From Marc Jacobs to Ralph Lauren; NYFW Highlights

RALPH LAUREN

There was a lot of talk surrounding Ralph Lauren this fashion week, as he announced that his brand would be staging 2 catwalk shows. As sales have fallen at Ralph Lauren over the past year, the designer introduced a new 'see now, shop now' approach to his latest collection. So pretty much what you see on the catwalk is available to buy straight away from any of his boutiques. Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Mica Arganaraz all made appearances, in a collection which was classic Ralph Lauren. From the Navajo references, smart grey suits, flared work trousers and the stunning jewel coloured evening dresses, this was Lauren at his finest while Julianne Moore and Rosie Huntington Whiteley watched from the front row.

Marc Jacobs

Well, Mr Jacobs certainly delivered quite a show for spring/summer 2017 as well as a lot of controversy. The problem wasn't the clothes, the make up or the staging on the catwalk. The issue which got a lot of people's backs up online and especially on Twitter was the fact that the models, mainly all white, were wearing fake dreadlocks, usually associated with black girls, not white girls. I thought the dread locks looked fun, edgy and experimental but I can easily see why this would have irked people. Why did Jacobs just not use black models? Race has always been a problem in fashion, especially for Italian designers, so it's a shame Marc Jacobs didn't use more stunning black girls like Joan Smalls, Jourdan Dunn, Lineisy Montero, Binx Walton or Tami Williams.

Anyway, on to the collection itself. I LOVED this show. From the baby doll/Victoriana mini dresses to the retro 1970s feel, there was a real mix of influences going on. Continuing on from last season, Jacobs decided to send his models out in ridiculously high platform shoes in patent pink, metallic silver and purple. Metallics were used on coats and dresses as well as quilting patterns as seen on the coat worn by Gigi Hadid. I spotted leopard print and camouflage, large fur jackets, accentuated waists and a lot of layering. In fact, the whole thing looked as though it could have come straight out of a musical, maybe something like Starlight Express. Irina Shayk closed the show in a pair of high waist, pink hot pants and jacket, complete with matching boots. It was quite a spectacle, but that's what makes Marc Jacobs great.

Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid on the catwalk

 Hugo Boss

Jason Wu seems to be going from strength to strength as creative director at Boss. His latest collection for the minimal brand was colourful, fun yet stylish and extremely elegant. It was sporty yet relaxed with models walking in breach slides with hardly any make up or accessories. Oh and it was cool that Sasha Pivovarova opened the show too, and not Kendall/Bella/Gigi.

 Michael Kors

Apart from Bella Hadid's embarrassing trip down the catwalk, this show had a very easy going, relaxed feel to it. Kors gave us pretty floral tea dresses in navy and pink, grey check skirt suits, across the body satchel bags as worn by Joan Smalls who opened the show and some great options for evening wear with his sexy, black numbers which closed the show. I loved the messy beach hair and the wedge sandals, as well as the roll call of models. Carolyn Murphy closed the show in a lovely navy dress, while Cameron Russell, Anna Ewers, Taylor Hill and Andreea Diaconu all took their turn to walk. Amazing line up!

Rodarte

As always with Rodarte, Kate and Laura Mulleavy delivered a show packed full of beautiful yet slightly Gothic fashion. I loved all the pretty white looks that opened the show. The frills and ruffles were divine and the sheer fabrics layered over each other where just beautiful. By the way, white is a BIG colour for spring, or I should say 'tone' for next season. The embroidery was exquisite, the shearling jacket amazing with a black net skirt and boots while the decadent dresses at the end of the collection were stunning. Really captivating with such lovely colours.

 Victoria Beckham

I loved Victoria Beckham last season. With all the surfer chic references, it was pretty cool and quite different for her. This season however, I was bored by the 5th look. Yes she experimened with velvet, satin and silk and yes, there were a couple of nice dresses, but the overall feel of the show was very, well...boring. The punches of tangerine orange were nothing new for the designer while the bra let tops and skirts would have been nice with more detail. Not great from VB.