's over, it kind of is like it never happened. Like, it doesn't really make a lasting impact. So I just. I've noticed a lot of more interesting, unique kind of formats and presentations. Guess did something cool with. They called it Cafe Guess, which, instead of a show, it was like a presentation. Like, they had clothes from the new collection displayed and stuff, but there it was also like, a cafe. So they had gelato and espresso and a big, you know, you could get whatever you want. Biscotti. They also had somebody doing illustrations. You could get your picture of yourself drawn. There was free produce, which was like an onion. So if you wanted to grab a red onion raw on your way out, you could. I didn't, but you could score. I just wanted to share that the guest thing had, like, a produce stand, and there was just onions. So, like, you could just take an onion if you wanted, Which I didn't really want to bring an onion with me, but they did have an onion.
- [16:10]
A
Oh, my gosh. So funny. When I interviewed Fern Malice for our other series, I said, what makes. What's. What makes a Fashion Week winner? Like, who. Who's to say, like, who won Fashion Week? And she's like, it's nice to have, like, parting gifts, like, something in your seat. And she's right. Like, that was few and far between. Like Jonathan Simk Kai gave. One of his collaborators or sponsors was Moroccan oil for hair. And he had some products and also kind of a beach towel is a very beachy theme. Wasn't a ton of it. Christian Siriano also had some little like fragrances. I think it was his own, which was nice. But yeah, mostly just the show notes, which are very informative. Actually, Todd Snyder had a really well done one about his Havana vintage Havana meets 80s Miami. And that was definitely the vibe of his show. Always a good one.
- [17:03]
B
Yeah, I like getting the show notes as well. I agree. Very few in the way of like gifts or things like that. The Derek Lamb 10 Crosby show had gift bags for everybody, but they had not that many and they were a lot of people. So I did not get one. They like ran out of them very fast. Although they also had gelato, now that I think about it. So actually this was a gelato heavy New York Fashion Week.
- [17:24]
A
Where's my gelato? I have not had any. I have not.
- [17:28]
B
I went to all the gelato themed shows.
- [17:30]
A
Apparently you looked it up before you RSVP'd.
- [17:33]
B
Yeah, I didn't go if there wasn't gonna. Mutual auto. So I did go to this venue collective showcase thing that they were doing, which is. I did. I went to the one that was a lot of. It was probably over a dozen, like small indie brands all presenting kind of at the same time. And you could walk through and check it all out. Maybe it's just the time of day that I went, but it was totally empty, Almost completely empty. Except Stephen Kolb, the CEO of the cfda, was there walking around and chatting with the designers. It was nice to see. But yeah, maybe just the time of day I went or something because I went at sort of an awkward hour. It was like nobody was there.
- [18:09]
A
That sucks.
- [18:10]
B
Yeah. But. And I. Maybe for some of those brands, it's like they wouldn't have really done much in New York Fashion Week otherwise. So maybe a good opportunity. But I don't know, we just. Cause we talked a little bit about them trying to give those opportunities. I did check it out. Lots of cool brands and like nice looking clothes, but it just was a little bit of a ghost town.
- [18:28]
A
Yeah. And some of the shows I went to were part of that collective or, you know, part of the venues. Kate Barton was one and Akinvas was one. And yeah, they were good, raw spaces. I think that, you know, it kind of counters some of the things that we talked about last time, where it was like, you have the space for a day. You can do more customization. But the shows that I went to, they were. They were kind of like a raw space. I don't know that there was anything sort of specific to that brand.
- [18:57]
B
Well, because it's expensive to decorate a space. I mean, one of the things I observed and wrote about was people doing things in their own stores or in their own showrooms or whatever. And multiple designers said, we don't have to do much. Like, it's already. It already looks like the brand. It's already got our decor and stuff. We don't have to bring stuff in or rent things like that. And then if you're in. If you are in a shared space like that, I am not surprised that a lot of them were kind of just bare bones in terms of the decoration.
- [19:23]
A
Yes. Well, you wrote about the fact the small. The small brands and the fact that they're hosting things in their showroom or their store, they're already able to, like, present their lifestyle. Definitely more affordable. Easier a take on that was. Was Alexander Wang's, and he brought that bank building, and so it was basically his own space. It wasn't, you know, decked out with decor, but he. He did, like. It was one of the shows that was most memorable. They had. There were drones shining, shining like spotlights, and the music was upbeat. It felt like a party. There were people in the middle playing mahjong. And it just. It was a vibe. Like, it was late at night. It was 9:30. It was 1 where I was like. It made me go e. Like, it felt really fun, and the clothes looked really good. But I don't know that I got, like, overly excited beyond that yet. There are a couple. There's a day and a half left, but they're definitely beautiful clothes. Altazara Zara had beautiful clothes. Many of them did.
