August 29, 2023 |
It’s that time of year again: the Tabbies are coming out of hiding and fashion packs are flying in for a month of Instagrammable gimmicks, sartorial expertise and straight slaying: Fashion Month. For the most part, the schedule is business as usual, but there are a few red-letter surprises to note; namely catwalk debuts, cult returns and premiere directorial outings. New York is first up with its Fashion Week frenzy, followed by London’s fresh faces, Milan’s sleek aesthetics and the Parisian pandemonium that’ll soon be flooding our feeds. It’s gonna be a good’un. Here’s our top ten goings-on to look out for.
1. PETER DO’S GRAND HELMUT LANG DEBUT
Nabbing New York’s prestigious kick-off slot, Peter Do will be making his directorial debut at Helmut Lang with a high-octane show on September 8. The first time the Lang label has graced the runway since Mark Thomas and Thomas Cawson were in charge, circa September 2019, Do’s deft expertise are expected to breathe life back into the brand.
2. GYPSY SPORT AND RALPH LAUREN’S TRIUMPHANT RETURNS TO THE RUNWAY
Later that same day, Ralph Lauren will make his anticipated return to the runway, bolstering the Big Apple’s big-brand presence this season. Staging off-calendar shows in LA and New York over the past four years, Lauren hasn’t been listed on the official schedule since he revealed his high-end supper club, Ralph’s Club, on Wall Street with a performance from Janelle Monáe in September 2019. Rio Uribe’s Gypsy Sport is also locked and loaded to make a comeback, celebrating its 10-year anniversary and first on-schedule showing since opting out of New York Fashion Week in favour of Los Angeles in 2020 and the years following.
Some 71 designers are confirmed for the Big Apple’s fashion foray; among them, Eckhaus Latta, Proenza Schoeler, Puppets and Puppets, Collina Strada and Willie Chavarria. As for the week’s closer? That honour once again goes to Raul Lopez of Luar who will shut down the shindig on Wednesday, September 13.
3. 10 MAGAZINE’S ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION AT CLARIDGES ART SPACE, LONDON
Buckle up for the Big Smoke where the Ten Towers team are putting on an unmissable exhibition at Claridges Art Space in London from September 17 to 29, celebrating 24 years of 10 Magazine and the launch of our American edition, 10 Magazine USA. See you there?
4. THE COMEBACK KIDS: ASHLEY WILLIAMS, SUPRIYA LELE, KNWLS AND ASHISH
That momentum will continue with a comeback from alt-fashion queen Ashley Williams on the first Saturday of London Fashion Week, September 16, who has been awarded a £20,000 grant in addition to “undisclosed investment” from Ugg and funding toward the production costs of her SS24 catwalk as part of Fashion East’s XLNC initiative. Aside from more of the punchy prints, cheeky graphics and girly bow detailing Williams’ is so well known for, expect a precursory look at a range of exclusive Ashley Williams x Ugg styles will stomp across the catwalk.
Supriya Lele is bringing it back to the Big Smoke too, with her first LFW escapade since AW22 on Monday 18. Knwls and Ashish are also returning to the runway this season, staging their first shows since SS23 and AW20, respectively, on September 17 and 18.
5. BUSINESS AS USUAL AND SKEPTA’S MAINS MOVE
Daniel Lee is expected to bring in a cascade of Burberry energy this season, showcasing his sophomore catwalk collection at the British brand on September 18. The week will also welcome BFC Newgen alum, Aaron Esh, as he makes his standalone LFW debut on later that day. Di Petsa, Ahluwalia, Chopova Lowena, Edward Crutchley, JW Anderson, Roksanda, Feben, 16 Arlington, Sinead O’Dwyer, David Koma, Labrum, Rochard Quinn, Matty Bovan, Masha Popova, Simone Rocha, Yuhan Wang, Erdem, Chet Lo, Dilara Findikoglu and Stefan Cooke – who was absent last season – are included on the schedule as usual. Even Skepta is getting in on the action with a clickable collection from his own fashion entity, Mains London. Working alongside Mains’ new chief designer, Mikey Pearce, and graphic designer Johnson Orchid, the grime pioneer is designing the lineup – which will turn up and turn out on September 16 – himself, following the brand’s viral move in 2018 when Skepta and Naomi Campbell were interviewed wearing matching Mains underwear.
