This is my third NYFW, and the excitement has certainly not worn off. Despite the fact that I think NYFW functioned more smoothly when it was centralized at the Lincoln Center, it's still awesome. And perhaps the best trend I've noticed in my years attending is that NYFW seems to becoming slowly more inclusive.
This year, I saw many people of color on runways. I saw a large amount of people of color in the front rows at shows, as designers, and as prized guests. I saw models with bigger busts, and hips. And butts! The shows at Art Hearts paid special tribute to Madeline Stuart, the world's first professional adult model with Down's Syndrome. It was an exciting time to observe fashion, truly... but there's still room for improvement.
*The chairs at some of the shows are so tiny that an average sized adult woman has a hard time fitting on them without spilling over into her neighbor.
*We still don't see enough models (American) sizes 6-12 on runways, a middle ground that is neither "model-size" nor "plus-size," but right in the middle, where most American women are
*Speaking of sizes 6-12, we don't see enough CLOTHES in high fashion for women in that size group. Many women with money to spend on beautiful clothes are between those sizes, and they feel left out. Tim Gunn recently wrote an excellent piece about this.
*There's still not enough makeup and hair care choices for Black models with natural hair or darker skin tones. This is improving every year, thankfully, but I still hear from many models who have to bring their own makeup, or help hairstylists with tips on what to do with their natural hair.
A huge HUGE thank you to Georgine for her celebratory, effervescent, New York City inspired show. Huge thank you to Fashion Istanbul for their amazing shows. Thanks to Art Hearts for the Charles and Ron show especially (exquisite!) and to Note, Trompeloeil, Cliff Bar, Boxed Water, Allegresse 24 Carat Skincare, and everyone else who provided gifts in the swag bags!
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