Fashion Week Dispatch: Part 1

Ralph Lauren, please containerize your trash.

Sep 12, 2023

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My New York Fashion Week began last Tuesday night at J.Crew’s 40th anniversary event, where Julian Casablancas of The Strokes looked out at the sparse crowd of sweaty industry professionals in attendance and said without a drop of sincerity: “Cool party, guys.”

I don’t really know what he was expecting. NYFW is, for the most part, not cool. I don’t mean that in a bitchy way, I’m just crunching the numbers. Big brands and billionaire adjacents are the only ones who can afford to participate anymore, and even they are probably spending more money than they should. If smaller brands do put on a show, they’re usually forced to do so in corporate hellholes like Hudson Yards, or find sponsors like Cash App.

It’s rare to see anything truly “cool.” That might bum Julian Casablancas and other cool people out, but if everything were cool, nothing would be cool. You know?? Consider it a challenge.

Personally, I thought it was pretty cool how Doja Cat so poetically called out Victoria’s Secret for putting her in a potentially UTI-inducing thong dress, especially given the fact that the brand probably paid her insane amounts of money just to show up to its “event.” (She deleted her Stories, but still.) More than “cancel culture,” UTIs might the underwear brand’s worst nightmare.

I also thought it was cool that Rachel Comey graced us with her presence again. It’s been two years since she showed at NYFW, and for a minute there, I was afraid her brand wasn’t going to survive the Vibe Shift. Where does she go after basically inventing high-waisted flares?? (The answer: baggy.) Her designs can be hit or miss, but when it’s a hit is a hit. Before the show on Wednesday, I found myself chatting with the people next to me about the Rachel Comey pieces we’ve had in our closets forever. For me, it’s these boots, which I recently got re-soled. (Shoutout Bob the Cobbler. More on him later.)

Like a lot of people, I was excited about designer Peter Do’s debut at Helmut Lang. I’ve ordered a solid amount of stuff from the brand in recent years, and think it could be more thoughtfully designed. (I have a pair of high-waisted black jeans that look like these. I also love this hot pink fuzzy skirt I found secondhand and these silver jeans — my “party pants.”) Do’s work on his own label has impressed me so far. But his first collection for Helmut Lang was too timid, I think. It didn’t feel like step forward in any significant way, and the whole car/seatbelt theme was muddled. (That said, we stan a New Yorker who can’t drive. Solidarity, Peter! I’m not giving up on you.)

After the show, I saw a few people comment that Proenza Schouler did Helmut Lang better. The brand will be producing jeans for the first time, but to me, it just seems like Proenza Schouler is doing Proenza Schouler better. I’m more inclined to browse/buy the brand now (on sale), since its look has gone back to being well, cool—and by that I mean easy, relaxed—and less high-fashion fussy. I wore this dress to my cousin’s wedding this summer and felt pretty good about it. (But only pretty good.)

Nine pieces I’d wear now (via Vogue Runway). Can you tell I just downloaded Photoshop? If it’s a screenshot no one can sue me, right??

Oof! If you told me Ralph Lauren’s latest collection was actually from Spring 2003, I would believe you. What fresh Coachella hell is this?? Also, NYC Sanitation would like a word…

I’m just going to say it: if you can afford Khaite, you can do better than Khaite. To me, it’s just nice knockoffs of other, more interesting designers, which would be fine if it wasn’t all basically the same price?? The amount that I see the brand’s new stuff on The RealReal indicates to me that it doesn’t inspire much of an emotional connection. And girl, if you’re paying over $1,000 for a top, it better make you feel something.

All this talk of Helmut Lang made me wonder what it would look like if Eckhaus Latta designers Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta were in charge, instead… Their show on Saturday took place inside the green marble lobby of 630 Fifth Avenue at Rockefeller Center, (not a cool place, despite developer’s best efforts), and it was hands down the coolest thing I’ve seen all week. Models entered the space via a silver Art Deco escalator, meaning their outfits were slowly and dramatically revealed to the audience as they emerged. Honestly, it was such a thrilling experience, I didn’t really care about the clothes, which, upon closer inspection, played with fabric and texture in ways that felt new and strange. (In a good way.) The designers just seemed like they *actually* had fun. I think Charles Lindbergh, whose bronze bust hilariously watched over the whole spectacle, would have dug it.

Photos by Madison Voelkel (left) and Adam Katz Sinding (right).

Wanna feel old? Mansur Gavriel celebrated its 10-year anniversary on Sunday. I remember so clearly graduating from college and somehow convincing my mom that the best thing she could do to set me up for success was buy me one of the brand’s black-and-red tote bags from Bird (RIP). I mean, where was the lie?? I still have it in my closet, although, it’s now the bag that holds all the other bags. What I’m buying from Mansur now, instead, are its colorful ballet flats, ($395), which I also just got re-soled. (Bob’s been busy.) Its anniversary celebration/capsule reminded me how badly I wanted the “Sun” bag as well, so I might have to get one of those now, too. (I asked, and the brand does plan to bring that style back.)

Left: The Mansur Gavriel “Sun” bag. Right: The brand’s “Dream” ballet flats.

I wasn’t able to make it to Staud on Sunday night because I was too busy writing and re-writing this darn newsletter. (I hear it was a billionaire packed house.) But I did learn while reading old Racked articles (RIP) that Larry David was not the first person to cover his ears at a fashion show, which I caught him doing at Staud last September. Woody Allen did the same in March 1998 when the Foo Fighters played for Versus Versace. (Yes, you read that correctly.)

What People Are Talking About:

The weather. Notoriously the most boring conversation subject, but it’s definitely strange going to fashion shows when it’s so hot outside, the last thing you want to do is wear clothes. Heat also has a way of making everything so embarrassing. More and more, I factor perspiration into my clothing purchases. (Will this thing make me sweat, and if it does, will it show?) Silk is dead to me.
Who are you? Who am I?? Seating assignments at fashion shows and events are very, very specific, and since I don’t have a specific job anymore, I’ve been plopped all over the place this season. It’s forced me to meet people other than members of the Media Elite, which is good. On multiple occasions, I introduced myself to someone very nice and knowledgeable about fashion, only to later learn that they had hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, and that I’m a total idiot. At the Highsnobiety dinner on Friday night, for example, I met Wesley Breed, a TikTok-er who wrote a cover story for the magazine about Khabane Lame. “Sorry, who?” I asked. Rather than make me feel stupid, which is what most Fashion People would have done, Wesley excitedly informed me that Khabane is, in fact, the most-followed person on the platform. You see, this is Wesley’s whole thing: he makes pleasantly informative videos about fashion, like this one, which I also learned something from. Rather than be a curmudgeon, I’ve decided to embrace Wesley’s energy. People like him make me want to be more curious. I should be able to tell you a designer’s hometown and what dinosaur Arc’teryx is named after.

Best Dressed So Far:

Every time I see Jalil Johnson, they’re dressed in something fabulous. (I’ve already begged for a newsletter outfit breakdown.) Jalil is busy, though, so in the meantime, let us worship Ayo Edebiri in Proenza Schouler. THIS IS COOL. ***And not just because they’re smoking a cigarette.

Worst Dressed, Always:

When I first saw this image, I just assumed it was AI. I wish it was.

I will leave you, instead, with this stunningly convincing photo taken at the J.Crew party, plus another snarky quote from Julian Casablancas: “It’s been real,” he said before starting his last song. “But it’s also been fake.”