Fashion Week Recap

Photo by Charlota Blunarova on Unsplash

September marked the beginning of the Spring/Summer 2023 (SS23) Fashion Week displays with major events taking place around the globe in New York City, London, Milan and Paris. These events gave fashion houses an opportunity to show their upcoming collections to the press, potential vendors and celebrities.

Award-winning fashion designer and now Marist College’s Director of Fashion John Bartlett explained that part of his job is to communicate what is happening on the runway. “We are coming out of a very difficult time in our collective history and designers and brands are working to land on what exactly fashion means today. What I am seeing across the board is a much more diverse casting of models. No longer is there a distinction between menswear and womenswear and many brands are presenting a more fluid and non-binary approach to dressing.”

Bartlett also noted the growth of representation in body types exuding a more inclusive narrative, yet menswear seems to be falling behind. 

Nevertheless, fashion lovers and celebrities alike gathered in these cities to experience collections from designers such as Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Burberry, Emilia Wickstead, Bottega Venetta and gawked at memorable shows like Moncler, Gucci and YSL. 

New York Fashion Week (NYFW) was held from Sept. 9-14 and unveiled a variety of styles with some commonalities such as sheer styles, cargo pants, fringe and sequins.

A highlight from NYFW was rapper Lil Nas X making his debut on the runway for Coach sporting a leather vest and shorts set with a small golden Coach clutch. His look was unique and fit his persona perfectly.

London Fashion Week (LFW) followed NYFW, beginning Sept.16 and concluding Sept. 20. With more than 100 designers displaying their work at this event, there was a wide variety of styles presented, but an overwhelming presentation of ruffles and ruching, polka dots, 3-D floral designs and metallics. 

Immediately following, Milan Fashion Week (MFW) occurred from Sept. 20-26 showcasing more familiar styles, such as shiny and leather materials, normcore and oversized bags.

Most notable was Gucci’s Twin Runway. Hiring 68 sets of twins to grace the catwalk together sporting some of their best looks, Gucci brought creativity and a stir among the media. 

As per usual, Paris brought the SS23 events to a close during Sept. 26-Oct. 4. Recurring themes were feathers, mini skirts and cutouts. Ava Battinelli ‘26 said, “I really liked how Chanel used tweed, I think it’s a really underrated material and think the whole presentation was classic yet never seen before.” She added, “I really like the oversized style a lot. It makes the clothes more distinctive and shows that they are more than how they fit the model.”

Bartlett highlighted the varying directions of designers, from retro to futuristic, bohemian to architectural, and ornate to minimal. “With accessories being such a big part of the profit for brands, I would like to see more next-gen materials and less use of leather. Demand for leather is directly connected to the disappearance of the Amazon rainforest and is not a sustainable material, not to mention the inherent cruelty involved in using animals for fashion,” said Bartlett.