So far, the highlight of New York Fashion Week is the array of arresting prints on the runway.
Bold lines, bright colors and eye-popping motifs were a big theme that complemented, in many cases, plays on proportion as silhouettes were kept straight and narrow, although somehow not at all mannish.
At Opening Ceremony, the most delightful looks that designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon sent out reminded you of what it’s like to dip your hands in chocolate and stamp your fingerprints everywhere.
Altuzarra, inspired by the 1970s textiles of Sheila Hicks, sent out an exquisitely tailored collection that was understated yet punctuated with a couple of breathtakingly beautiful coats with neon checkered lines.
Mara Hoffman translated inspiration from Northern Africa — such as Moroccan rug patterns and Bedouin jewelry — into graphic checkerboard prints and motifs of either black-and-white or clashing colors.
And at Delpozo, bold orange semicircle shapes lent a refreshing twist to a column gown with delicate flowers at the bust.
Diane von Furstenberg’s entire runway was a Miami interior decorator’s dream, its graphic black-and-white fan motif being the perfect setting for her 40th anniversary show.
At Alexander Wang, meanwhile, heat-activated leather clothes with cut-put motifs that changed colors while models stood on rotating platforms helped illustrate the designer’s theme of “extreme conditions and survival.”