- [20:19]
B
Yeah. And I went to one that kind of had a similar vibe. The Legends show on, I believe, Wednesday or Thursday, one of the first nights. Similarly, like, very glamorous. It was in the Stephen Schwartzman building in Bryant park, this huge room, and there was an open bar and tons of people. I think I slacked you immediately after, but I literally ran into Lindsay Lohan. By that, I mean, I was, like, walking out of the show and, like, saying goodbye to somebody I knew there. And he said something to me, and I was like, what? And he was like. I said, lindsay Lohan's coming in. And as he said that, I, like, smacked into her.
- [20:50]
A
What is up I walked out of the Alexander Wang show, like basically standing next to Cardi B. I'm like, I'm going to be in the tabloids. How did this happen? Because there are a lot of photographers around going crazy and.
- [21:02]
B
Yeah, anyway, well, I think that's all the time we have for our first segment. But, Jill, thank you for speaking with me and thanks for sharing your experience in New York Fashion Week. We're going to take a very short break, and when we come back, I will be with our international reporter Sophia Zbaglinska. We're going to talk about more New York Fashion Week recap stuff, and this time we'll kind of see from her outside perspective over there in the UK what kind of moments reached escape velocity and people outside of the New York fashion community heard about. And we are back and I am now here with our international reporter, Zofia Zviklinska. Hello, Sophia. Thank you for joining the Glossy Podcast Podcast.
- [21:50]
C
Thank you so much. It's so fun to be reporting for this internationally rather than on the ground.
- [21:56]
B
Yeah. I'm excited to hear your thoughts. We just wrapped up our conversation, me and Jill, talking about our experience at New York Fashion Week. But I wanted to bring you on to hear what broke containment and what you're seeing from your vantage across the pond. I know you were keeping a close eye and you're also plugged into fashion, but it's also so it's always interesting to see what feels like it's making a splash in our little New York fashion community versus what actually kind of people heard about elsewhere. So thank you for joining. First off, how has your week been and how have you been enjoying watching from afar?
- [22:37]
C
Yeah, I mean, it's been really fun. I think that it's been in some ways better than I thought and in others kind of worse. So I'd say in terms of the kinds of brands and the kinds of activations that were present, I think there's a lot of interesting ones, from kind of Ellie the Elephant off White to I guess, some of the more interesting clothing items with designers like Cynthia Rowley. And then on, I guess the more boring side, I think most of the clothes were not as interesting conceptually as I would have liked. I think that there's been some shows where it was really, really interesting. Whether that's area or libertine, I think the clothes were far more interesting. But on the most part, I think there was a big focus on a commercial collection from most designers. And that means, you know, kind of monotone quite like sales Ready Pieces, which I guess that would make sense for New York. But I did miss a little bit of that kind of creativity and excitement, you know, even from some other brands that I've been following for the last couple of shows.
- [23:44]
B
Yeah, there's. Okay. A lot that I want to dive into based on what you just said. Quick side note, though. Definitely thought Ellie the Elephant at Off White was very fun. And obviously, Ellie the Elephant is an icon and has done a ton of brand collaborations recently. It also is a little funny, though. Jill and I were talking off recording about Off White, and they're in such a weird place, that brand. They. Obviously, Virgil Abloh passed away a couple years ago, and I feel like they held off on replacing him with a really strong creative vision out of respect for the legacy, which I think is fine. But now I feel like they've kind of been directionless for a little while, and they've been doing a lot of licensing. And I noticed this the other day, and I didn't get a chance to write about it, but they have just licensed their name out to tms, I think, to make watches, like, Off White watches. And it's just a little funny that they're kind of. I don't know. I'm like, what exactly is going on over at Off White? So Ellie the Elephant was very fun, but it also was like, if you had asked me before the week, and I hadn't thought about it at the time, but it makes perfect sense that somebody would have Ellie the Elephant on the Runway. She's just such a big New York cultural icon. It was inevitable. But I don't know if I would have guessed that it would have been Off White. I don't know. I guess I would have thought one of the maybe more advanced contemporary women's wear brands might have landed the Ellie the Elephant cameo, but. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So Off White is just a little bit unexpected in that. Not unexpected that she was at New York Fashion Week, but unexpected at which Runway she was on.
