New York fashion designs politically

Wie, Sie haben noch nie gehört von Willy Chavarria, Sergio Hudson oder Kobi Halperin? Macht nichts, die meisten Modefans haben auch noch nie etwas von diesen Designern gehört, die auf dem offiziellen Plan der New York Fashion Week stehen. Das muss so sein, denn manche großen Namen zeigen sich hier gar nicht mehr (Calvin Klein), üben sich lieber in Yoga (Donna Karan), ­machen ihr eigenes Ding im Juli (Marc Jacobs) oder laden zu einem exklusiven Event in die Hamptons ein, zweieinhalb Stunden Autofahrt von Manhattan entfernt (Ralph Lauren). Und wenn man dann mal eine Trendmarke wie Off-White heranzieht, dann sieht das Ergebnis recht bescheiden aus.

Steckt dahinter eine systemische Krise? In der New Yorker Modebranche sind etwa 50.000 Menschen weniger beschäftigt als noch vor zehn Jahren. Die Zahl der Absolventen von Modestudiengängen ist von 2016 bis 2022 um 30 Prozent zurückgegangen. Der Anteil der Branche am Bruttosozialprodukt sank laut „Partnership for New York City“ von 2012 bis 2022 um 13,6 Prozent.

Die Modewoche hat auch nicht mehr die Ausstrahlung wie noch vor zehn oder zwanzig Jahren, als sie mit den Zelten am Bryant Park und am Lincoln Center noch ein Zentrum hatten. Immerhin kann man die Schauen nun auf Schirmen am Rockefeller Center sehen. Aber noch mehr wäre schön.

There is not much going on in Hudson Yards, the huge shopping center in western Manhattan. But the Vêtir store on the ground floor is crowded with people. Kate Davidson Hudson has invited people to a discussion about styling, and even in New York there is still something for many to learn. Hudson, who worked for fashion magazines for more than 20 years, has developed a shopping app, a shopping platform personalized with artificial intelligence that offers customers everything from virtual styling to video shopping to “digital wardrobe management.”

So why this pop-up store? “Some VIP customers want to see, touch and try on the clothes,” says Kate Davidson Hudson. The store is now so successful that she is also targeting other locations.

She gets customers through social media and events with designers, “and the traffic here in the shopping center is also quite good.” (In the shop opposite, however, there are hardly any customers to be seen during the half-hour styling discussion.)

Online meets the real world: That sounds good because you’re not just sitting in front of a screen while shopping, but also going outside. And because you don’t have to worry about returns. And because you can also learn something about styling in person.

You might think that politicians dress in fashion, but ahead of the presidential elections in the USA it is exactly the opposite: fashion dresses in politics. Designer Prabal Gurung walks down the catwalk in a “Vote” T-shirt to the cheers of his fans. Jill Biden, the president’s wife, comes to Ralph Lauren’s party in the Hamptons in person. And on Friday morning last week, hundreds of fashion people gathered in Herald Square for a “nonpartisan march” to mark the opening of Fashion Week.

In the fashion scene, th
ere is no question as to which direction it should go; the march was certainly not “non-partisan”. Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Anna Wintour, Thom Browne, Joseph Altuzarra – all united behind the banner “Fashion for our Future”. And at the end, of course, Jill Biden spoke.

In New York, you don’t even have to say something to make a political statement. It’s enough that Coach’s head designer Stuart Vevers booked Ella Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter, for his catwalk. The 25-year-old with the round nerd glasses, who studied fashion and runs the “Soft Hands Knitting Club”, has been supporting her stepmother all summer. After the show, she had such an intense conversation with Stuart Vevers – that has to be a statement!

Despite all the average fashion that can be seen in New York, there are always highlights: the views! Paris also offers spectacular backdrops, and the palazzi in Milan are wonderful for photographers. But in Manhattan, everything is just a size bigger and higher.

At Tory Burch, it probably took so long for the show to start on Monday evening because all the guests were standing at the windows taking photos. The fashion designer, who also knows how to make an impression at her shows, invited guests to the top floor of the completely converted old Domino sugar factory in Brooklyn, with a great view of downtown over the Williamsburg Bridge and the East River.

Tommy Hilfiger also likes to adorn himself with the city. Last time in the legendary Oyster Bar in Grand Central, this time on a decommissioned boat from the Staten Island Ferry, which everyone associates with nostalgic feelings. But at the end of the party, no one knew whether the ferry was rocking because of all the beer or because of the water.

Coach is once again using the Highline, the high pedestrian walkway on the west side that runs underneath the brand’s headquarters. Sitting under the trees in the fresh air in the “Indian Summer”, looking at good fashion, with the roaring city below – life can be beautiful!

Now it’s the next generation’s turn. Claudia Schiffer is putting her 19-year-old daughter Clementine on the cover of “Pop” magazine. Patrick Schwarzenegger, the third child of the “Governator”, is promoting Tommy Hilfiger’s fall campaign with his girlfriend Abby Champion, who conveniently happens to be a model and influencer. At the Tommy Hilfiger show, Brooke Shields proudly films her daughter Grier walking down the catwalk. Isabella Massenet, daughter of Net-A-Porter founder Natalie Massenet, is DJing at the Longchamp party. Singer Selena Gomez (32) has become the youngest billionaire in the USA with her cosmetics brand Rare Beauty. And supermodel Christy Turlington is walking down the Ralph Lauren catwalk with her daughter Grace Burns (20) and her nephew James Turlington (30).

The “nepo babies” live well from the privileges they have inherited. No wonder in a country where celebrity is the new nobility. But sometimes the young are kind enough to help the old get back on their feet. For example, things had gone quiet around fashion designer Anna Sui. But the 69-year-old is now making a comeback. Why? Her nieces have raved about her clothes from the 1990s for so long that she has decided to pick them up again. At least one niece will benefit from this: Isabelle Sui is already “Director of Operations” in her aunt’s company.

You only become a myth when everything you say and do is exaggerated to the point of being superhuman or inhuman. This is exactly what happened with Vogue boss Anna Wintour. She cracks a little joke at Naomi Campbell’s expense and a “catwalk catfight” ensues. The relationship between the two Britons has lasted for decades: in 1989, Wintour had to fight her publishing house to put Campbell on the cover of the September
issue as a black woman. Things like that create a bond.

In any case, the editor-in-chief presented the supermodel with an award in Harlem last week, the “Fashion Icon Award”. “I am a very punctual person and I have the honor of presenting someone tonight who is often late,” said Wintour. Naomi was on time this time – only, according to “TMZ”, Wintour had the schedule changed so that she could leave the event quickly for the US Open. In her acceptance speech, Campbell said snippily that everything was going the way it was going, and it was not her choice “to have the other lady”. Will this dent the myth of the “other lady”? Quite the opposite.

Wintour rarely arrives late for the shows. In our photo, she is sitting at the Coach store 20 minutes before the show begins. Despite the hustle and bustle, she can check her emails undisturbed. Because no one dares to address a myth.