Lessons from the Runway: What Did NYFW Teach Us About Our Wardrobe?

Photo: via Pexel

A Y2K Revival, fresh off the runway …

As we near the end of September – a month we all think of as fashion-focused, I can’t help but return to the photos and videos from New York Fashion Week Spring 2022 Ready-To-Wear shows. And don’t get me wrong, with fall settling in and temperatures dropping to a chilly (wink wink) 64 degrees in LA, I’m so ready for layered hoodies with trenches, infinity scarves and beanies, but the sexiness of what’s coming for spring style has me excited to go on vacation with my friends, see my favorite artists at festivals, and step out to fancy dinners.

So what has fashion week taught us about our closets and clothes? 

To keep everything! All of our favorite trends from the early 2000s are back and they are even better. The nostalgia of the shows made me want to watch TRL and see who was in the top ten with Carson Daily. From Y2K halter tops to dresses over pants to super low-rise jeans to micro-mini skirts to cardigans, brands like Dolce&Gabbana, Fendi, and Missoni brought a new spin on some familiar fashion trends from eras past. We saw sheer dresses with nothing being left to the imagination and visible G-strings – not on accident. With oversized suiting, cargo pants, a major Bridgeton influence, and crochet details, the fashion designers this season made it obvious that they wanted bodies to be seen. Not to mention, we were all thrilled to be back at live fashions shows after watching digitally during the pandemic.

Brandon Maxwell and Alberta Ferretti, to name a few, embraced the micro-mini trend with short skirts, cropped tops, and sexy low-rise bottoms (Should I underscore this again? Low-rise is back!). Bluemarine showed us the definition of short shorts, hitting the ever-more-obvious micro trend right on the nose. Designers displayed suiting with crop tops, sexy skirts with lace-up halters, and barely-there waistlines. But what did we expect after being cooped up in the house for so long wearing sweats and Ts; it’s finally time to show it all off!

We can’t have spring and summer without epic color stories. This season we have neons from Versace, pops of color from Prada and Balenciaga in statement accessories, and Parbal Gurung delivering florescent colored fitted dresses, matching suiting, and babydoll silhouettes. Also, don your boots after fall ladies: the knee-high in denim, off white shades, and embroidered booties were very vocal on the runway.

With everything from bedazzled jackets and jeans to head scarves to bellybuttons and legs on display, this Y2K revival at NYFW had something for everyone. We saw much more inclusion on almost every single runway, which made me feel inspired and empowered by the direction of the industry – not only as a designer, but as a consumer as well. (It may not be perfect, but we love to see the strides). I’ll be keeping my eye on Net-a-Porter and FARFETCH for when the releases are live so that I can snag my favorite items! 

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