- [25:21]
C
Yeah, definitely. I think there was some other international designers who also presented some interesting collections, whether that's Ashlyn park or Campeo. I think they had some great support as well from Willy Trevaria. So it's great to see that there's a lot of international brands doing kind of really, really well at the shows. I think there's even been some European designers. I spoke to designer behind Azapadi who said that, you know, he was coming to New York because he got basically, like, an invite from Christian Siriano when Siriano was in Greece, and therefore, like, sorry, I think it was Malta. And therefore he ended up coming to New York Fashion Week to showcase his collection. And it seems like there was a lot of interest for couture style pieces. But then, yeah, I think in terms of other big themes and things that kind of broke through, it was definitely the kind of sponsorship model around New York Fashion Week. It feels like that is something that kind of comes up again and again because New York Fashion Week always feels a little bit more brazen with how it approaches sponsorships. And also, who ends up sponsoring. I think last season our editor wrote about the fact that there was a ranch collaboration. Valley Ranch.
- [26:36]
B
Yeah, we talked about that a little bit. Yeah.
- [26:39]
C
And then this season, I think there was some very interesting partnerships between some brands. I think there was a chicken shop that I saw. I think we talked about the Capri sun. And it feels like a lot of these are a little bit off kilter. Like the Purina one. Again, it doesn't feel like there's a lot of fashion connections. I'm wondering if these kind of partnerships, whether that's Christian Siriano, who's been doing things with laundry companies for a number of seasons. I think it feels like those kinds of things do affect the brand image. And I'm wondering if there's any point in doing that with such a kind of public visual Runway which gets reposted globally.
- [27:22]
B
Yeah, totally. But before I give you my thoughts on sponsorships, we have a live correction from our podcast producer, Sarah. I did not realize Off White is, like, the official style partner of New York Liberty since last year, since September of 2024. I had no idea. So thank you, Sarah, for correcting me. Makes way more sense that they had Ellie the Elephant on the Runway now. But, yeah, to your point about sponsorships, it reminds me of years ago, there used to be this Sprite commercial. Do you have Sprite in the uk? I don't know. Yes, we do. Okay. I think it's like an alien place. You don't have any of the same stuff. No, there was a Sprite commercial and it was like these NBA players, this was like years and years ago. And they were like, oh, yeah, we love Sprite. This is so genuine. And then there was like dollar signs around them, like, joking about, like, they're just being paid to say that. And I was like, okay, but joking about it doesn't really make it. Not that, you know, like, it is just a commercial for a soda. Like, I don't know. So I kind of feel like that A little bit with sometimes the New York Fashion Week sponsorships, they're a little bit like, it's funny that we're doing this. Like, isn't that, like, hilarious that we're doing this sponsorship? And it's like, yeah, but you're still doing it, even if you're making a joke about it, you know, And I don't think I see that as much at some of the other fashion weeks. And dare I say it, it is a little tacky. I don't know. That's my feeling.
- [28:45]
C
Yeah. And I think I was speaking about this to our editor last week, and I spoke about it as well to Hilary from Kalina Strada. But it feels like partnerships and sponsorships still make up a big part of a brand's kind of identity. And therefore, the people that you partner with, even for a Runway show, the people who are getting that kind of visual, I guess the visual spread, either if it's through a logo on the runaway or something else, those kind of things really matter. And with Hillary, with Colline Estrada, they always end up doing partnerships with other kind of bigger brands. So they sometimes do it with tech partners. It kind of makes sense for the brand to do that because of their roots in sustainability, the focus on the social side of things. Even. I would say that the latest one that she did with OnlyFans kind of makes sense because she's focusing on a disruptive platform and her brand is disruptive as well. And I think that if it's going to be that that's the kind of way to approach it, rather than maybe going with some random sponsor just for the sake of it, because they'll be able to put on the kind of show that you want. I'm wondering of harks back to the question that we've been asking all week, which is, who is Fashion Week for? I'm not sure if the typical fashion audience really appreciates having raising canes in the background of a fashion show just simply because it's a sponsor. I feel like it does make it a little bit more tacky.
