New York Fashion Week: Ralph joins the mod squad, Calvin shows minimalism and Marc dreams of the 1890s for Spring 2014

Calvin Klein Spring 2014
Calvin Klein photo by Peter Stigter
Calvin Klein Spring 2014
Calvin Klein photo by Peter Stigter

See the final looks from New York Fashion Week Spring 2014 »

That’s a wrap! It’s been a whirlwind week of over 350 shows, front row gossip and a whole lot of crop tops (both on and off the runway) but somehow we survived to blog another day. Day 8 of New York Fashion Week saw three of the city’s designer kings take the stage: Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs. Three names that are synonymous with American design and three very different collections.

Ralph Lauren celebrated ’60s mod with a suite of mostly black and white looks featuring the era’s signature simple shift dresses, knee high socks, contrast collars and menswear inspiration. Streamlined silhouettes were pumped up with mix and match prints of black and white florals, plaids, stripes and checks. Next came an army of Crayola solids: a zingy green skirt suit, a neon orange coat, a red mock neck paired with red trousers and the show stopper: a cobalt blue strapless gown sported by Karlie Kloss.

At Calvin Klein, designer Francisco Costa stuck with the label’s signature minimalism… with a few fringe benefits. He opened with a series of all white numbers featuring exposed seams with flashes of pink, sheer silk and nylon t-shirts and pleated skirts. He described the collection as “elevated deconstruction” and the concept shows in raw edges and loose threads set against crispy clean lines and luxe fabrications. Fringe (a trend we saw elsewhere at Altuzarra, The Row and Rodarte) added an extra flip of fancy to Costa’s streamlined statement.

Marc Jacobs closed the week off on a theatrical high note, bucking the prevailing cleaned-lined 90s trend for gothic embellishment, embroidery and deep dark prints in what Portlandia might call “a dream of the 1890s.” Set on a broken down beach scene, the collection was a dark, twisted Victorian fantasy of embroidered military marching jackets, witchy mourning gowns and oversized hibiscus prints in midnight blue, green and maroon. Jacobs called it “a lovely nightmare.” Just wake us up when it’s spring.

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