Unfortunately, New York Fashion Week was the biggest letdown. We saw normality, simplicity, and elegance at the forefront of so many collections. The space for colour and experimentation was minimal and was suffocated by underwhelming layers and colours. Johnathan Anderson debuted with Dior, and except for some new ways of wearing ties, it was mundanely minimal.
On the contrary, a brand that stood out like no other to me was the independent designer Chloe Likes Pink with the Paper Dolls Collection. This collection brought together innovative fabric patterns and 2000s colour ways, which looked like they were pulled straight from 13 Going on 30.
"...Lantink’s work was best described as “the fashion equivalent of an unsolicited crotch shot"..."
On the other hand, Paris took us to unfamiliar places with their showcase of SS26. Paris Fashion Week was definitely the most creative and radical of all places. We saw Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel debut under an incredible re-imagined solar system. His standout work was his rainbow-feathered skirt worn by Awar Odhiang, who even danced on the runway at the end of the show. When discussing Paris debuts, it would be impossible not to mention the provocative Duran Lantink’s Jean Paul Gaultier collection. In particular, Lantink’s work was best described as “the fashion equivalent of an unsolicited crotch shot” by the New York Times. His most spoken about piece was a body suit with a naked male body on with accurate markings of body hair, definitely not boring, nor inspiring, just shocking.
The main emphasis of London this season was its recent employment of British Fashion Council CEO, Laura Weir, who is expanding Britain’s cultural significance following her decision to reset British Fashion. Weir promotes fashion design talent and has the ambition to make London Fashion Week the “most magnetic exposition of excellence in the world.”
Despite that, a standout from London Fashion Week was Patrick McDowell's SS26 Lancashire Rose Collection that established the importance of memory through visionary designs of roses. The collection illustrated a deeper meaning to fashion and how using your childhood and geographical background can be an immense inspiration.
Ultimately, I do hope the criticism shared on the mundane nature of the recent runways helps motivate designers back into a technicolour scope and into a realm of risk-taking.