The Best of New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2024
From Who Decides War's runway show to Mellany Sanchez's exhibition at Abrons Arts Center, these were the highlights of New York Fashion Week this season.
Another New York Fashion Week is in the books, and don’t let social media fool you. There was more going on in New York than influencers crowding the street eager to get into exclusive after-parties. While New York Fashion Week still lacks the star power of its counterparts in Paris and Milan, it makes up for it by treating us to great presentations from up-and-coming designers that will be helping define the future of the American fashion industry for years to come.
But New York Fashion Week isn’t all about the runway shows. Plenty of important figures in New York City’s rich streetwear community also organize memorable pop-up shops and galleries to take advantage of while we were traversing from show to show. Now that the dust has settled, we wanted to highlight some of our favorite shows and activations that took place across New York Fashion Week. Check out our thoughts on each of them below.
Advisry Spring/Summer 2024
Keith Herron returned to New York Fashion Week to present Advisry’s 10th season on the runway. Titled “Technicolor,” Herron’s 33-look presentation honed on his love of cinematography through both men and womenswear. Literal nods included camera-shaped paneling on the sleeves of jackets and new colorways of the brand’s Camera Bags that debuted earlier this year. Looks started in black and white and progressed to include various colors to symbolize the evolution of color in film throughout history. These looks also perfectly showcased the journey of Advisry since its inception in 2014, running the gamut from its roots in streetwear to more recent forays into formal wear. Tweed was featured heavily to construct things like pink suits and cropped zip-up hoodies. Silk shirts and gowns were given exaggerated, ball-shaped structures. Shorts covered in beaded pearl lettering and cropped jackets with shaggy piping were among the other more unconventional designs shown. Herron also debuted various pieces from an upcoming Adidas collaboration. This included a play on his oversized “I Heart VSRY” knit sweater featuring the German sportswear brand’s Trefoil logo, cropped knit track jackets, and baggy takes on Adidas’ iconic track pants. With each season, Herron has continued to find ways to grow as a designer. With his latest show, he proves once again that his range and the potential for Advisry may be limitless.
Who Decides War Spring/Summer 2024
Who Decides War’s Spring 2024 presentation marked a new direction for a label widely recognized for its boldly distressed denim. Titled “Alterations Consultants,” Who Decides War’s latest presentation was inspired by the tailor shop owned by Ev Bravado’s own father. Seamstresses working on sewing machines and piles of fabric were littered across the catwalk that models walked. Granted that Bravado and Tela D’amore’s label is still well recognized for its couture-esque take on denim, their eighth collection honed in on womenswear that was elegant yet still rebellious. Women’s looks included leather corsets paired with skintight cargos and avant garde motorcycle jackets that boasted sashiko stitching. Standout menswear offerings included a leather vest that echoed the bulletproof styles of 50 Cent and Helmut Lang; along with jackets boasting three-dimensional pockets shaped like the label’s distinct stained glass window motifs. Bondage strap looks for both men and women gave off a more luxurious take on New York denim staples like Tripp Jeans. Although A Boogie closed the show in a bedazzled suit textured like diamond-plated steel, the most notable celeb look presented that evening was worn by Ice Spice as a guest attending the show. Ice Spice has previously worn a number of bespoke looks for the brand, and this only shows that the label is extending its audience beyond the many young men who hoarded the doors of its show that evening. Yes, we couldn’t even get in to see the presentation ourselves. But frankly, we’re not surprised because the hype around Who Decides War is truly warranted.
Luar Spring/Summer 2024
Each season Raul Lopez mines different aspects of his Dominican heritage to present a story that everyone can relate to. For his Spring/Summer 2024 collection, he explored balance. El Hoyo, a region in the Dominican Republic, whose name translates to “the hole,” was the starting point. He recalled a moment while he was driving and on one side of the street was a club and on the other there was a woman preaching behind a podium. Lopez astutely concluded that people in these two different venues were both searching for the same thing: heaven. This translated to a very refined collection infused with the interesting, off-kilter details Lopez is known for. Tailoring, a Luar signature, included suiting with fabric covered button details, collared shirts with broad shoulders, and ties embroidered with the Luar “L” logo. Some pieces played with the idea of being “pulled back,” reflecting Lopez’s desire to remain close to his roots while growing within the industry. He depicted this with fabric manipulation, showing voluminous dresses with openings on the leg and a draped halter top connected to sunglasses. For evening, he got super refined, showing bead embroidered skirts covered with the Luar logo, and dresses with draped fabric details. Once again Lopez proved why he has taken the highly coveted spot of closing out New York Fashion Week.
