Fashion / Style

Rihanna Reveals All With a Lingerie Closer, Houston Designers Shine and Remembering Kate Spade: 11 Can’t-Miss New York Fashion Week Happenings

BY // 09.06.18

Top designers are celebrating milestone anniversaries, some wayward names are coming home, and Rihanna is set to reveal nearly everything. It’s early September, time for the latest edition of New York Fashion Week and the drama that the twice-a-year style extravaganza entails.

In recent years, critics have carped that the showcase of the latest in American fashion is in turmoil. They say the speed of the internet is rendering fashion shows obsolete and some trendy designers (most notably Alexander Wang) agree, going their own way by scheduling showings closer to the time that their clothes appear in stores.

The current schedule has designers presenting spring/summer 2019 collections at fashion week now through Sept. 12 — an eternity since most of those runway looks won’t be available in stores or online for several months.

Even so, more than 200 designers believe the added publicity of showing during Fashion Week outweigh any minuses, so they have signed on for another run at showcasing their work before enthusiastic audiences who will whip out there cellphones to document everything on Instagram, Snapchat and other favorite social media outlets.

Here are 11 fashion happenings you’re sure to get hear about:

1. Star Power

Rihanna, who debuted her Fenty Puma shoe and athletic clothing line at fashion week two years ago, returns with a big jolt of star power. She will close the whole shebang in Brooklyn on Sept. 12 with an immersive runway show featuring her Savage x Fenty lingerie line that she launched earlier this year.

Each item from the Fall ’18 collection will be available immediately afterward online and in pop-up shops in New York, Minnesota’s Mall of America, and two other locations to be announced. Think of it as RiRi’s version of a Victoria’s Secret catwalk extravaganza.

2. Ford Combo

Fashion week officially begins Thursday, but Tom Ford got a head start by showing his designs on Wednesday night before a celebrity crowd that included Crazy Rich Asians heartthrob Henry Golding, Cardi B, Paris Jackson, and Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. This season he combined both his women’s and men’s collections into one show — so onlookers got double the fun — and a big party afterwards.

3. Happy Anniversary

Ralph Lauren plans to celebrate an amazing 50 years in business with a star-studded black-tie celebration in Central Park while Badgley Mischka design duo Mark Badgley and James Mischka commemorate the glamorous brand’s 30th anniversary with a lavish nighttime extravaganza that promises to be extra special.

4. Crossing the pond

Escada, the upscale German label known for its luxe knitwear, is crossing the Atlantic with a full-scale fashion show to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The French luxury house Longchamp is also presenting its first New York runway show in honor of its 70th anniversary. And famed British designer Vivenne Westwood is coming to New York to present her latest collection — for buyers only.

5. Coming Home

Two hip American brands, Proenza Schouler and Rodarte, traveled to Paris last season to broaden their international presence. But now they are back in New York to showcase their spring/summer 2019 collections. Also, Marchesa is returning to Fashion Week, after dropping out of last season’s shows at the last minute when co-designer Georgina Chapman’s husband, Harvey Weinstein, was accused of multiple charges of sexual abuse. This time around, Chapman and co-designer Karen Craig will offer a low-key presentation only for selected buyers.

6. Emmy Preview

With the Emmy Awards set for September 17, a few days after Fashion Week ends, expect to see gowns on the fashion week runways make it to the red carpet. We’ll especially be on the lookout at the Christian Siriano show, as the designer is a favorite of the Hollywood set.

7. Houston Designers Shine

This edition of New York Fashion Week will have a strong Houston presence as Cesar Galindo and Toni Whitaker team up for a presentation of their designs. Galindo is a New York Fashion Week regular. It is the first time that longtime Houston designer Whitaker will present her collection at fashion week.

Whiz kid designer Amir Taghi also will showcase his new collection for the fashion press and buyers. Taghi, a native Houstonian, worked on this collection while continuing his studies at the Parsons School of Design in New York.

8. Lela Sets Sail

Dallas native Lela Rose is always thinking of new ways to showcase her collection, with past locales including a party in Washington Square Park and lunch at a trendy New York restaurant. This season, she is occupying Grand Banks, a sailboat-slash-bar docked at Pier 25 in Hudson River Park, so expect a nautical motif.

9. Remembering Kate

It’s a poignant time for the Kate Spade label, as its founder committed suicide earlier this year. Though Spade sold the business more than a decade ago and was not involved in it at the time of her death, she was still closely identified with it in the public’s mind. The brand is staging its first-ever runway show at New York Fashion Week to introduce new designer Nicola Glass, but expect a tribute to Spade as well.

10. A New Era at Herrera

After 38 years at the helm, Carolina Herrera has passed the baton to young designer Wes Gordon, so the fashion crowd is eager to see how the 32-year-old will put his stamp on the luxe label. Gordon will be in Houston next spring to showcase the Herrera collection at the Neiman Marcus Houston Chronicle Best Dressed Luncheon, so here’s the opportunity to get a sneak peek of his work.

11. Asian Influence

Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but at a time when the fashion-centric film Crazy Rich Asians is dominating the box office, a slew of Asian designers are making their presence known at New York Fashion Week. Bosideng, the largest down clothing company in China, is showing its collection, as are Chinese brands and designers China Day, JNBY, Angel Chen, and Dakun X Lin Bon.

Concept Korea, a South Korean government-sponsored fashion show touting emerging Korean designers is featuring two breakout talents: LIE and IISE. Other Asian or Asian American designers hoping for a breakout season include Calvin Luo, Ruby Fang, Vivienne Hu, Sun Jung Wan, Dan Liu and Claudia Li.

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In the photo set above this story, longtime designers as well as up-and-comers have offered PaperCity a peek of what to expect for spring/summer ’19. Click through the set to check out what inspired their collections for the upcoming fashion season.

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