Fashion

In Willy Chavarria‘s fashion show, models of all genders descended the grand staircase at the Cooper Hewitt museum looking absolutely beatific. The first look was an airy silk blouse with a pussy bow, tucked into Chavarria’s characteristically wide silk satin trousers. But it was the second look, a black trench coat with a nipped waist and a dramatically curved lapel collar that half-covered an oversized white gardenia pin and perfectly framed the model’s face that set the tone for the devastating beauty that followed. “Something I’ve been thinking about over the last few shows is really making sure that I’m learning and growing and not just delivering a new season,” Chavarria explained. “Not just thinking ‘okay, I got a new season, a new color palette,’ It’s more like, what is the climate of the world at this given moment?” Unsurprisingly the answer to that question led him to think about protection. “It’s a story of love and protection,” the designer said. A few pieces recalled mourning attire of the late 19th century, especially the slim jacket-dresses with gathered empire waists, and the dress worn by Doria Wood for their performance. The all-black collection was punctuated by shots of white. White shirts were cut from a stiffer textured oxford cloth rather than lighter poplin. They had dramatic oversized bows that held their folds and ties. Italian velvet was cut into a double breasted jacket with a contrasting satin lapel – its shoulders extending past the natural shoulder line but in a gentler curved shape rather than the angular shapes of seasons past. Another velvet jacket was lined in white satin which extended into the contrasting lapels. Although the show had a decided eveningwear focus, there were traditional ready-to-wear pieces in the mix and they retained the romantic mood of the collection. An oversized polo shirt in black satin was tucked into jet-black Dickies (an ongoing collaboration). A black denim jacket had a delicate gather in the back, and a heavyweight work jacket and matching pants were paired with one of the oxford cloth shirts with exaggerated bows at the neck. There was a sort of elegance in Chavarria’s refusal to fully embrace the rules of formal dressing. The offering might have looked similar to this recent Saint Laurent collection, but it’s coming from a totally different place.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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On the last day of New York Fashion Week, Luar presented one of the best very collections the city had in offer this season. Commotion descended onto the streets of Brooklyn as editors were forced to jostle with members of the public in order to get an eye on whatever Raul Lopez was about to showcase. But that’s precisely the level of demand that the designer triggers with his fashion moments. This is because he brings something actually new to the table, rolling back the film on his upbringing and transforming those memories into luxurious, refined designs. The first glimpse of the autumn-winter 2023 collection came via Instagram, where the designer shared a photo of an ornate sofa covered in the same plastic wrap used by Latin American households to keep their furniture fresh. It was embroidered with the words “calle pero elegante” (meaning“street but elegant”), which is the quintessence for Lopez’s approach to design. On the runway, a diverse and beautiful mixture of street cast and professional models emerged from a mirrored maze carrying supersized iterations of Luar’s signature Top Handle handbag, dressed in marvelous sculptured coat-dresses with flecks of feathery antennae sprouting from hair. Hulking shirts lurched from their shoulders and leather windbreakers had been cinched in at the waist with diamante-studded belts. Sweaters, bomber jackets, and ball gowns were treated as one and the same; cut into video vixen cocoons with cloaking hoods and tapered waists. The menswear doubled down on that bold, triangular silhouette, with blown-up shoulders on denim jackets and pinstriped blazers giving way to spliced skirts and wide-legged jeans. That’s the energy I missed in most of the New York shows. Luar saved the week with ferocious grace.