- [30:14]
B
Yeah, I agree. I think the idea of a sponsorship is not off limits in my mind, but it's a little bit. A little crass to see McDonald's or something. I don't know. Not to be too snooty about it, but I don't know, I feel like it brings down the mystique and the luster a little bit. I also wanted to mention. So there was a really interesting article in the Washington Post by Rachel Tashjan. Which was titled when did New York Fashion Week get so Boring? Which obviously is a very provocative headline. But when I read it, I was actually pretty interested and found myself agreeing with a lot of it. But basically she said there were so many shows and so many collections this season that were very samey. A lot of. And you kind of referenced this earlier. A lot of very commercial collections where it was kind of a lot of neutrals and oversized suits and kind of like plain. I don't know, there was just like a shared aesthetic. She mentions Tibi, Diyatima, Proenza, Schuller, Altazara, Totem, all kind of having sort of a similar vibe. And Joe and I spoke earlier in the episode about the kind of lack of color at a lot of the shows that we went to. A lot of things we saw there was just a lot of monochrome. Occasional shows had more interesting patterns and designs. Zankov was one, very colorful, very interesting. You mentioned Libertine. Libertine's always very maximalist. Just last night, we're recording this Tuesday morning. Last night I went to the Kukuleli Shahin show, which was at sunset on Pier 40, which was so beautiful. And they had a live rock band playing at the end of the Runway, which was really cool. And the theme of the collection was kind of like Led Zeppelin, sort of. But all of the clothes were beautiful colors. Every piece had something interesting about it. None of it was kind of generic. None of it was quiet luxury either. But I think that was rare. That was rarer. And yeah, I'll stop there. But I don't know, I thought that post article was really interesting and I hadn't really thought about it. She was maybe a little harsher than I would be. But I do agree that there was a lot of playing it safe and a lot of kind of neutral core product kind of collections out there and a little bit less eye catching, avant garde stuff. I don't know. Did you get some of that impression from where you were?
- [32:32]
C
Yeah, I think so too. I think it's a very tough balance nowadays for brands because at the same time they want to make a commercial collection that will sell, especially if they're reliant on wholesale, which has been notoriously hard environment over the last couple of months. So for that reason, having, for example, Hillary's collection for Collina Strada, it was a doubled up look and so every look had a black counterpart. The black essentially being more commercial as well as symbolic. And it feels like that's the kind of same vein that most of the other designers kind of went for too, where they're essentially focusing on which pieces will sell rather than which pieces are kind of pushing the brand forward and kind of bringing a new something to their identity. It doesn't escape me, obviously, that we're talking about this now in the age of AI and kind of repetition and copies and all of the other things. And it does feel like that's potentially something that is influencing taste and how people perceive clothes as well. You know, there's been a whole conversation around comfort and practicality in high fashion and how that's been lacking as well. So perhaps, you know, designers are trying to address all of these different things because of the fact that they've been either losing customers or else not getting enough customers for the number of sales that they need to kind of survive it through. Not even, like mentioned mentioning tariffs, which I know that you and Gill got into already. So I think that there's a lot to kind of unpack there. But it would be nice, I think, for at least a couple of the pieces to be slightly more inventive. You know, whether that is Diotima, who I think came out with some incredible dresses that almost look like moving foam. I think that would be the best way to describe them or area, you know, with a massive sequins. Like, those kind of things still make a statement, but there's also, you know, a matching between that and the rest of the collection, which might be slightly more commercial. I think you have to end up putting both out on the Runway. And weirdly enough, I would say that Coach, which typically is more well known for the bags, actually came out with a much more fashion forward collection, much more interesting collection than a lot of these kind of very pure play fashion players that were showing elsewhere.
- [34:49]
B
Yeah, you raised a lot of really good points. I think you're totally right that when brands kind of need to focus on what sells, I think that necessarily kind of limits the creativity a little bit. Last night, when I was at the Kookulele Shaheen show, I talked to Anna Shaheen, who's one of the designers, and she was saying they do custom stuff in addition to ready to wear. And she said that when she is designing, like, she's like any designer, she kind of has to constantly balance between being a creative person who just wants to, like, follow, you know, the whims of, you know, what she wants to make, and then also a business owner and, like, needs to, like, make money. So she was saying you can't always make an $80,000 custom dress that's just for the Runway, like, just for this one night. Like, it needs to be something that they can sell later because it's not very efficient to, you know, spend a lot of money and time making clothes that are not actually going to be sold. And I do think sometimes, especially in, like, really avant garde fashion, there's stuff on the Runway that is just for the Runway. You know, it's not really meant to be sold or worn elsewhere. But that's like, kind of a waste sometimes. Like, you can argue maybe it's not a waste because it is eye catching and, like, has a halo effect on sales or whatever, but it's much better or it's much more efficient if you can make something that you can put on the Runway and then also sell it later, you know, And I think right now, with tariffs and with lots of other stuff happening in the market, I think brands are feeling less comfortable with wasting money, you know, doing things that they can't sell later. And so that may have a. Be a contributing factor too, some of the safe of designs we saw.
