The New York Fashion Week is ready to return under the spotlight with a calendar full of unmissable events and debuts. From September 6 to 11, 2024, the streets of New York will be filled with fashion shows and presentations that will bring the work of American indie designers to the world’s attention, starting with AREA which, after the initial show by John Varvatos, will inaugurate the series of hot appointments of the season. And although we will have to wait until January for the debuts of the new creative directors of Calvin Klein and FFORME, as well as the return of Helmut Lang to the runway, which is not present in the current calendar published by the CFDA. Here are five highlights not to be missed next September.
1. Alaïa in the Big Apple
The house of Alaïa, one of the most anticipated hot tickets of haute couture, has decided to present its new collection in New York on September 6, skipping the Paris Haute Couture Week. Pieter Mulier, creative director of the house, expressed his enthusiasm for this choice on Instagram, emphasizing how New York represents the epicenter of creativity and art for him, having gotten to know the city when he worked with Raf Simons for several years at the top line of Calvin Klein. The city, already the scene of an Alaïa show in 1982, will also host a series of events dedicated to the house until September 8, celebrating the special bond between the brand and the Big Apple.
2. Ralph Lauren’s mega-show in the Hamptons
Ralph Lauren returns to the spotlight with a spectacular show in the Hamptons on September 5, bringing his iconic brand back to the runway. This choice of location, far from the traditional urban settings of Fashion Week, and also outside the official calendar, promises to offer a unique and fascinating experience, as well as an afterparty that will be the literal epitome of preppy elegance. Lauren, known for his ability to interpret USA aesthetics in all its different shades, will use the Hamptons as a backdrop to present his latest creations, presumably showcasing a triumph of coastal opulence in full old New York style.
3. Proenza Schouler’s off-schedule event
Proenza Schouler, the creative duo formed by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, returns to New York for September Fashion Week with an off-schedule event that will renew their commitment to the New York scene. The show is scheduled for September 4 in a yet-to-be-determined location, but promises a presentation that will reflect their innovative and avant-garde aesthetic. Having quickly risen to prominence over the years, Proenza Schouler (often colloquially called “Proenza” by insiders) has been the herald of an extremely modern, architecturally fluid aesthetic that redefines the city’s fashion offering season after season.
4. Off-White returns to New York
Off-White, under the guidance of Ib Kamara, returns to New York for Fashion Week, marking a significant event for the brand and its followers. After a season of pause and a show in Paris, followed by months of much discussion about the brand’s new direction, the brand founded by the late Virgil Abloh seems to want to return to familiar territories – at a time of crucial importance for the fortunes of the United States. Will the historic occasion offer Kamara a way to narrate the cultural reality of the USA in a thematically salient manner? It’s all to be seen but confidence is high. The Off-White show in New York will be a celebration of the brand’s heritage and an opportunity to see how Kamara is reinterpreting Off-White’s style in a contemporary key.
5. COS returns to fashion week
Not so much a novelty, but certainly a sign of the times. Season after season, following the brand’s runway program launch, COS is slowly emerging from the fast fashion world to position itself in a new place, both for the brand and for the industry, placing it halfway between the accessibility of fast fashion and the quality of a premium brand but with an eye for design that has not failed to seduce even the purists among design devotees. The brand, which has won a large fan base for its clean lines and high-quality materials, will present its new collection on September 7.