New York Fashion Week 2024: Seamlessly blending the old and the new

From the left: The Tommy Hilfiger collection / Christian Siriano Fall/Winter 2024 / and Katie Holmes at the Chanel Watches and Fine Jewellery. - Copyright AP Photo / Canva

By Greta Ruffino

Published on 12/02/2024 - 16:00

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New York Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2024 has kicked off in the Big Apple. Here's the scoop on all the established brands, newcomers, celebrities, glamour and what's coming next.

New York City is once again at the centre of the fashion world as designers, models and celebrities gather in the Big Apple for New York Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2024.

It's the first of the 'big four' celebrations of style, with the roadshow heading to London, Milan, and Paris next to round out a month of glitz and glamour.

The Autumn-Winter 2024/25 runway shows will continue until 14 February, with more than 70 designers showing off the latest trends.

Celebrities including Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Katie Holmes, and Elizabeth Olsen, to name a few, have already been spotted front row at various shows, adding an extra dose of glamour to the already star-studded affair.

Top designers take on New York Fashion Week

Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera, Proenza Schouler, Coach, Tory Burch, Tommy Hilfiger and Thom Browne stand out as some of the most prominent and esteemed names on the American calendar.

Hilfiger, making a NYFW comeback after a two-year absence, is feeling confident about the rise of "quiet luxury" fashion and sensing that people are dressing up more again.

"Luxury is the word on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Everyone knows what luxury looks like now, and everyone wants it. But luxury is unreachable for most people. If I can sell an affordable version of luxury, that’s a great position for our business," he said after his show on Friday (9 February), highlighting that while some other brands may charge $6,000 (€5,572) for a camel cashmere coat, his is priced at $600 (€557).

The women's clothes looked refined, with oversized blazers featuring safety pin brooches, relaxed suits, long pleated skirts with belts, and wide-wale corduroy miniskirts. There were also chunky striped cashmere sweaters, double-faced wool coats, and bomber jackets.

New designers to keep an eye on

The Big Apple is increasingly becoming a major hub for up-and-coming brands, seeking the ideal balance between artistic innovation and commercial potential.

Callas Milano, Jane Wade, Colleen Allen, and Bishme Cromartie are just a few of the emerging artists.

One of the most prominent figures is Baltimore-born Cromartie, who is set to showcase his runway collection on 13 February.

His designs are both architectural and sensual, intending to evoke a feeling of luxury and red carpet sophistication. They incorporate extravagant volumes, surprising details, contrasting textures, and graceful silhouettes, often culminating in elaborate trains decorated with feathers, tulle ruffles and flounces.

Cromartie has already achieved victory on Project Runway All-Stars, a US reality TV show, spun off from Project Runway, where designers compete for big prizes.

Adding a touch of originality

The runway was also a space for social commentary this year, with models breaking free from the restrictive mold fashion has heralded for decades.

Maddie Moon, a Brooklyn-based designer, walked the runway for Collina Strada's fall ready-to-wear show, showcasing her modeling debut while 32 weeks pregnant.

Moon's statement on self-acceptance, love and embracing motherhood received resounding applause and cheers, marking a notable stride toward inclusivity and diversity within the fashion realm.

In addition to the clothes, Marc Jacobs' collection, which marks the 40th anniversary of his brand, stood out for its staging and the heavily teased hair of the models.

The runway featured a giant folding table with classic design and four chairs, a 2006 artwork by Robert Therrien called "No Title (Folding Table and Chairs, Beige)," but oversized so that it could accommodate a person approximately 9 meters tall.

"By examining the memorable and the mundane, we abstract and exaggerate with a disorienting familiarity in our desire to express something naive and elegant," Jacobs wrote in his show titled "Wonder."