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The big constant in Tomas Maier’s design philosophy is the weather. What’s it going to be like when the clothes hit the stores? For fall, “It’s warm one day, it’s not warm the next,” he said during a walkthrough of the lineup. That meant lots of layers and knits.
There was a pronounced softness and comfort to the clothes, many of which skewed casual but never sloppy. Blanket color-blocked blanket scarves and chunky cardigans in gray and red could be robustly rustic or chicly city-fied when belted over an easy cashmere dress. A lot of the offer, such as a red sweater and matching knit track pants, was the kind of stuff that would make you stand out in an airport lounge. Maier’s nice use of strong color turned classics into statement pieces.
As a counterpoint to all the dressed-down stuff, he worked office-appropriate felt in tailored silhouettes — a little dress, a blazer — but always soft, not structured. There were little crepe de chine dresses cut with ease and more structured quilted jackets, skirts and dresses. The lineup built up to some lax evening looks, included a velvet jumpsuit with a melting heart motif and a series of loose black

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Matthew Adams Dolan, the Parsons School of Design grad who was born in Massachusetts but raised in Sydney, had one of the last shows on the New York Fashion Week: Men’s schedule and showed models lazily lounging on a bed being filmed from above while wearing his oversize designs, which have been worn consistently by Rihanna.
Dolan, who has produced his collection for a few seasons, but is new to the official schedule, said he wanted to bring denim, a fabric that’s known for being heavy-duty and durable, into a bedroom setting. Models were swathed in quilted denim capes, oxford shirts with elongated sleeves, flared denim with snaps on the side and long corduroy jackets with Seventies-inspired collars. The designer also worked with nylon and created a rain jacket with a stuffed waist tie and a pink shirt and pant set that draped the model’s body.
From the look of this collection, his profile will continue to rise and Rihanna won’t be the only fan.

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It’s a wild time in the world and John Varvatos did his part to encourage the Millennials to stand up and be heard.
But the designer also had a message of his own to deliver — be adventurous and have fun despite all the challenges.
Varvatos took over the Diamond Horseshoe nightclub in Times Square for his fall show, calling it the ideal venue for his “chic and elegant” collection that still had his trademark rebellious spirit.
“There’s a wild side to all of us,” he said backstage before the show. “But young guys want to dress up again.”
He delivered to them a number of options that ranged from super-sharp tailored topcoats to velvet tuxedo jackets with shawl lapels and ultrafitted suits in double- and single-breasted models that he paired with turtlenecks.
Even so, Varvatos continued to offer his signature rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic with cropped leather jackets, an extended biker jacket and ultra-skinny waxed jeans.
But he injected more color into the offering, with hunter green, burgundy and some deep blues adding dimension to the blacks and grays.
Despite the dressier tone this season, the overall collection felt younger, a point he drove home with his liberal use of animal prints in coats, jackets, linings and

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COPENHAGEN — The French embassy in Denmark has awarded its Human Rights Prize to Eva Kruse, founder and chief executive officer of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit and former head of Copenhagen Fashion Week, for her work on sustainability in fashion and on promoting better working conditions in garment factories.
Kruse launched the Copenhagen Summit on sustainability in fashion on the margins of the United Nations’ “COP 15” climate change conference in 2009. Since then the biannual conferences have brought together fashion executives, humanitarian organizations, policy-makers and others to discuss ways to mobilize the international fashion industry to become more fair and environmentally sustainable.
In an early-morning reception at the French embassy during Copenhagen Fashion Week, Ambassador François Zimeray joked that the night had been short for many after an evening of fashion parties.
He pointed out that while the joy and frivolity of the fashion industry may seem opposed to the seriousness of human rights issues, both fields dealt with individual dignity and freedom of expressions.
“Wearing fashion says, ‘I am a person, I am an individual and I want to dialogue with the world,’” Zimeray said. “Fashion has to do with the dignity of the person, so it cannot work against the dignity of people [who work in the

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MILAN — Francesco Scognamiglio is entering the American market by the front door.
The Italian designer’s spring 2017 collection is hitting six Neiman Marcus stores across the U.S., including doors in Dallas, Boston, Pennsylvania’s King of Prussia Mall, Troy, Mich., Coral Gables, Fla., and Austin, Tex.
“Entering the U.S. market has always been a priority and we are happy to make our debut with such a great retailer,” said Scognamiglio, who revealed that next July a total of 12 Neiman Marcus doors will carry the brand’s pre-fall 2017 collection.
Scognamiglio also added that Neiman Marcus focused on special dresses and lightweight creations, including the brand’s signature shirts.
 

