October 2, 2019 |
Thom Browne SS20
Alas, another fashion month is behind us. We saw some serious fashions, soaked our livers in too much champers and are all very much deserving of a whole weekend’s worth of sleep… And breakfast in bed if you’ve got a nice enough partner. Over 100 shows have been and gone and there’s plenty of colour palettes, cuts and revitalised trends of the past we still need to digest. We were also treated to some mega-moments over the past four weeks. Y’know, the catwalks that will be written about in the chunky fashion bibles, buried in university libraries to come. Or equally, will rack up a few million views on a WatchMojo Youtube countdown in the near future. Can’t even remember what happened before Paris? We can barely think of what we had for dinner last night so even attempting to hark back to NYFW seems an impossible task. But in order to give you a solid overview of this past fashion month, Ten Towers have put our brainboxes together and came up with the ten highlight moments so you don’t have to. Sit back, read on and reminisce.
1. The Margiela Stomp
Naomi, Gisele, Rocha – they’re all famed for having some of the best struts of all time. But this season, German model Leon Dame proved the boys know how to walk-the-walk too. Legs eleven in knee-high boots and clad in a formidable black leather sexy sailor uniform, Dame closed the Maison Margiela show with a sinister stomp. Hunched over and marching with force, the walk choreographed by Pat Boguslawski was the most Instagrammed of the season. Who said bad posture was such a bad thing after all?
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2. Fashion Month Gets Eco-Conscious
SS20 saw the fashion world clean their act up. Sustainability transcended across all four cities, from Gucci and Stella McCartney to Gabriella Hearst and even Alexander McQueen, while Roland Mouret promoted the innovation of eco-friendly hanger. Sustainable warrior Phoebe English even prompted guests to donate a tree to help form the new largest native forest here in the UK – fashion’s future is looking particularly bright this season.
3. Bella Hadid Takeover
This is Bella Hadid’s world, and we are just living in it. This season the brunette member of the Hadid dynasty opened Mugler, closed Off-White, embodied a Picasso clown at Moschino and even became the bride at Vivienne Westwood. It was Hadid’s first time walking for Balenciaga also, a real “pinch me” moment for the supermodel who gushed her admiration for Demna Gvasalia via Instagram. Very cute indeed.
Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood SS20
4. J-Lo In That Versace dress
If you logged into Instagram the evening of Friday, September 20th, you couldn’t escape the wave of J-Lo. It seemed every publication, fashion fanatic and even people’s mums were reposting vids of the iconic diva closing out the Versace SS20 show in a new interpretation of the jungle dress she wore at the Grammys back in 2000. One mere day after the show and Byronesque archive had amassed a 300+ waitlist of requests for the dress. Aside from queen J-Lo, this garment alone is truly legendary, and has a history too.
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5. NYFW Gives You Theatrics
The big apple gave us pure drama this season, and we’re not just walking about the clothes. New York brands chose some of the best locations of the season. There was subway surfing at Tom Ford, a musical extravaganza courtesy of Pyer Moss and a jazz-band aligning the streets of the Apollo Theatre for the sophomore collaboration between Tommy Hilfiger and Zendaya. It truly is the city that never sleeps.
6. Richard Quinn Does Songs of Praise
Closing out the penultimate day of London Fashion Week, Richard Quinn kept the fashion pack waiting. Guests stood outside for nearly an hour after the show was supposed to start. We even caught Anna Dello Russo making a quick pit-stop to the petrol station over the road for some savoury snacks, still looking glam. But they do say good things come for those who wait, and Mr. Quinn put on a spectacle once again. The Philharmonia Orchestra and Bach Choir soundtracked the evening which consisted of Erin O’Connor, a chorus of bridesmaids and the drawing of a grand ol’ curtains to reveal a fairytale finale evoked through the hands of set designer Derek Hardie-Martin. Calling it beautiful doesn’t even come close.
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7. Supermodel-Turned-Security-Guard aka Gigi Hadid
If you’re names not down, you’re not coming in. Gigi Hadid momentarily had to pause her role as rooftop scaler at Virginie Viard’s first ready-to-wear collection for Chanel to escort an imposter who gate-crashed the catwalk in a knock-off tweed number. The intruder goes by Marie S’Infiltre, a prank star with over 200k Youtube subscribers. S’Infiltre only managed to stage-crash for about twenty seconds before Hadid decided her time was up and quickly escorted her off the set. We’d quite like to see Miss Gigi as a bouncer in another life, a much better alternative to the grumpy blokes who thrive off not letting our friends in if they’re too drunk.
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8. Bustles And Panniers Galore!
Marie Antoinette, eat your heart out. This season, designers across the board took jutting out hips to new extremes. Thom Browne looked to the 18th-century silhouette for a particularly playful spring/summer collection, whilst Rei Kawakubo’s bulbous silhouettes meant the models at the Comme des Garçons show could barely scrape past each other. Demna Gvasalia also joined in on the action. His first Balenciaga outing since leaving Vetements climaxed with an array of stellar ball gowns which looked like they could be plonked on the top of a Christmas tree – “let them eat cake, but make sure it’s Christmas pudding.”
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9. Bopping Dresses At Issey Miyake
Satoshi Kondo has been working at Issey Miyake for over a decade now, but this season was his first as a leader. And as first impressions go, he made a remarkable one. From what began with a pleated gown descending from the sky like a UFO, turned into a choreographed array of pleats swaying side-to-side, up-and-down and within one another. It was a joyous demonstration of the technical willpower built into the ethos of the brand – a spectacle indeed.
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10. Mary Katrantzou Takes Athens
Mary Katrantzou celebrated the 10th-anniversary of her brand back in February, but the party continues as the fashion troupes head to Greece. Taking place tomorrow, Katrantzou is set to be the first designer to hold a show at the Temple of Poseidon in Athens. Many have tried to get permission to hold a show at the monumental site – they probably have Gigi Hadid as a bouncer there on her days off. Athens-born, London-based Katrantzou is about to make history, and she’s bringing along our Edtrix (and fellow Greek) Sophia Neophitou who will be styling the show. This is not one to be missed.
Backstage photography by Jason Lloyd-Evans. All coverage of the SS20 ready-to-wear shows is available to view here.
