FASHION

The Sets That (Almost) Upstaged New York Fashion Week

by Steph Eckardt

Fenty x Puma by Rihanna

From Yeezy’s high-production blow-out at Madison Square Garden to Creatures of the Wind’s delicate showing in a forgotten Freemasons Hall, here are the sets that almost stole the show from the fall collections at New York Fashion Week.

1

Yeezy

Only one venue made sense for a multimedia extravaganza as high production as Yeezy Season 3: Madison Square Garden. Kanye West managed to make full use of the enormous space, filling it with 20,000 guests that included the whole Kardashian brood and hundreds of models. Closeups of supers like Naomi Campbell and Veronica Webb played on the Jumbotron while West looked on from a laptop, pulsing his “The Life of Pablo” album through the speakers.

Photo by Isabel Martinez for W magazine.

2

Fenty x Puma by Rihanna

No one knew exactly what to expect the night of Rihanna’s Fenty show for Puma, and the singer-turned-designer didn’t disappoint when she welcomed guests into a forest – of the wintry, haunting variety, no less. Strictly monochrome, with a mirrored ceiling and reflective floor, it was a perfect fit for Rih’s trademark oversized hoodies and bombers. As for the sheer tops and underwear looks, well, they definitely got the chilly vibe across.

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris for Getty Images.

3

Opening Ceremony

After last season’s surprise dance performance choreographed by Justin Peck, Opening Ceremony changed gears – and galaxies – with a futuristic fall show, complete with suspended metallic spaceships that matched the models’ glittery makeup and the collection’s sci-fi motifs.

Photo courtesy of Greg Kessler Studio.

4

Thom Browne

Ever theatrical, Thom Browne ventured centuries back this season, transporting guests to a Great Depression-era Washington Square Park straight out of a movie set. Complete with trees, grass, snow, and park benches, Browne’s fantasy world was populated with models in his usual blend of expert tailoring and unorthodox details, like stuffed dog purses and gravity-defying ties.

Photo by Dan and Corina Lecca.

5

Creatures of the Wind

It wasn’t until Creatures of the Wind co-designer Shane Gabier was googling potential venues for his fall show that he realized what was hidden in a building he and his co-designer Christopher Peters walked by every day on the way to their studio: a forgotten, private hall owned by the secretive Freemasons Society. The gilded setting, complete with a red carpet, lent even further grandeur to the collection, and ensured great acoustics for the soundtrack, which featured disembodied voices and a string quartet.

Photo by Matin Zad.

6

Rodarte

The illuminated mix of flowers, glass, and colorful fluorescent lights at Rodarte’s fall show was so effectively atmospheric that, when the fog machine started up, some editors and photographers were convinced there was an actual fire. Thankfully, though, it was just another elaborate creation from Bureau Betak, and a collection that showed Rodarte’s reigniting their mastery from seasons past.

Photo by Alex Fradkin for Bureau Betak.

7

Sies Marjan

Dries Van Noten alum Sander Lak’s show for his new label Sies Marjan was arguably this Fashion Week’s most hotly anticipated debut, and Lak hardly disappointed. Driving home the the idea of promising beginnings, he showed his boldly hued inaugural collection in a downtown construction site that’ll soon be transformed into a luxury penthouse.

Photo by Caroline Prioglio for Bureau Betak.

8

Rosie Assoulin

Brightly colored, lit candles promised showgoers something more as they headed into a concrete, industrial space in the Meatpacking for Rosie Assoulin’s fall presentation, leading up to a pared down room with exposed brick. Models stood at the center, beneath a skylight and in front a wooden beam structure adorned with dozens more illuminated candles, this time stretching into artful trails of wax.

Photo by Anna Erickson.

9

Proenza Schouler

Since Proenza Schouler showed their fall 2015 collection at the Whitney two seasons ago, the museum relocated downtown to a new building in the Meatpacking. This fall, designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez followed suit, occupying the space’s fifth floor to show their collection on the level that housed its main point of inspiration: the monumental Frank Stella retrospective that closed just last week.

Photo by Josie Miner.

10

Phelan

Alexander Wang alum Amanda Phelan turned again to dance troupe Vim Vigor for her namesake label’s sophomore show this season, this time occupying La MaMa, the experimental theater in the East Village.

Photo courtesy of Greg Kessler Studio.

11

Diane von Furstenberg

Diane von Furstenberg took a break from her usual runway shows this season with a made-for-Instagram disco party, where supers like Karlie Kloss, Kendall Jenner, and Jourdan Dunn emerged from closed doors to take selfies and lounge on lip-shaped loveseats.

Photo by InDigital, courtesy of Diane von Furstenberg.