Francesco Scognamiglio Couture spring 2017 
Giovanni Giannoni

 
“We hope to enter the Los Angeles store with the fall 2017 lineup, because there Neiman Marcus is specialized on evening products for celebrities and VIP clients,” the designer said.
Scognamiglio, who in 2015 sold 30 percent of his company to Y Capital Management, debuted his first couture collection in Paris last July.
“We aim to bring the couture collections to the U.S. through itinerant trunk shows,” Scognamiglio said, adding that he is working to reinforce and enlarge his offering of shoes and bags. The label’s first fragrance is expected to launch within a

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Friends and neighbors were out in full force to toast Louis Vuitton’s completely redesigned SoHo boutique Thursday night.
The 10,000-square foot two-level store, at 116 Greene Street, was designed in a modern, streamlined and minimalist fashion to resemble an art gallery, with high ceilings, hand-painted columns and artwork prominently displayed throughout the store.
“When we were creating this art, the store was blocked off, so I’m happy it’s breathing inside this space,” said Japanese artist Shuji Mukai, who was commissioned to hand-paint the three columns, part of the floor and the ceiling. Speaking through an interpreter, Mukai said he always paints in black and white, but because it was Vuitton, he opted for dark brown and white. “It took one week to finish this art. I was always looking up. It’s almost overwhelming to see this huge space,” he said.
Marino, who is the store’s designer, said the hardest part was renovating the store while it remained open. It was done in two phases, closing off one half at a time. “It was a nightmare, it was really challenging,” he said. Marino said he was extremely happy with how it turned out, especially the fact that he was able to add lightness to

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MYCRA PAC SOLD: One of New York’s longstanding outerwear powerhouses, Blum & Fink Inc., has added Mycra Pac Designer Wear to its stable of labels.
The latest addition to the stable of Blum & Fink, a fifth-generation family-run outerwear business, adds a new specialty to its existing brands Fleurette and Trilogy. The 20-person West 29th Street company operates under the leadership of Stanley Blum and his daughters Robyn Kaplan and Margot Arbusman. Creative director Michael McCollom is the exclusive designer for all three collections.
Known for its reversible, packable and travel rainwear and accessories, Mycra Pac Designer Wear was started in 1991 by Sharon Huebschwerlen, who sold the company for an undisclosed sum to Blum & Fink last month. Now sold in 590 specialty and department stores, the label was based on the premise that coats should be worn as accessories and could be changed regularly as if they were jewelry, according to Kaplan, Blum & Fink’s vice president.
Her grandfather, Robert Blum, started the company in 1958 with Sidney Fink specializing in fur outerwear before branching out into other types. The bulk of MPDW products will be manufactured in a factory in the Northeast that Blum & Fink has relied on to

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BARCELONA — The Catalan capital doesn’t have an official fashion week — but 080 Fashion Barcelona, named for the city’s postal code, is the next best thing.
Held in the neoclassical Teatre Nacional de Catalunya designed by Barcelona architect Ricardo Bofill in an emerging urban business district on the city’s southeastern edge, the 19th edition of 080 ran from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3.
The local government-sponsored catwalk event featured 33 runway collectives — mainly small independent designers — underscoring the region’s bid for independence with strictly Catalan talent.
The affair brought out an eclectic crowd in casual street separates such as snappy outerwear; fuzzy, faux-fur chubbies and jackets, and the ubiquitous thick-bottomed footwear and platforms. There were cropped pants, animal prints and lots of looks from local megabrands Zara and Mango.

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Is this throwback collection what the brand needs to restore its mojo?

Not all heroes wear capes.