The 3 most talked-about moments from New York Fashion Week 2023

Another New York Fashion Week is in the books, as designers wrapped up this year's extravaganza on Feb 15. As is tradition, fashion lovers from all over the world gathered in the Big Apple to admire the looks featured in designers' fall/winter collections on the runways, as well as on the people strutting the streets between shows. Here are some of the most talked-about moments from NYFW 2023:

Where are their pants?!

At the top of the list, "New York Fashion Week's biggest trend so far is not wearing pants," according to Fashionista. Multiple designers such as Christian Siriano, Prabal Gurung, and Dion Lee kicked off NYFW with a showcase featuring pants-less models, a trend that also picked up attention in November when Kendall Jenner walked outside wearing a sweater with only sheer tights and no pants.

One of the most memorable shows was Christian Siriano's set, which channeled the late icon Audrey Hepburn. It featured a model wearing black underwear layered with sheer tights, a black double-breasted blazer with shoulder padding, and a fuchsia lapel. This show was an ode to one of the classiest icons in Hollywood, making it ironic that the model wasn't wearing any pants, but perhaps the designer proved that bottoms aren't a must to pull an outfit together. Siriano's other styles consistently referenced Hepburn's influence by including variations of the infamous "little black dress," and popout floral designs which were inspired by the mini-series she starred in, Gardens of the World, he told Fashionista.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

NYFW's 'biggest nightmare'

It's weird, it's animalistic, it's fashion! The Collina Strada show had models strutting the runway like animals … literally. The New York Post says "audiences were howling" as Collina Strada's creative director Hillary Taymour showcased the "Please Don't Eat My Friends" collection, featuring "anamorphic" models dressed in sheer designs and prosthetics to look like various animals. One of the buzziest designs featured a model wearing a reptilian mask over the head, a neon plaid green coat, a white sheer top with green detailing and matching bottoms, along with a pleated skirt layered over the pants. Some of the models were even crawling down the runway, channeling the animal character of each design, the Post noted.

While the heavy prosthetics were exciting and innovative to some, others found them downright creepy, calling them reminiscent of their "biggest nightmare." Whether they were a fun way to punch up the clothes with "wild" and "camp" accessories or just plain "weird," they definitely got people talking.

One of the designer's goals was "to honor both our inner show pony, who is playful and likes to ruffle feathers, and our inner workhorse, who is reliable, durable and strangely practical," the Post wrote, per Collina Strada's press release. Creative director Taymour closed out the show with an appearance, also wearing animal-like prosthetics.

Tory Burch presents: Distortion

There's a new motto Tory Burch seems to be following: "focusing on the unexpected," The Associated Press writes, noting the designer seemingly shied away from its traditional designs this year. The show was held at the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank located in downtown Manhattan, which Burch felt was "an interesting venue to experiment with distortion."

"The collection is a lot about distortion and femininity," Burch told AP. The designs included her signature neutral tones such as navy, black, nude shades, and olive, but were unexpectedly dominated by deconstructed elements on the skirts, belts, blazers, and more, which AP described as a "creative surprise." The slight similarity between this collection and Siriano's show is the concept of an uncompleted, yet strong look. Burch explained to AP that her collection was "meant to be a bit undone," ultimately to challenge the notion that defines "feminity, beauty, and perfection." There were several celebrities in attendance at the show, including actresses Claire Foy and Maddie Ziegler, and models Lori Harvey and Halima Aden among others, USA Today noted.