6. HUGE DIRECTORIAL DEBUTS AND THE (POTENTIAL) RETURN OF A MUSE
Of the 62 fashion shows on the Milan schedule, Peter Hawkings’ inaugural outing at Tom Ford after the eponymn’s oddly subdued exit from fashion in April is a standout. Having worked alongside Mr. Ford for nearly 25-years, the long-time menswear maven held the position of senior vice president of menswear at Tom Ford since 2013, and will now oversee all the brand’s womenswear, menswear and accessory categories, as well as its catwalk collections. Sabato De Sarno is making his directorial debut at Gucci too, following in the footsteps of Alessandro Michele who exited the house in November last year. Joining from Valentino, where De Sarno was director of men’s and women’s collections, he’s already teased the new era – commencing September 22 – with a nostalgic high jewellery campaign – De Sarno’s first – fronted by Phoebe Philo’s muse (and doppelgänger), Daria Werbowy. The beloved model exploded onto the scene in the aughts and retired just as swiftly in 2016, but following that initial ad outing, rumours of Werowy’s return to the runway by way of a De Sarno-fied Gucci show (or pegged to Philo’s own comeback – more on that later) have been swelling throughout the fashion ether for months.
7. KAROLINE VITTO’S STANDALONE SHOW AND ALL THE HARD HITTERS
Every season at the women’s shows in Milan, Dolce and Gabbana provide a platform for a young designer. British punk-queer iconoclast Matty Bovan, South Korean couturier Miss Sohee and Japanese designer Tomo Koizumi were D&G’s picks of the last few seasons. But this time around, their gesture of goodwill – all expenses paid – goes to Fashion East alum Karoline Vitto, who will stage her first-ever solo show on September 24, supported by Dolce and Gabbana. Receiving financial, logistical and PR support from the Italian house, as well as fabrics, materials and all-round expertise, we can expect the London-based Brazilian designer to build upon her beguiling size-inclusive designs that celebrate and accentuate the female form, framing flesh folds and fat like the glorious goodies they are.
Naturally, among the line up are the heavyweights we’ve come to revere, from Fendi, Prada, Giorgio and Emporio Armani, Ferragamo, Jil Sander, Versace, Etro, Diesel, Bottega Veneta, Dolce and Gabbana and Max Mara, to Sport Max, Aniye Records, No. 21, Blumarine, MSGM, Andreadamo, Bally and Moschino, which is staging its 40th anniversary show.
8. THE NEW PARISIANS
Milan-based Marni and New York-based Peter Do (after taking a break last season) are set to show in Paris for the very first time on September 27 and 26 respectively. On September 28, Lanvin will present its SS24 collection, its first since the label parted ways with its former creative director Bruno Sialleli earlier this year, and it’ll be designed in-house. Meanwhile, Charaf Tajer’s Casablanca is switching things up by jumping from the men’s calendar to the women’s one, with a girl-ified catwalk kicking off October 1.
9. BRINGIN’ IT BACK TO THE CATWALK
Mugler (subtly withdrawing from its ‘see now, buy now’ by returning to the schedule fresh from Casey Cadwallader’s H&M collab) and Maison Margiela (which hasn’t staged a show during ready-to-wear since March 2021) are slated to return to Paris this season, on October 2, after several years of predominantly putting on online showcases and in-person events loosely aligned with the menswear schedule. Then, on the evening of September 30, Stefano Gallici will be stepping out with a brand new vision for Ann Demeulemeester following Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s sudden departure in May.
10. ALL THE BIG HITTERS AND A PHILOPHILE’S HOLY GRAIL
All the big hitters will be in the City of Love, including Dior, Saint Laurent, Loewe, Balmain, Vivienne Westwood, Hermes, Miu Miu, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Courrèges, Dries Van Noten, Givenchy, Coperni, Yohji Yamamoto, Junya Watanabe, Rick Owens, Schiappareli, Comme des Garçons, Alexander McQueen, Chanel and Chloé – which will brandish its final show with Gabriela Hearst at the helm – amongst a plethora of others. Actually, there’s 67 runway shows and 41 presentations on the schedule so we can only forecast this nine day extravaganza to be larger than life.
It’s worth noting as well, that while the fashion fun unfolds, fans will be waiting with bated breath for Phoebe Philo’s imminent return to the industry. Her comeback isn’t part of the official schedule, as she won’t be showing anything, but the rumours suggest that an online drop during PFW just might have all our bank accounts in arrears by the end of the week. Get prepped!
Top and bottom images: Moschino AW23. Photography by Cris Fragkou. Follow all the action from the SS24 ready-to-wear shows via our Instagram stories at @10magazine and @10menmagazine.