Willy Chavarria Spring/Summer 2024
For the past couple seasons, Willy Chavarria has shown his range. He’s known for making oversized workwear inspired by his Latin heritage, but for his Spring/Summer 2024 collection, titled New Life, he wanted to go fully refined. He featured beautifully tailored trousers, blazers (he brought back the oversized flowers attached to the lapel), and shirts. But he didn’t completely abdicate sportswear. He presented track suits, football jerseys, denim jackets, sweatshirts, basketball shorts, and graphic T-shirts. New for the brand is underwear, which had subtle rips and holes. Chavarria brought in some shine with sequined trousers and tank tops. As he grows his brand—Chavarria told WWD he will have a more affordable line with PacSun called “Big Willy”—he still presents his very important point of view
Sebastien Ami
Sebastien Ami, co-designed by Sebastien Amisial and his wife, Marianne, was one of the 10 brands that presented at New York Men’s Day. The latest collection from the Los Angeles–based brand, titled “Camping,” took an elevated approach to classic utilitarian styles that nod to vintage Americana and Sebastien’s upbringing. The result was an assortment of pieces that can live in your closet for years. A boxy cream Cowichan sweater, complete with scattered imperfections to mimic moth holes and a strap on the lower back referencing Type-2 denim jackets, was a highlight. It was inspired by an old sweater that Sebastien used to steal from his father’s closet. Shoulder bags made out of paracords were crafted in collaboration with Chantel Le. Other standouts included the Warped Cargo Pants covered in various-sized pockets, the SA-24 Field Jacket, a play on a style worn by the U.S. Army in World War II updated with an oversized fit, and pre-distressed double-knee jorts that sit below the knee. To help attendees envision the clothes in the setting that are traditionally worn in, they were presented on models that stood in a makeshift campsite complete with a tent and fire pit. “Camping” also marked the first season produced in Japan (the brand typically produces its collections in Los Angeles). If you like it as much as we did, pieces can currently be pre-ordered on Sebastien Ami’s site and range from $90–$975. Others designers that presented at New York Men’s Day included A.Potts, B|M|C, Clara Son, Kent Anthony, Terry Singh, Raleigh Workshop, Skyco, The Salting, and Tarpley.
Head of State’s ‘Home as Corpus’ Exhibition
For New York Fashion Week this season, Head of State’s founder, Taofeek Abijako, opted out of presenting a traditional runway show to present an exhibition at the Strada Gallery. The exhibition featured artwork that expanded on Head of State’s past two collections—“Homecoming” and “Memories of Home.” The exhibition was curated by Diallo Simon-Ponte (a writer and curator currently working at Gagosian Gallery) and featured artwork by Cameron Granger, Nola Ayoola, Oluwatobiloba Ajayi, Isabel Okoro, and Lewinale Havette. The exhibit contemplated generations of diasporic movement and how it impacts the ever-changing definition of what home is. Sculptures like Heavy as Heaven, a wooden framework of a house built by Granger, explored the artist’s own personal connection to his late grandmother. And photos by Okoro redefined home under her lens of “normatopia”—a middle ground the artist describes to be the area between harsh reality and a dreamlike utopia. The exhibit also featured an unreleased capsule of looks by the brand
‘Objects of Permanence’ Exhibition by Mellany Sanchez at Abrons Arts Center
Years before Manhattan’s Lower East Side became known for fashion retail, it was previously recognized as a garment manufacturing hub built off the backs of Puerto Rican garment workers who helped establish New York as one of the fashion capitals of the world. “Objects of Permanence,” an exhibition curated by Mellany Sanchez at Abrons Arts Center, presents the stories of these Nuyoricans behind the Lower East Side’s garment industry alongside clothing that speak toward other local histories within New York City. The foundation of the exhibition was built off the late Ramonita Saez Velez, a Lower East Side seamstress whose tenement apartment and workspace was recreated to exhibit the personal artifacts of Nuyorican garment workers like herself alongside contributions from New Yorkers currently shaping the local fashion industry today. For example, the recreation of her home included an all-cotton tapestry blanket featuring Black Jesus by Tremaine Emory next to an armoire filled with vintage quilts, clothing, and bedding from the 1950s and 1960s sourced by Emily Adams Bode Aujla.
Whereas the recreation of Velez’s workspace exhibited various bits of memorabilia from New York City garment manufacturing unions alongside family heirlooms from Nuyorican garment workers. Other works in the exhibition included a collage by Brian “Procell” that included stickers, hang tags, clothing labels, patches, and flyers of brands that were either made, sold, or heavily worn in the Lower East Side. One of the most powerful sections of the exhibition spotlighted the history of the Puerto Rican–owned Gladiator Gym by presenting a T-shirt as one of the only surviving artifacts of an influential Lower East Side cultural institution. Additionally, a 14-minute documentary by Willy Chavarria and the filmmaker Dani Aphrodite captured various New Yorkers speaking about how fashion is inherently tied to their own cultural history. Sanchez’s exhibition for Abrons reminded us about the stories garments could tell beyond the runway and the larger cultural histories behind the clothes we take for granted.
Theophilio
Edvin Thompson, the designer behind Theophilio, took the Fall 2023 season off, but now he’s back with a Spring/Summer 2024 collection that pulls from his Jamaican heritage and life in New York. He looked to urban cityscapes and the blue lagoons of Jamaica, presenting snakeskin-printed pieces coming in a teal and green color palette along with the brand’s signature “I Heart TP.” Thomas leaned into suits and matching sets, showing a white linen shirt and pants set with subtle shine, a printed snakeskin set, and a yellow suit. Thomas continues to show his point of view with desirable clothes.
