The season finale: we look to the future as a fashion revolution gets underway

From the new all-weather wardrobe to shopping straight off the catwalk, the big fashion revolution is well underway
Karen Dacre14 September 2016

New York is hot right now. Literally. But that hasn’t stopped the fashion diehards from donning their mohair knits and fur- lined hoodies.

While us lesser humans sweat it out in slip dresses, the purists (remarkably) present as perspiration-free visions. Tireless ambassadors for the season ahead, they swish their leather skirts, tuck their hair under padded Balenciaga puffas and shoulder-robe their body weight in sheep’s wool - all in the name of progress.

The result, a front row with an outfit option for all weathers, is an odd one to marvel at. Especially for the British contingent (when it comes to fashion there’s nothing we enjoy more than weather appropriation).

The seasonal mix-up is also, it would seem, a snapshot of how the future will look, as the fashion calendar as we know it looks set to become an antiquated idea.

Proof of this has been all over the catwalk during this week’s round of shows as designers cast aside convention to create so-called spring/summer collections, which are laden with options for winter.

Proenza Schouler SS17 at NYFW
Catwalking.com

At Proenza Schouler this meant voluminous knit dresses worn layered with butter-soft leather jackets and feather-embellished skits teamed with chunky knits. For Victoria Beckham, a designer who always designs with a global customer in mind, the seasonless approach gave us crushed velvet skirts featured alongside knitted bralets and cutaway dresses.

Victoria Beckham SS17 at New York Fashion Week

1/30

The emergence of a non-seasonal approach here in New York has a lot to do with the fact that clothes designed with occasions in mind are what this city is best at — you can slip into a cocktail gown whatever the weather.

Accordingly, in his debut collection for DVF, former London Fashion Week designer Jonathan Saunders bypassed sundresses and city shorts in favour of a collection filled with punchy scarf dresses, sequin-lined sheaths and fur-trimmed tweed overcoats.

A similar story unfolded at Alexander Wang when the esteemed designer, who is currently celebrating 10 years in business, chose to showcase the signature codes of his fashion house — think crop-tops, thigh-high PVC and Madonna sat front row — over any desire to create a collection deep rooted in the summer season.

Alexander Wang SS17 at NYFW 
Catwalking.com

New York Fashion Week has seen a host of big-budget brands — see Tommy Hilfiger and Club Monaco — shift to a “see now, buy now model”, and as a result shun the summer season entirely in order to showcase autumn/winter collections, which are available as soon as they appear on the catwalk.

The emergence of truly global collections seems particularly significant, not least because it offers design houses without the resources available to deliver their collections at pace an opportunity to be relevant in all four corners of the world at all occasions but also because it speaks volumes about how today’s luxury consumer prefers to consume her fashion.

DVF SS17 at NYFW

No longer limited to browsing in her local department store, the 2016 fashion shopper — a tech savvy woman who travels — has the whole world at her fingertips. And so it makes perfect sense that designers want to cater to her needs at all times.

For buyers, selecting pieces on her behalf, the determination of designers to think globally is a welcome development. “We always make sure we have the best edit to give to our customers no matter where they are,” confirms Sarah Rutson, vice-president of global buying at online retailer Net-a-Porter.

“We are buying for women in all parts of the world so when we buy we have to make sure our offering and represe station of winter /summer duality is covered.”

For our wardrobes, this global mindset means great things. Not least the chance to stock up on bikinis at Christmas time but the chance to select hardworking clothes that come with a year-long guarantee and work for our wardrobes, whatever the weather.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in