Fashion took to its most iconic stage this past week for New York Fashion Week (NYFW), showcasing the trends and styles from the biggest designers to look forward to in the Spring and Summer of 2025. The shows began on Friday, Sept. 6 and closed out on Wednesday, Sept. 11, making six star-studded days of high fashion and celebrity outfits.
NYFW was born out of an opportunity presented to the New York fashion industry during World War II. In the 1940s, Paris had made its name as the fashion center of the world. As the war ravaged Europe, however, Paris fell to German occupation, making way for New York to show the world what they can contribute to the fashion world.
Since then, New York has become one of the foremost locations for fashion across the world. Designers, models and attendees alike eagerly await fashion week every September and February. At the February shows, designers show off their Fall-Winter collections, and at the September shows, they roll out their lines for Spring-Summer.
This September, the shows were being held in multiple different locations throughout the city, as opposed to one central location as IMG, the managing group behind fashion week, typically does.
The week was absolutely packed with shows, with more than 300 designers from 50 different countries scheduled to show off their best looks. The Council of Fashion Designers of America officially listed 87 runway shows throughout the week, with even more events being held off of the official calendar.
As always, there are several clear themes and trends that the designers seem to follow with their looks. Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger’s collections were inspired by a preppy, somewhat quintessential American style of tracksuits, jerseys, denim jackets, collared shirts and lots of stripes. Coach really leaned into the New York tourism style, with iconic “I Heart NY” shirts.
Another common thread seen across the runways was sheer looks. Looks from designers such as Khaite, Carolina Herrera and Jason Wu utilized a lot of sheer and mesh layering pieces throughout their showcases. Denim was also on full display on this year’s runways, with designers playing around with embellished denim on denim looks. Director of Off-White, Ib Kamara played with a lot of streetwear inspired looks and zippers at their very first NYFW appearance.
Perhaps as exciting as what designers are showing off on the runways, is what the celebrity attendees in the highly sought-after front row of the shows are wearing. Fashion Week events are very exclusive, most are invite only. This makes those who do attend bring their A-game with their looks. Rihanna came decked out head to toe in crystals and pearls for the Alaïa show at the Guggenheim Museum. Actress and Director Olivia Wilde sported a sheer black lace dress for the Michael Kors show.
The Fashion Week crowds also saw some familiar political faces. Ella Emhoff, model and step-daughter of Vice President Kamala Harris was seen at several shows throughout the week, Tory Burch, Collina Strada, Susan Alexander and Rachel Antonoff among them. Dr. Jill Biden and granddaughter Finnegan Biden were also in attendance at the Ralph Lauren shows.
NYFW kicks off a month full of fashion, with London, Milan and Paris to follow in the coming weeks, where more Spring-Summer 2025 fashion inspiration will be showcased. The shows are always a fun way to predict what trends will be emerging in the coming seasons and how the designers decided to get creative with their collections. NYFW this past week was no different, with hundreds of extremely talented designers and models showing off their hard work.
mkane10@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @MorphineLDdaily, X
