Fashion month went off with a bang in New York City.
With boundary-pushing designs and plenty of famous faces on the front row, New York Fashion Week (NYFW)2024 has wrapped up. And what a glittering season it has been! Filled with bold designs and celebrity-filled front rows.
New York is often seen as the cooler younger sibling to Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks, and it didn’t disappoint with the autumn/winter 2024 season.
Here’s what you might have missed from a week of fashion in the Big Apple…
1. Beyoncé sits in the front row.
In a surprise appearance on Tuesday night, Beyoncé sat in the front row to watch her 19-year-old model nephew Daniel ‘Julez’ Smith Jr walk the runway at the Luar fashion show, a clothing brand “for the culture.”
The singer and her mother sat together, both wearing stylish outfits. She finished the look with oversized sunglasses, a holographic Luar bag, and a cowboy hat in the same color.
2. Molly Ringwald walked the runway.
Sixteen Candles star Molly Ringwald opened the Batsheva show, wearing a dramatic hooded black gown, which the brand described on Instagram as “a velveteen funeral Jackie O dream.”
The 55-year-old is usually seen sitting in the front row, but this season, she joined an entire cast of models aged 40 or over. Designer Batsheva Hay had spent weeks recruiting random women for the show, telling The New York Times she did it because she was 42.
“I find that aging is a big preoccupation for me and my friends. It’s an area of discomfort in fashion,” she said.
3. Tommy Hilfiger comes back home.
Fashion veteran Tommy Hilfiger wanted to honor New York in his second show since the coronavirus outbreak.
He staged the show at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station, with the likes of Damson Idris, newest brand ambassador Sofia Richie Grainge, and Kelly Rutherford all in attendance.
“We thought it was time,” Hilfiger told CNN ahead of the show. “Time to come back and celebrate New York. It’s iconic, and it’s where I started.”
From varsity bomber jackets and trench coats to striped jumpers and polo shirts, the mega-brand was bold and modern in its interpretation of preppy fashion.
4. Blake Lively makes an appearance.
In support of her good friend Michael Kors, the actress and Gossip Girl alum attended the autumn-winter runway shown Tuesday.
The mom of four wore a giraffe-print trench coat and mini skirt with brown boots. She attended the Super Bowl to see the Kansas City Chiefs win against the San Francisco 49ers. Taylor Swift, Ice Spice, Lana Del Rey, Miles Teller, and Keleigh Sperry spotted her watching the game.
5. All eyes on Area
Interestingly, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Area broke from tradition and debuted spring/summer clothes instead of the usual autumn/winter collections.
The designers drew inspiration from Sixties pop art and 1920s cartoons and studied the outfits with statement googly eyes. Area’s collection delves into the interplay between viewing and being viewed. It explores the dynamics of essentials and the extraordinary. The collection reconstructs the interconnection between fashion and its observers. Area shared this on Instagram.
6. Storybook drama at Thom Browne
After a spell in Paris, Thom Browne returned to the New York Fashion Week schedule in a suitably dramatic style.
A veteran of the industry – and the chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) – he’s known for high-production-value shows, and this season was no different.
Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven, models walked around a wintery wasteland of a catwalk. More than just a runway show, this was performance art – one of the ‘trees’ on the runway turned out to be a man on stilts wearing an oversized puffer jacket, and four children emerged from the coat to watch the show.
The clothes were suitably Gothic – practically everything was monochromatic, with models wearing sculptural headpieces. Moreover, the fashion show emphasized tailoring and boxy silhouettes with a sporty edge. It was a dramatic and exciting experience for everyone, including celebrities like Janet Jackson and Queen Latifah, who enjoyed the show in the front row.
