Fashion Week: how the Fashion Weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris were held

On the fourth of October, the Paris Fashion Week ended – the final in the “big four”. The fashion marathon lasted almost a month, starting on September 9 in New York. It was full of bright events and iconic shows. Read more about the most interesting of them, as well as about the participation of Ukrainian designers in European and American Fashion Weeks.

Fashion Week in New York

Fashion month traditionally started with shows in New York. Not only local designers, but also fashion designers from Australia, Europe and Asian countries showed their collections in America. For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, all brands completely returned to the traditional offline format of shows, and therefore the main fashionistas from all over the world flew to the city.

In the new season, designers were again inspired by the aesthetics of zeros, experimented with cut and color palette, and also showed the most inclusive things and images that cannot but inspire.

Shows from Michael Kors , Tory Burch , Coach , Tommy Hilfiger , Puma , Carolina Herrera, Fe Noel, and Luar became the most discussed.  

So, Tom Ford presented to the public the gilded glamor of the 80s with metallic elements, a lot of sequins, lace and translucent details. The models took to the catwalk with lush hairstyles and bold smokey eyes makeup.

Tommy Hilfiger once again confirmed the power of the old-school trend, sports and style of American college students. The brand’s new collection was dominated by chinos, basketball bombers, striped scarves and logo sweaters. Also, the designer was the first in the history of fashion to show a plus-size man. 

Carolina Herrera emphasized the floral and striped mood.

Puma designers presented their new collection for the first time in five years. It includes monogrammed sports and casual suits, pants, hoodies, soccer jerseys, raincoats and hooded turtlenecks. Also voluminous vests and down jackets, overalls, dresses with rhinestones, transparent capes, fur coats, cascading skirts and tuxedos in a sporty style.

This season was also marked by the presence of the Milanese house Fendi , which celebrated the 25th anniversary of its iconic Baguette bag.

Fashion Week in London

Fashion Week in London was held simultaneously with official events dedicated to the memory of Queen Elizabeth II. Obviously, designers simply could not stay away from this agenda. Therefore, some brands decided to refuse to hold shows altogether, but many paid their respects to Her Majesty right during the show.

Yes, Richard Quinn organized a tribute show dedicated to the Queen. The brand’s collection consisted of dresses sewn from thick and thin fabric, and accessories in the form of lace veils and beaded tiaras.

Erdem brought life and color to the catwalk with a collection featuring intricate floral prints and vibrant hues. On the eve of the Queen’s funeral, Erdem Moralioglu wanted to pay tribute to Her Majesty, so he added dramatic veils as the models walked through the British Museum.

Christopher Kane returned to the catwalk this season to present a collection that analyzes the essential elements of a woman’s wardrobe. In a pastel color palette, the designer presented a series of feminine and sexy underwear with an open back. In between were bold prints and a series of understated lightweight knits, as well as leather elements.

Simone Rocha stated that her Spring/Summer 2023 collection was a reaction to everything that had happened in the last few years. Raw, edgy materials such as parachute ribbon were woven through elegant lace and floral print garments to showcase the duality of today.

Among others, the brands Temperley London , Bora Aksu , Chopova Lowena , Molly Goddard, David Koma and Nancy Dojaka showed their collections. The main trends of London Fashion Week were “naked” silhouettes, open necklines, ruffles, nets and black color.

Fashion Week in Milan

After an exciting fashion week in New York and London, Milan Fashion Week did not disappoint. The week was full of many novelties, such as the debut of Maximilian Davis at Ferragamo and the presentation of Kim Kardashian’s collaboration with Dolce&Gabbana , as well as the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Moncler brand.

No less stunning was the Gucci show with the participation of twin models. Alessandro Michele made everyone double-eyed when 68 pairs of identical twins walked the catwalk. For Michele, this performance was a way to challenge the assumption that the same thing can look and feel differently on different people.

One of the most anticipated Milan Fashion Week collections, Matthieu Blazy’s Bottega Veneta was filled with denim as well as practical casual pieces.

Emporio Armani presented an elegant collection in light and pastel colors, combining it with the idea of spiritual peace.

Fashion week in Paris

The most discussed show of Paris Fashion Week was the Coperni show with the participation of Bella Hadid.  The supermodel appeared on the catwalk topless, in one piece of underwear, and the founders of the brand, Sebastian Meyer and Arnaud Wayan, dressed the girl with the help of a special spray and paint. Designers developed the composition for six months. It contains cotton fibers that turn into fabric when in contact with the skin.

Balenciaga presented its collection in the suburbs of Paris under the name “Mud Show”. Thanks to the scenery designed by Spanish artist Santiago Sierra, the exhibition space resembled a huge pit filled with mud. According to the designer of the brand, Demna Gvasalia, he wanted to draw attention to what is currently happening in the world: war, protests, excessive consumption of things, pollution of the planet.

They became the basis of the collection  sneakers, rubber boots, voluminous jackets, corsets, oversized jeans with pockets, unusual spring scarves and even a few glamorous dresses with sequins.

Balmain brand designer Olivier Rousteing  presented an ecological collection. In particular, dresses woven from straw and raffia, bustiers from environmentally friendly chestnut bark and blazers decorated with Renaissance images. The show was held at the Stade Jean-Boin stadium in the 16th arrondissement of Paris and gathered more than 8 thousand fans of the brand. The highlight of the show was the appearance on the catwalk of 76-year-old Cher. The star stepped out in a silver spandex bodysuit and black platform boots.

British designer Victoria  Beckham made her debut in the French capital with an elegant collection that she presented in the gallery of the Val de Grace monastery.

No less interesting were the shows from Valentino , Dior , Louis Vuitton and  Loewe .

Ukrainian designers at fashion weeks in Europe and the USA

Tsyogrich, due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, domestic designers almost lost their season. However, with the help of the UFW organizing committee, they were still able to show their new creations on European and American catwalks.

Thus, designer Svitlana Bevza presented the Ukrainian fashion industry in New York  The highlight of her collection was traditional Ukrainian embroidery, ethnic details, herringbone hairstyles and the brand’s signature motif of ears of wheat. It can be traced both in the cut of individual things and in jewelry. According to Mystkina, her goal was to remind the world about one of the main export goods of the country – wheat, a resource that suffered greatly due to Russian aggression.

Among other things, Elena Burenina , Bobkova , Frolov , Litkovskaya , Kovalska and  God .

The debutante of the London Fashion Week was a Ukrainian designer Masha Popova . The basis of her collection was worn low-rise jeans, short dresses, shorts and crop tops.

The Litkovskaya brand presented the “Vesnyanka” collection at Paris Fashion Week.

KSENIA SCHNAIDER , Anna October, FROLOV , BOBKOVA , Ienki Ienki, PASKAL, POUSTOVIT, Ruslan Baginskiy , Six, GUDU, Anton Belinskiy, Vita Kin and others also showed their collections in the French capital. 

In general, more than 20 Ukrainian designers participated in Fashion Weeks around the world. In particular, in Budapest, Vienna, Copenhagen, Berlin, Madrid, Malta and Brussels.

By the way,  it was interesting to observe the trend in support of Ukraine in the collections of famous world designers. Thus, during the final performance of the Burberry brand, several models walked alternately in yellow and blue, thus forming the flag of Ukraine.  Yellow-blue combinations were also found in the collections of Botter , Thom Browne , and Prada brands  and others.

Text: Yevgenia Vlasenko

Photo: Gucci