New York Fashion Week, as the first city on the fashion-week calendar, has the important task of setting the standard for the fashion month ahead. The SS25 season of sheer tailoring forecasts that there is a clear, composed spring is on the horizon.
A continued sense of optimism, perseverance, and work ethic, shines through the east coast capital, as sheer fabrics, draped tailoring, back-to-black, sporty chic, and a focus on the fringe all made themselves known on New York’s SS25 runways. In tune with the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games, athleisure leapt into view at Tory Burch and Alaïa, while Frenchies flocked across the Atlantic bringing with them the purist palettes of Paris, at Off White by the late Virgil Abloh and Alaïa.
Lots of collections clung to the minimalist, while the added tactile qualities of embellishments kept spirits as high as New York City‘s infamous skyline. From spiralling architecture at Alaïa to sheer delights at Khaite, Toteme, and more, these are Citizen Femme’s highlights from New York Fashion Week’s SS25 shows.
The Big Apple Debuts
Alaïa
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While not a total debut, Pieter Mulier flew French Maison Alaïa to American soil for one season only. Revisiting the city that housed Azzedine Alaïa’s 1982 collection, Mulier paid homage to the modern, American fashion culture that helped the late designer expand into a large market of modern shoppers. Alaïa took over the city’s famous Frank Lloyd Wright building of the Guggenheim, known for its impressive architectural rotunda inside, as a New York fashion week first. To spur the creative director’s creativity, rather than hinder it, Mulier imposed another constraint on his designs this season. While last season (AW24) Pieter Mulier fashioned an entire collection using only one type of merino wool, for SS25, Mulier omitted any zippers or buttons to challenge his conceptions of structure and wearability. The result: a sleek, chic, streamline, and sporty collection, that spiralled down the Guggenheim stairway. Azzedine Alaïa – known for his structural clothes that honoured the cinched waists, pleating and tailoring – was inspired by the American obsession with athleisure in the 80s, and this SS25 collection homages just that. The collection acknowledges how sportswear – and its tensions between functionality, comfort, and style – and shifted the way clothes are worn and how they hang – or rather cling – to the body. So, SS25 saw dresses that spiral around the body and have to be ‘snapped’ on, and an overt minimalism that had plenty of structural complexity. To mirror the Guggenheim setting, geometric spirals were discretely everywhere – from pleating, to tassels, to asymmetric hems. An all-at-once athletic, architectural, American statement for the heritage brand’s second-ever New York minute.
The SS25 collection debuting in New York corresponds with the Alaïa In Warhol’s Eyes exhibition, unveiling rare images of Azzedine Alaïa’s first ever show in New York.
Toteme
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The Swedish label, Toteme usually flocks to the French capital for its season debuts, where it showcases its fine-tuned attention to elevating staples. However, for SS25 Toteme arrived for the first time ever to the place where founders of the brand Elin Kling and Karl Lindman met: NYC. An unmistakably New York setting, the runway show overlooked Central Park. Scandi staples turned sheer for spring with billowing trousers, form-hugging dresses, to embroidered shirting. The colour Palette? Minimalist. A cream-ivory turned to black, punctuated by the occasional butter yellow and yellow gold accessory. Maximalist touches arrived via billowing sleeves that trailed for a sorcery effect, adding to the collection’s subtle mysticism; delicate in comparison to the noise of New York, clothes that float quietly (still vying for attention nonetheless) through a city that waits for no-one.
On The Fringe
Khaite
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Khaite by Catherine Holstein afforded malleable fabrics, including pillowing tulle, that wrapped around the body like a pools of water. This shimmering elegance paved way for a demure, refined collection – attitudes Khaite always manages to uphold. However, true to the fashion house which speaks to the modern, urban women, a drama of wide fishnet knits adorned with black roses, or cotton ball-like knits that resembled unwoven knitwear tucked under tailored outerwear teased an edgier, tactile vibe. This definitely felt like one of the most experimental Khaite collections to date.
Proenza Schouler
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Via an intimate, off-schedule presentation, Proenza Schouler started off with a series of structured looks, where asymmetric tops and dress hung as though tailored to be that way. This gave way to airy, string-like dresses (with almost Grecian qualities) and fringing on skirts tucked under skirts and blazers.
Carolina Herrera
Elegant formal wear returned for SS25 under the name of Carolina Herrera headed up by Wes Gordon. While taking place in the subterranean venue of 28 Liberty Street, florals and bright pinks, reds, yellows, and patterns didn’t fail to bloom, whether through appliqué, print, texture, and structure. Crochet dresses also added a playful dimension to the otherwise very refined collection, experimenting with visuals and texture at once.
Nanushka
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Creative director Sandra Sándor celebrated 20 years of helming Nanushka with a collection titled 20,000 Notes of Nostalgia for 20 Years of Nanushka. The venue’s ceiling was strung with archival sketches, ideas, and paper notes which together wrote the past 20 years of the brand. The runway saw tasseled skirts that bore resemblance to shredded paper to complement this.
Ralph Lauren
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Raffia arrived as an unexpected and unique, but welcomed, addition to Ralph Lauren’s runway. Journeying a couple of hours outside of the city this season, the brand took up the haunt of the elite east coasters, The Hamptons, for a barn-slash-polo-slash-riveria collection. To match the rustic tone of the setting, Ralph Lauren took us to a late summer hay-day with the brown netted blazers and skirts. Plus, a freeing boho chic freed the tailoring on the runway, with tassels skirts and crochet dresses.
Michael Kors
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Darkly romantic and dramatic, Michael Kors proves that tinsel-like volume isn’t reserved for winter with full-bodied hems and skirting that russled down the runway.
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Lead image credit: Tory Burch SS25
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