My Fashion Week Postmortem

Fashion Month—which kicks off with New York Fashion Week before moving on to London, Milan, and, as of this week, Paris—is a flurry of shows, events, dinners, and parties (assuming you’re lucky enough to attend). Unfortunately, it’s rarely as riveting for those following from afar. These days, “reviews are mainly fluff pieces,” as designer and styl... See more

“We should not forget that maybe not everybody only wants a camel cashmere turtleneck,” Olivier Rousteing remarked. Beyond the cyclical nature of fashion, Rousteing’s observation captured a mash-up of trends that has been solidifying into a durable aesthetic.

What really works in American fashion is consistency. I’m usually pretty bored by Ulla Johnson ’s shows, but on Sunday morning I couldn’t help feeling dazzled by her three-dimensional florals and dizzying zig-zag knits. (Made me think she’d be a great designer for Missoni, but that brand needs help, and she’s too smart to take on some impossible po... See more

Now, it’s Khaite’s turn. The Cate Holstein -designed label is now under the watch of Stripes, one of the few investment firms that regularly takes bets on fashion. Backstage at that show, I asked Holstein how the money has empowered her: I expected her to mention supply chain upgrades or more freedom with show budgets. (The Park Avenue Armory stagi... See more

To understand Khaite, you’ve got to view it like a merchant. (I liked the pin-tucked gazar dresses; they reminded me of this Marc Jacobs look from his Spring 1998 collection.) Holstein is very much in touch with what women with money want to wear. When I saw Yael Aflalo , founder of Reformation—another Stripes investment, which turned out very well... See more

Zara is building a hybrid business model, where it combines fast fashion with cues of luxury (curated capsules, art direction, photography, model selection, styling). Zara is still in the business of the mass consumption of standardized products, but now it’s also in the business of considered consumption of signaling products (Peter Lindbergh merc... See more

This is space that multi brand retailers like department stores should own. They should have the credibility of the high taste of their merchant team (see Barney’s circa 2005) combined with the best staff dying to find you that perfect black tote.

the pinnacle of Brodovitch's career as a designer was the unfailing elegance of his pages. This elegance, combined with an element of innovation was the ideal mix for a fashion magazine. The quality that guaranteed his success was his devotion to the new, unending surprise and vitality