NYFW AW15: Best Of

New York fashion week is over. As the fashion set jets off to London‘s more experimental pastures, we here at The Pack wanted to assess everything we saw in the past week. With all the hype surrounding Kanye West’s collection for Adidas Originals, the accessories frenzy over at HBA, and all the fuss about Tom Ford moving his (underwhelming)collection to Los Angeles, it’s easy to forget the actual clothes, especially ones as practical and literally ready to wear as the ones presented during NYFW. There weren’t a whole lot of surprises. Lots of beautifully executed 70s details from the usually safe players—Ralph Lauren, Rebecca Minkoff, Calvin Klein—and even from the usually not-so-safe players like Altuzarra and Zimmermann. Lots of earthy browns seen everywhere from Victoria Beckham to Calvin Klein to Derek Lam. Never thought I’d be drooling over brown, of all colours. And of course, plenty of fur collars and fur in general, at Altuzarra, Jason Wu, Michael Kors, and 3.1 Phillip Lim.

For obvious reasons, the collections that stood out the most were ones that strayed from the recurring themes of this fashion month, or ones who articulated their influences in a subtle way. Inspired by a new collection of photographs by Spike Jonze, Opening Ceremony‘s collection featured whispers of the 70s shape (in the way of flute hems and high turtlenecks) with plenty of other motifs thrown into the mix. There were prints and jacquards produced from Jonze’s photographs (not as gauche as it sounds actually), vintage Kodak printed shirts, and assymetrical knits that felt more 90s than disco. At The Row and Ryan Roche, garments were hardcore relaxed and executed with precise hands, but we all know both labels have been on this tip for a minute now. The all over pleats at HBA were unlike anything I’ve seen before. And the grunge meets sporty utilitarian looks at Public School seemed simultaneously nostalgic and unfamiliar.

I was excited to see one of the more diverse New York Fashion Weeks in a while. No idea if this signals something industry-wide or if it’s just in New York, which is usually the most racially diverse out of the four fashion weeks anyway. I’m crossing my fingers for London, but probably not holding my breath for Paris and Milan.

Click after the jump for more pictures of The Pack’s favourite collections from New York Fashion Week.

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As a fashion blog created by three women who are as obsessed with music as they are with fashion (perhaps more so!), The Pack’s taste in clothes is inextricably linked with its taste in music, especially hip hop, house, and techno. You needn’t look very far within the fashion world to find the same—Kanye West and Ricardo Tisci, HBA’s close relationship with GHETTOGOTHIK DJ extraordinaire Venus X, Jeremy Scott’s friendship with K-Pop group 2NE1’s lead singer CL, Rihanna plus every cool designer ever, and of course we all died a little when Karl Lagerfeld chose Azari & III to soundtrack Chanel’s now-infamous grocery store aisle AW 2015 runway show.

So it’s with this in mind that we send you some much-overdue vibes. Today’s mix was made by our very own aerielist who moonlights as a DJ when she’s not busy taking over the fashion world. This hour long house mix was inspired by, what else, summer and would probably sound great soundtracking a fashion show. Peep the mix here and meet us at our next rave here.

The Baddest Female

We admit it. We’ve been sippin’ on the kimchi brine pretty hard as of late, and I am quite possibly the worst offender. You can’t really blame us though. Sure, exciting things in fashion are not restricted to just this one tiny peninsula, but for the past few years my ladies from the Land of the Morning Calm have really emerged as a new and exciting influence on the global style scene, creating garments that appeal to young women who want to wear more than just another pretty dress. It also doesn’t hurt my obsession that, because I’ve lived there, I can’t help but feel a personal connection to the country’s growing pack of young designers.

GHE2OGOTH1K in Toronto

Hosting Venus X in Toronto is beyond anything I can comprehend. Elated is one of the many feelings I am able to articulate into words. I look up to the people behind the GHE2O GOTH1K parties with the shadow of a high school crush. I never thoughts they’d migrate north to us. Started by Venus X in 2009 along with her friend Shayne Oliver (Hood By Air), the parties have evolved into a movement. The energy of the phenomenon is infectious and the party personalities articulate themselves through fashion. Their hashtag mottos on their tumblr include:

#corruptingnightclubs

#demandingapocalypse

#nudityencouraged

The tastemakers showcased and encouraged artists like Kelela, Arca, the A$AP Mob, Tan Boys, Le1f, and of course clothing lines like Hood By Air. The women of The Pack were out last night at the Toronto invasion of GHE2O GOTH1K. Click more for some snaps we looked to for outfit inspiration.

Hood By Air FW’14

Hood By Air designer Shayne Oliver dedicated FUCCBOI, the short film accompanying his FW’14 line, to “all the FUCCBOIs who shred the status quo with aggression and lush energies.” Legendary already at age 26, Oliver has stuck to his agenda since HBA’s inception in 2006. Repping his world is Oliver’s work, and it’s created a culture of fandom. Stemming from the marginalization of subcultures during the explosion of bottle clubs in New York, Oliver and his friends started throwing GHE20GOTH1K parties to encourage the city’s disparate cliques to meld for one night. It was there that Oliver began conceptualizing his line, fostering relationships and developing looks by gaining inspiration from those he’d meet. In recent years the line has received attention from a wider audience through being tied to new style icons and associated with A$AP Rocky and Been Trill brands of cool. But his celebrity associations aren’t simple corporate collaborations, through knowledge of the history behind Oliver’s designs, they feel authentic. A$AP’s mob attend GHE20GOTH1K raves, and two members were in Oliver’s lookbook back in 2008.The perceived overnight success of the brand means that new fans may lack an awareness of his longstanding work, understanding the work on an entirely different level. FUCCBOI and HBA’s runway presentations help to educate these masses on the subversive essence of the brand, dispelling any assumptions that HBA is just another logo fad.