- [36:35]
C
Yeah, and I think it's interesting as well. I think there's a piece in New Yorker about Uniqlo and kind of the way that it's shaping American culture. It does feel like a lot of the designs that we saw on the Runway this season were very practical. And whether that was kind of to do with the general aesthetic being, you know, I would say, like Nancy Meyer's film kind of like outfits. It ends up being a lot of stuff that you'd wear to the beach kind of. Essentially, I think that there's a big focus on pieces that work across all of that, that are kind of a little bit sporty, kind of a little bit feminine, you know, maybe a little bit abstract. In terms of the jewellery, we saw a lot of, like, long pendants, for example, and windbreakers. Like, those kind of things end up being like signature pieces for the brand. But as well, not so. I think they're not so individual that you end up, like, pushing people out of the brand because you're selling those pieces. Like, jewelry is an easy way for people to buy into brands. You know, for windbreakers, most of them are pretty neutral colored. So again, another way to buy into a number of brands and going into that sporty trend, it just feels like a lot of those pieces are very, very versatile. And that's probably a reflection of the kinds of customers that they're getting now who are mixing stuff up, up from various different brands and maybe are A little bit less loyal to just one or two, especially at New York Fashion Week.
- [38:02]
B
One thing I noted, and Jill and I talked about this a little bit, is the disparity between what was on the Runway and what the attendees were wearing. Like, I'm saying that I think I saw a lot of just there were shows I went to where the clothes on the Runway were a little safe, a little bit. Maybe not necessarily bad or ugly or boring, but just, like, kind of lacking, like, you know, a huge amount of flair. Meanwhile, the actual people attending the show all looked amazing. I saw some of the best, like, looks I saw were what people were wearing, you know, in the audience or just walking around. And I think before, in our preview episode of New York Fashion Week, we talked a little bit about how many Labubus are we gonna see and, you know, what will be the accessory of the week. I made a little voice memo at the time based on my observations on that front. So we can play that right now. You can hear what I was thinking. My loboo count is nil. No loboo spotted. At least that I noticed. But I did see I have seen some wacky accessories, and it feels like a little more so than usual. And it feels more so in men's particularly. The two things I've seen is big, kind of ostentatious hats. There was a guy I saw at a show who had, I don't know what they're called, but the hat with the fluffy, like, flaps on the side that you'd wear to go in, like, a ski lodge or something. And then multiple dudes in comically enormous sneakers with, like, 8 inch soles, which looked impossible to walk in. And it's just funny because I feel like the men's footwear kind of trend has been going away from, like, big, chunky sneakers and towards slimmer, you know, sambas and onitsuka tigers and things like that. And then there were surprising number of, to me, very huge shoes on men. So, funnily enough, not so much on the actual runways or presentations, but on the attendees. So. So I don't know what to make of that, but did not see a lot of labubas, personally. Okay, so you can kind of hear I was, like, starting to notice that trend at the time. This was recorded on one of the first couple days, but I was starting to already kind of notice how interesting people who were at the shows were dressing compared to how interesting the models on the Runway were dressing. And I think at that point, I hadn't fully formulated that thought, But I was starting to notice the disparity.
- [40:35]
C
Yeah, I can kind of see that, too. I think that for a lot of people, Fashion Week is a time to dress up, and it must have been a little bit weird if the Runway itself is less interesting than what people were wearing. I think it kind of calls to another thing that I saw, which is it does feel like there's a lot of interesting brands that are kind of coming in from international markets. But also, I guess the individualization and personalization around New York Fashion Week, whether that's. That's inviting substackers to sit on the Runway and comment on the shows, I think we saw that multiple times over the course of the week, as well as brands like Damson Madder, for example, pulling up a. I think it was a chess tournament for the whole thing. And they had their signature very, very colorful clothes. And I think that that's something that's a little bit more unique, a little bit more interesting, a little bit more niche. And again, that calls to all of the different side events that happen during New York Fashion Week as well. And how many of those end up being almost more interesting than the Runway themselves because they allow for more flexibility and format? Because the guests are more interesting, what they're wearing is more individual? I think this is something that I think we're going to be seeing a lot more of just that personalization and I guess the focus on the individual and people who are actually doing interesting, creative things as well.
- [41:55]
B
Yeah. Well, I think we covered everything. This was very fun talking about it with Jill and with you. Thank you for sharing your opinion. I'm gonna be out the next two weeks, so it'll be you and Jill breaking down the rest of Fashion Month. I think I will be back for the last week of Fashion Month London next, and then Milan. You guys will be discussing that one. When I'm back, we will talk Paris. And thank you. Thank you for listening to the Glossy Podcast. Don't forget to give us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, wherever you listen to this, because that helps us out so much. And don't forget to subscribe to the Glossy Podcast to hear interviews with industry insiders and weekend review segments where we break down the news. The new episodes come out every Friday. Until the next time, thanks for listening.