Fashion month is off to a powerful and political start in New York City. This year, designers took inspiration from the city itself; designs became a sort of love letter to this modern metropolis of rough concrete, sharp glass and grid-like streets. New York has always been regarded as a place of modern innovation, diverse acceptance and artistic and cultural development, and New York Fashion Week designs took on the creative persona of this very idea. What with the severe political upheaval surrounding the latest presidential election, it seemed that this New York Fashion Week, designers were even more dedicated to preserving the purity of this colourful resistance movement that has always set New York apart from the crowd.

“New York has always been regarded as a place of modern innovation, diverse acceptance and artistic and cultural development.”

A tribute to both the past and present, Jonathan Saunders spoke of “nostalgia for a time when freedom of expression was at its height, especially here in New York, and for me that’s something to be inspired by.” Michael Kors declared that “the world’s a bit mixed up, we all crave that sense of optimism and fashion can help lift your spirits” whilst Alexander Wang dedicated three shows to New York City’s democratic and liberal spirit, commenting that the shows felt “so democratic and inclusive.” Throughout the week we were transported through a dream-like history of fashion in New York, with its gloomy glamour of the 70s, the flower-child freedom of the 60s and the democratic sense of political unity that it resembles today. The designs were modern and interesting, but also evoked soft hazy memories of a purer, joyful past.

Woodstock on my mind

A psychedelic wash of hazy blues, purples and adorned the catwalk like watercolours at Anna Sui. The show was a dream right out of 60s Woodstock with caramel-coloured fringing, tulle fabrics and indigo-patterned flares. The original flower child was beautifully reborn as models glided down the catwalk. Visual joy was baked into the designs at Marc Jacobs, with huge daisy patterns and a hyper-vivid palette accompanied by silk turbans. Jacobs described it as “a reimagining of seasons past somewhere beyond the urban landscape of New York City.”

Night fever

A tribute to the iconic disco movement of 70s New York and its unwavering inclusivity, the catwalk was awash with a floating train of colourful sequins. Prabal Gurung certainly stood out: his lacquered, shimmering dresses in bold colours of red and gunmetal blue lit up the catwalk. New York was definitely reminiscing vicariously through its disco decade with many shows choosing to start at a later time of 8:30pm, going back to the night fever of the 70s. But the biggest name amongst all that glimmered was Jeremy Scott, who celebrated the 20th anniversary of his label: the catwalk both physically and metaphorically radiated light and dance energy.

Slip dresses and supermodels

It seems that the return of double denim is here to stay. At Tom Ford we saw a reawakening of the iconic 90s: slip dresses and barely there see-through fabrics galore. Double denim, a flash of fuchsia pink, silky bubble-gum purples, clementine leathers, sequin hot pants, and huge shoulder pads paid tribute to the decade that can only be described as “less is more” – both physically and symbolically speaking.

At Helmut Lang we saw modernism mixed in with 90s shapes, miniscule dresses with patches of fabric here-and-there in dark vampy colours, which made the ambience powerful and gloriously bold. At Alexander Wang we saw silks, denim and uber-mini mini dresses, whilst models were adorned with head crowns that read ‘After After Party’ and ‘Party Animal’.

Present day politics

Raf Simons also jumped on the nostalgia band wagon, drawing influence from the 1970s horror genre and also Andy Warhol. He described the collection as “an investigation of how I look at America, and what I want and expect the future to bring.” Jason Wu presented us with the modern woman reimagined, decked out in deconstructed office shirts in a myriad of pastel pinstripes. Ralph Lauren took on a futuristic glamour, with models circling a gleaming sea of laquer coated race cars. Race track colours of red and yellow wrapped around models in glistening vinyl corsets.

New York Fashion Week got the ball rolling magnificently. We saw inspiration from the past merge with innovation for the future. Liberal, artistic and bold, sparks of creativity and originality flew in this city that never truly sleeps