We did it! The spring 2025 fashion shows are over, except for Giorgio Armani’s spectacular show in New York in mid-October. When I see headlines about a de Gaulle-style vice presidential debate, I’m reminded of the presidential head-on confrontation during New York Fashion Week, when we all ran home to see the Ruhr’s own Rockefeller Center explode. It seems like a long time ago, and a lot has happened in the last few days: bombs rained down on the Middle East, a devastating hurricane devastated 600 miles of the southern United States, more than 100 people died, and Austria’s own right-wing left has a long list of victories in the country’s national elections. Luke, as you wrote in your review for Kopekni, “Attending Fashion Month always feels like living in an alternate (non)reality.” But it rarely feels like that this season.
It made me think: is this brand relevant enough for the times we’re living in? Willy Chavarria did just that in New York, and for me it was the most poignant show of the season, showcasing the diversity of America and breathing new, exciting life into a simple uniform. Designers are sensitive people by nature, so they understand the common feelings of fear and anxiety; stickers like “We are now in endcore” were plastered on our seats, as one of Miu Miu’s colleagues at Miuccia Prada announced in a newspaper called The Truthless Times. But showing so much anger on the catwalk was unacceptable to many. Instead, they unite around themes of joy (Marni), childlike curiosity (Bottega Veneta, Loewe) and anti-algorithm individuality (Prada, Valentino, Louis Vuitton). Nicolas Ghesquière said he wanted to create something you couldn’t name. Her words keep ringing in my ears: “If you don’t put yourself at risk with your beauty every season, you’re not just playing the fashion game, beauty risks are dangerous enough.” What do others think? ——Nicole Phelps
I believe that aesthetic risk in fashion means the freedom to reimagine and innovate how clothes interact with the human body, the freedom to take risks without being bound by the rules of the market. But fashion is not art. Fashion designers have to deal with the physical limitations of the body, while artists have to deal with perceptual limitations. Art can be more openly political, while fashion is inextricably linked to the entertainment industry that seeks to please people. Furthermore, today’s fashion rules are set by large conglomerates, and the battle between the giants often overshadows small and medium-sized brands. How can you take aesthetic risks in this environment without the deep protection of the fashion giants? Furthermore – the skyrocketing prices of fashion are shocking – where does it come from? The answer is vague and depends on who you ask. How did a designer incorporate a message of happiness (which was the overall slogan of the season) into the creation of a dress that cost as much as a teacher’s monthly salary? Who would happily spend $1,000 on a white T-shirt (I won’t name names)? Is high fashion truly democratic? I want to know.
Shortly after arriving in Milan yesterday – boom! Heidi left Celine and was replaced by Michael Ryder, while Filippo Grazioli left Missoni. So many changes. Suddenly, the final ominous scene of Heidi’s Celine Spring 25 film – an antique chandelier falling to the ground at the Chateau de Compiègne – feels absolutely perfect. It’s not only a symbol of her personal departure, but also a metaphor for the current state of the industry. Yet, throughout Fashion Week, it was heartening when designers showed incredible resilience, almost defiance. I felt like that resilience and defiance – yes! – brings happiness to people, especially to Marni, Bailey, Bottega Veneta, Valentino and Loewe. Congratulations to the brave, talented young designers – Sunei, Rokh, Nicolo Pasqualetti and Duran Lantink – who deserve praise for persevering under such difficult circumstances and fearlessly taking aesthetic risks. – Tiziana Cardini
Oh, Tiziana, name me! But I agree with much of what you said. I keep coming back to the power and strength of the heritage and luxury brands this season, especially in Europe, and how they are now completely dominating the industry. Many of them gave really great shows – Mathieu Blazy at Bottega Veneta, Simone Bellotti at Bally in Milan; Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent (my favorite show of the whole season), Jonathan Anderson at Loewe, Cortez Nicolas De Felice in Paris and Alessandro Michele at Valentino in Paris (it’s Team Michele). But you ask yourself where is the space for independents now? Yes, Rick Owens, The Row and Erdem all had great shows, but ten years from now, who will be in the position they are in today? Virginia Smith and I went to meet the young Belgian designer Julie Kegels on our first day in Paris, I loved her and her collection, she was smart, thoughtful and fun to be in, both at work and in life. I’m really interested to see that, after only two seasons, she’s already started to consider herself a mature brand. Given her talent, I really hope that she – and other designers like Diotima, Zankov, Luar, Paola Carazana, Aaron Ash and Duran Lantink – will succeed.
Nicole, you may remember that a few weeks ago I sent you, Lia, Jose, Laird and Irene an email about Steven Meisel’s iconic photo shoot for our July 2000 issue, in which he photographed Hedi Slimane (then at Dior), a bunch of “new” designers like Nicolas Ghesquière (then at Balenciaga), Junya Watanabe, Veronique Branquinho and Laurence Steele. This image kept coming to my mind during the show because if you do it today, it’s largely just people sitting in luxury homes and brands, it seems like it’s a level playing field, single-family homes and detached homes enjoy the same fees; . This doesn’t mean that luxury brands and the people behind them are super smart – they make the most creative and exciting fashion, even more so this season – but we need their work and the people who work independently. ——Mark Holgate
Putting yourself in “aesthetic danger” is a beautiful, romantic, carefree idea. It’s a strategy that’s mainly open to those who have nothing to lose; i.e., either designers who are “getting a rise” from the competition (what Mark calls freelancers) or those lucky enough to have money and jobs that are guaranteed. They can flourish without any consequences. Threat. For me, Duran Lentink and Chopova Lowena are two emerging designers who combine an adventurous spirit with the development of a unique brand code to make the business viable, laying the foundation for continued growth – surely there are others out there I haven’t met. Lentink’s popular form of sustainable surrealism makes him a particularly attractive candidate for the many companies competing for artistic director positions.
This season you can see on the runways the widespread industry crisis that consumers just aren’t consuming anymore. This has inspired many designers to turn to humanity’s other favorite pastime: sex and sexuality seem to be one of the biggest themes this month. I personally think that Andreas Kronthaler of Vivienne Westwood, Jun Takahashi of Undercover and Nadege Vanhee of Hermès explore this territory in the most interesting ways. It’s also very interesting that Balenciaga and Dolce & Gabbana tackle this topic in both adjacent and overlapping ways. Nancy Dojaka is likely to benefit the most from this trend: I’m curious how Victoria’s Secret repositions itself around this topic, but I feel like the most effective thing they can do is hire her.
Another strategy for overcoming difficult times is to rely on things or themes that you know your audience wants: the most popular approach. We see this more or less at Saint Laurent (the founder is the password), Prada (good classic in a new trend), Miu Miu, Balmain, Fendi and even Valentino, although the names of designers and founders are also mentioned. I also really like Adrian Apiolaza’s approach for Moschino.
However, the most interesting designer of the show, at least to me, was Jonathan Anderson. Whether it’s his house or the houses he represents, he seems to engage in a process of distillation and abstraction, presenting the collections as a single material, shaped through his same filter. He works for the biggest conglomerates, yet his approach and output is as independent and unique as any designer’s. Plus he also does sales. That’s surely the secret to happiness. ——Luke Leach
