Designers and Agents
Keeping its venue setup split between two locations in Chelsea, Designers and Agents it's always the show to spot new up and coming designers especially those oriented towards a more sustainable fashion production. Specialized in dresses and overalls produced using Italian denim certified by Greenpeace, French brand Happy Haus presented an expanded line including garments produced with lighter fabric like the GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified cotton.
A few turns down the D&A's maze, the leather hoodies in bold bright colors at the Schya booth blended luxury and sportswear. In their metallic finish, those jackets could definitely rock any music video!
Talking about leather, C6ixShoes casual bootie introduced a unique finish of stretch leather with a special rugged effect. And yes, in case you're wondering: white soles are still happening.
Nordic style design meets Mediterranean colors and imagery in AtoZ Greek's line debuting their happy, colorful bags and accessories for the beach. The mermaid backpack and the espadrille mules might just be the accessories to look forward to when summer returns.
Capsule
Under the shadow of gigantic cruise ships on Pier 94, the Capsule show was the place to see some of the upcoming trends especially for streetwear.
Hailing from the homeland of streetwear, Groceries Apparel SS18 collection was spot on trend with its muted pinks and greys. Perfect to give that touch of California cool to any outfit, their large selection of t-shirts, dresses and basic apparel is all sustainably produced in Los Angeles.
Also from the West Coast, Lykke Wollf brand was introducing intriguing workwear-inspired overalls and jacket in undyed denim.
Muted colors and neutrals were trending in athleisure brand Wear It To the Heart that specializes in printing by sublimation, a more sustainable finish for high performance fabrics. Camo and iridescent prints are among their bestsellers for SS18 season.
In the denim department, Korean designer Elsa Ling premiered a new fabric mix of denim and lace, a combination of sexy and romantic that seems to be a winning trend for SS18 casualwear.
Capsule confirmed also the ongoing popularity of "cool statement garments". In particular, the oversized raincoats by Swedish brand Fors Nome and the double-face leather bomber jacket by Korean brand Front Row
stood out for their original treatments of this trend.
Even though not necessarily summery, New York brand Think Roylin was rocking with its original collection of bags, hats, ponchos and even leg warmers made with ribbed poly/down filled nylon.
Coterie
New York's largest RTW show is the best place to see the trendsetters at work.
In the sportswear department we discovered the pink dyed and hyper-romantic flower printed denim jackets by Rebecca Taylor's casual line "La Vie" at its second spring collection.
At the show, premier denim brand 3x1 introduced its split bottom flare jeans beside new versions of its trademark hem down pants available in a bleached laser cut hand finished pants.
While at Hudson it was all about sexyness with lace up details and subtle tropical flower prints.
For SS18, sportswear trailblazer brand Closed is going back to its beginning with an original capsule collection by Francois Girbaud, its first designer.
7 for All Mankind proved to be on top of the market trends with its cropped sweatshirts with flared sleeves and a creative inside-out denim jacket.
Putting the cool into athleisure, Canadian made Twenty showed a sophisticated street-smart collection like its sweater in cotton boucle with frayed hems.
Finally, Zadig & Voltaire kept things fun with retro 70's patches and t-shirts, while nodding to upcoming trends with the strategically placed metallic print on t-shirts seams.
Woman
The light filled Skylight Studios were buzzing with activity for the SS18 Woman show. Its intimate and stylish setting is a favorite with more sophisticated cutting edge brands like Red Card, Humanoid and new up and coming designers.
In the denim department, it was Japanese brands that really stood out at this show: Red Card featuring several new styles in its trademark vintage inspired denim collection, while Tanaka showed a well-thought selection of classic and hip styles.
In a season where muted colors seem to dominate, Peter Jensen's fun bright collection stood out for it humorous take on Scandi-style.
And just when you thought that no more creative variations were possible in the sneakers market, at Woman we found these colored soles by Novesta to look forward for a sophisticated and playful look in SS18.
In the accessories department, the attention was drawn by the stylish creations of Austrian designer Andy Wolf. A favorite purveyor of handmade optical gear to celebrities such as Rihanna, Gigi Hadid and The Weeknd, the brand was presenting their new capsule collection and evergreen classics.
Let's close this review with a shoutout to two New York new designers showing for the first time Ya Jun and Abraham. Recent Parsons graduate Ya Jun has already several accomplishments under her belt- Rihanna dress for the 2016 VMA, winner of Kering x Parson competition. Her Trace of Time collection includes a spectacularly bold oversized jacket. Unisex garments usually tends to be a bit boring having to please two very different crowds, but Abraham's collection manages to avoid that. The label founded by former JCrew designer Emily Bryngelson in 2015 put the fun and creativity into unisex. Definitely two designers to watch!
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For more information on trade shows check out DFV Group’s expocheck.com.
