the last day of ny fashion week usually means two things: ralph lauren and donna karan. but this season it also brought karl lagerfeld in his first ny showing and jennifer lopez’s sweetface.
the day started at ralph lauren, where the designer was inspired by hunting and equestrian clothing. the collection included three piece suits with feminine flip hem skirts, cozy cashmere knits, fair isle sweaters, sherling coats and jackets, plaid strapless gowns and gold evening dresses. the color palette of olive, brown, black mixed with gold worked well with the pieces.
after her asian themed spring collection, donna karan went back to her archives for fall, using her 7 easy pieces as a backdrop. she relied on rich fall colors like plum, bordeaux, mustard, and black to create sheaths with satin inset waists, zebra print pony hair coats, balloon sleeve coats and tulip wool skirts, dresses & suits with see through hems and cutouts and gold leather coats. in the end, sophisticated and modern dressing for today’s working woman.
meanwhile jennifer lopez scaled down her sweetface presentation, staging a small show and only showing 26 looks. gone were the ghetto fabulous furs and jeans, and in their place was a much more lady like and grown up aesthetic. lopez said she had been inspired by her latest movies, which are set in the 50s and 60s: pencil skirts, cropped jackets, and trapeze coats in hues of winter white, black, steel blue and cream came down the runway, worn with menswear caps, skinny pants, and stilettos.
finally there was karl lagerfeld, who was presenting lagerfeld collection (formerly lagerfeld gallery) and his new contemporary line karl lagerfeld. the pieces were mixed with each other, so it was hard to tell which was the more expensive collection, but it’s the mix that lagerfeld says is more in line with the way women are dressing today. the collection featured alot of knits: from cardigans to big collar pullovers to ribbed sweater dresses, worn with slouchy leather boots and with frayed cuffs. overall, it was a somber collection from the man who brings lightness and air to chanel…must be the ny influence.
