Style & Fashion

The music ushering the beginning of BCBG Max Azaria’s New York Fashion Week show was haunting, trance-y, church-y.

It was the start of NYFW, temperatures frigid outside, and inside—well, of course, a woman in a tight, fitted red silk cocktail dress took her seat. Practicality is not your friend this week.

The seat numbers are closely packed. You must be thin to stay in your compressed area. Man-spreading is a no-no. And, of course, it started 32 minutes late, with the familiar shout of the fashion photographers, “Front row, please cross your legs.”

The show itself was a collision–and a very handsome one–between boho and ’80s chic. Visually that should be a comedy: peasanty prints, floaty dresses squaring off against shoulderpads, sharp angles and volume.
But it was all for serious, and all assuredly tailored.

What sounded like aircraft segued to David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” and a parade of dresses that included a long blue striped jacket, a luxurious-looking cream knitted sweater, a dress that was a precisely rendered series of geometrics in white, purple, and black.

A gorgeous fitted navy dress came with ruffles down its front; there was a short black leather jacket and a longer black fur.

As “Is It Any Wonder?” played we saw quilted skirts, a chemise cut on the bias and with colored panels; a dress that really shouldn’t work–a leather-strapped dress fitted like a butcher’s apron over a striped top—very much did, and wittily.

Layering was key: a long coat that looked like a smart bath-robe was worn over a simple tunic dress, while the final looks paired the boho and the power-dressed directly as separates. Again, a clash of opposites proved harmonious–and, before we headed out into the biting cold, Bowie was back with a repeated instruction to “Let’s dance.” For the next seven days, we will do our best.