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Is Jeremy Scott the Donald Trump of American fashion? Not in terms of politics — definitely not in terms of politics — but in terms of positioning? Mr. Scott, after all, is an oft-dismissed polarizing outsider who built his brand beyond the system by mocking fashion's orthodoxies. He has been categorized as an entertainer and a disrupter, with emphasis on show rather than substance. Yet his approach — Instagram-ready, direct to pop culture consumers — has resulted in a documentary "The People's Designer"; a stint redesigning the Video Music Awards Moonman statuette, and a second job as creative director of the global brand Moschino. Plus, this week: Mr. Scott's largest show to date, in front of the singer Rita Ora and the actress Lucy Hale and a chunk of the cast of the TV show "Empire," including Bryshere Gray.
His success is impossible to ignore, whether or not you liked the extended riff on bouffants, the B-52s, '60s mod and cartoon caricatures he offered in pastel shades of patent, cotton knit and silk. Costumey it was, down to the plastic disc dresses and zap gun prints, but it also had a good-humored energy of its own that has effectively shaken up the fashion field.
Continue reading the main story Slide Show Jeremy Scott: Spring 2016 RTWCreditGuillaume Roujas/Nowfashion
At the very least, it has exposed the extent to which many designers like to play it safe, and stick to the familiar party line.
Tommy Hilfiger, for example, created his usual elaborate set — this time, an entire Caribbean lagoon complete with water, tiki bar and palm tree — for a show of peppy but entirely unoriginal striped crochets, flower-child patchwork prints and silk bombers.
Photo Tommy Hilfiger, spring 2016. Credit Jennifer S. Altman for The New York TimesAnd while Diane von Furstenberg titled her collection after the Roman goddess Fortuna, the bevy of supermodels strutting down her runway (Karlie Kloss, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner), with their hair curled in a cloud around their heads and caught up with a flower behind one ear, looked like nothing so much as Ms. von Furstenberg herself in her Studio 54 days.
Just as the scarf print maxi-dresses in Hawaiian shades, the gold metallic suede rompers, white chiffon mini tunics with python trim and flowing tulle goddess gowns embroidered in gold butterflies looked entirely in line with the easily accessible, optimistic offerings Ms. von Furstenberg's constituency likes.
Continue reading the main story Slide Show Diane von Furstenberg: Spring 2016 RTWCreditGio Staiano /NOWFASHION
This isn't necessarily bad: There are plenty of women whose comfort zone is consistency. And it is unquestionably better than not having an identifiable platform at all, as is the case with Thakoon Panichgul, who swung from tap pants in cotton shirting and jackets in bleached tie-dyed denim to tropical palm-print leotards under sheer gold-sequined tulle with head-spinning effect. But bigger risks are required if you really want to move the aesthetic conversation. "Risk" being a relative word.
Thus, while Prabal Gurung's decision to meld his life (his Nepalese roots and his emotional ties with the country that was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake) and his clothes was not exactly wildly daring, the 30 or so monks in traditional robes who opened his show in prayer and chanting were unexpected.
Photo Prabal Gurung, spring 2016. Credit Stephen Chernin/European Pressphoto AgencyAs was the subtle way Mr. Gurung then handled his messaging, with organza dresses and silk tie-front blouses brushed with topographic swirls from the work of the Nepalese artist Laxman Shreshtha, and ribbed knits and swirling spaghetti-strap gowns in the vermilion and saffron shades of the country. They weren't revelatory, but they were clearly sincere.
Still, it was the rose-tinted garden party Carolina Herrera held in the Garden Court at the Frick Collection that was the surprise. Largely eschewing her signature stiff shirtdresses, Mrs. Herrera lightened u p via organza, ostrich feathers and chiffon, all in shades ranging from petal pink through fuchsia with some black and white thrown in for contrast.
Continue reading the main story Slide Show Carolina Herrera: Spring 2016 RTWCreditRegis Colin Berthelier/Nowfashion
Best of all were a series of suggestive frocks pieced together from a techno fabric that resembled a thinner, more supple neoprene, with trompe l'oeil pockets, pleats and collars picked out in peekaboo tulle. Balanced between the proper and the perverse, they were, literally, open for debate.
