New York Fashion Week is slowly coming to an end, and the final day saw
collections from brands including XULY.Bet, Naeem Khan, Bibhu Mohapatra,
and Anna Sui. These particular collections showed the increasing
inspiration from diverse racial, ethnic, and artistic backgrounds being
brought to the runway at NYFW.
For XULY.Bet, designer Lamiane Badiane Kouyate debuted the first ever show
at New York Fashion Week to feature all Black models. His collection was
inspired by streetwear styles, hip-hop culture, and lots of prints. While
Kouyate should be commended for his history making approach to diversity on
the runways, his collection was a bit underwhelming.
It was everything that you would expect from a street style inspired line
with urban influences, such as jumpsuits and oversized sports jersey
jackets, but it got to be preditcable. Kouyate has potential though, as the
collection wasn’t bad, but one expects more wow factor from a show at NYFW.
The potential is there, he just needs to step it up a notch.
Indian designer Bibhu Mohapatra took his inspiration from the image of the
Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi. The collection was focused on exploring the
prowess and poise of the female mind. Looks included offerings such as a
colorblocked warrior crepe dress, an ebony double faced cashmere coat, and
an imperial red crepe dress with embroidered Ginko leaves.
While China has long been inspiring luxury fashion, Mohapatra’s ability to
pinpoint one main figure and create such an artistically original
collection is quite impressive. He didn’t miss a beat with a single look in
this historically inspired collection, and brought the richness of Chinese
history to contemporary high-fashion.
Another Indian designer who brought the magic to runways at New York
Fashion Week was celebrity favorite Naeem Khan. He actually found his
inspiration in America’s art culture drawing inspiration from New York’s
Art Deco influence.
The first look in his collection, a multi velvet applique cocktail dress,
was a slow build up to a jaw dropping set of looks such as an onyx velvet
ankle length illusion gown, a silver metallic hammered sequin floor length
cape, and a strapless gunmetal floral embroidered gown.
Khan reminded us how intertwined the worlds of fashion and art continue to
be, and the beauty that is created when the two meet in perfect harmony.
Designer Anna Sui found artistic and cultural inspiration from all over the
world for her Fashion Week collection. Inspiration came from artist Peter
Blake’s pop art collage based on The Beatles’ 1967 album, sculptures by
French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, and sixties London cult label Biba
which was founded by Barbara Hulanicki who designed a print for the
collection.
Looks included a plum fur coat with Mongolian trim, a navy psychedelic
floral print crepe dress, a cassis mohair plaid jacket, a black skunk
stripe fox fur jacket, and a a black cat jacquard jacket. The collection
culminated to create a cohesive line of retro fashions excellently fit for
contemporary fashion times. Sui found beauty in the old, and made it young,
fresh, new, and stylish.
As fashion continues its beautiful evolution, the diversity of designers,
models, and inspiration shown on the runways is beginning to reflect global
history and art. Gone are the days when just European craftsmanship and
artistry had the monopoly on fashion, and a new era has begun on the
runways.
photos:via Fashion GPS