Denim suiting, dark washes and cargo pockets made a strong appearance at New York Fashion Week.
The Y2K-inspired glitz blitz of previous seasons gave way to applications that felt more sentimental and nostalgic. Agbobly presented dark-wash cargo jeans and denim sets decorated with multicolored topstitching and Swarovski beads. The long strands of beads were inspired by earrings that founder Jacques Agbobly’s aunts would wear for Sunday service.
Genderless label Tanner Fletcher’s collection, inspired by “joyous memories of long, carefree nights with friends, indulging in the youthful spirit of mischief and camaraderie,” featured a vest and jeans embellished with ’90s-era studs, gems and buttons, and acid-wash jeans embellished with denim bows.
Bows led to other girly details like Aknvas’ denim miniskirt wrapped with oversized ruffles. Grommets added a rocker edge to Colin Locascio’s tiered ruffle midi skirt.
Utility trends like cargo jeans and shackets may have reached the masses, but they still maintain a strong hold on the runway. A menagerie of pocket designs decorated Colin Locascio’s jacket, jeans and zip-up miniskirts. Cargo jeans were also present in collections by Christian Cowan and Alice & Olivia, which added leather flaps to its pockets.
The utility trend is helping raise the profile of another heritage staple: raw denim. The edgy raw denim looks that put G-Star Raw on the radar of now-Louis Vuitton men’s creative director Pharrell Williams in the 2010s is back. Dark indigo was seen in Luar’s collection as a collarless jacket and jeans, Et Ochs’ as a wide-leg jumpsuit, minidress, deconstructed strapless top and trouser jeans, and Brandon Maxwell’s as wide-cut cuffed shorts.
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Eckhaus Latta served raw wide-leg jeans as well as a version with a gloss coating for a liquid-like effect. Foo and Foo nodded to punk and skate subcultures with purple-tinted indigo jeans with loops and carabiners, styled with stacked belts.
Dark washes enhanced the surge of denim suiting being pitched as a cool, sharp-looking solution for relaxed dress codes. Veronica Beard paired a cropped one-button jacket with pleated denim trousers, while exaggerated proportions updated Luar’s double-breasted suit.
Other designers played into the fabric’s unique wash downs for their suiting. Romeo Hunte’s suit—a double-breasted jacket with denim-covered buttons and cargo jeans—boasted a medium ’90s wash. Gold hardware popped against Derek Lam 10 Crosby’s medium-wash blazer and matching front-slit midi skirt.
Sergio Hudson went for a retro bombshell look with a belted cornflower blue blazer, trousers and matching box handbag.
Despite rekindling the grunge trend that’s now permeating denim, R13 stepped back from destruction in a collection filled with tuxedo-striped cargo pants, and straight and relaxed-fit jeans with deep cuffs. Slim cropped red jeans were styled with slingback heels.
Other brands filled the grunge gap, however. LaPointe’s gray duster and shredded wide-leg jeans channeled Kurt Cobain’s instinct for pairing campy glam statement-pieces with thrifted finds. Coach shredded its denim, as well as Who Decides War, which contrasted rips with denim patchwork.