Cathy Horyn NY Fashion Week Review: Tom Ford, Michael Kors

[ad_1]

From left: Michael Kors, Willie Chavarria, Tom Ford.

Photo-example: The cut. Photos: Filippo Fior; Selwyn Tungol; Dan Leka

He has been wandering for some time. When he was at Gucci, Tom Ford owned the show; You could say he had Milan in the late and early 90s. He had total command of the lights, the look of the girls and your attention. No one has had better sex. When he took over Yves Saint Laurent’s design, he repeated the Fordian scene: the minimalist, plush lounge seating, the glossy runway, the driving dance beats.

But for the past few years (not including the pandemic), Ford, based in Los Angeles, has shown at various locations there and in New York. Last night, he presented his Spring 2023 collection (closer to New York Fashion Week) in a seemingly anonymous room in one of the modern sugar cube buildings next to the Freedom Tower. He recreated the scene, but somehow the magic was not there. He showed off metallic jackets with embroidered satin knickers, shiny rodeo-style shirts with slim bras and ultrashort satin gym shorts, track pants and lightweight jackets with flashy pastels, and extra underwear with black leather jackets and boots.

Tom Ford.
Photo: Dan Leka

A year ago, when Ford last showed up here, he also made fancy streetwear, the only material difference being that, on Wednesday night, he used a lot less fabric. Instead of the black cotton stretch bra he sent them last September, it now has two fabric triangles with no laces or cups. When established designers do something young and modern — and body-baring clothes are definitely a trend — we applaud them for being trendy.

However, Ford could not understand today’s world. There are kids in New York City tonight and tomorrow night who can act sexier than him and squirm in lilac satin shorts and pretty bras. Tom Ford International chairman Ford and his business partner Domenico de Sole are said to be in talks to sell the company. Ford may want to spend the rest of his career pursuing other creative endeavors, such as continuing to make movies. If so, could he have chosen a more fitting song to close his show with than Freddie Mercury’s version of “Time Ain’t No Man’s Wait”?

Willy Chavarria.
Photo: Selwyn Tungol

It was a strange, chaotic New York season with most of the fun happening away from the old establishment center. At the historic Marble College Church on Fifth Avenue, Willie Chavarria performed a show called Please Arise, which was serious in its modesty and funny in its peaceful parade of sharp coats — some sported thick taffeta corsages — with matching pants or baggy, frills. Short. The cut of the jackets was the thing. Naturally, there were also references to church vestments. An hour late, the show featured a huge cast of mostly Latinx and black models and drew a full house of guests, including Madonna.

Michael Kor.
Photo: Filippo Fior/Gorunway.com

Michael Kors on Wednesday showed sheer, shimmering dresses in white, red and camel (Kors’ flagship colors) with silk blouses and bras thrown off the shoulders, harlequined skirts in a large metal ring, metallic beaded sarongs or matching minis with a large metal ring. Dark tailored jackets and back-slit and wood-cut shirts with peaked hems look new. 70s-era Halston looks nod to red-silk kaftans and some tailored knitwear styles, as well as belts, metal buckles and tiny, sparkly pendants. The belt is a replica of the course that debuted in the spring of 2002. But the combination of all three accessories brought to mind Elsa Peretti’s original and enduring designs (bone cuffs, perfume bottle hangers) that she worked with Halston on. While the course versions are different, the Peretti seal is too familiar to be easily overlooked.

[ad_2]

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *