I've never formally tried my hand at reviewing anything really, but I have followed fashion week for many years now. I also know the small handful of brands that I actually care about and follow closely, so feel as though I have a clear picture of their brand identity and history. With that in mind, I have developed some opinions on my favourite designers' shows for NYFW and LFW this month, so I thought I would share them.
Scroll to the bottom if you would like to hear my thoughts on Simone Rocha SS23!
NYFW
There are very few brands and designers who show at NYFW that I actually care about, to be completely honest. The only brand I feel as though I can confidently review is Sandy Liang, so here are my thoughts.
At first, I found myself underwhelmed by Sandy's SS23 show. It came a day or two after the hugely successful launch of her Pointe Mary Janes (now sold out) and new accessories collection (all of which I am obsessed with) so perhaps I had high expectations. But upon first viewing, it just felt like a re-iteration of her SS22 show, only plainer. However, after going back and looking at it a few times and seeing a fantastic TikTok video on it, I became more fond of it. Sandy has created a very clear brand identity and is establishing signature pieces that can be relied on to be popular season after season. Her vision is timeless and draws from so many different inspirations and sources, making it truly unique. Yes, there are pieces and looks I really dislike, but there are others that I absolutely adore and would 100% purchase. I've followed Sandy for a long time now, and have often felt as though her clothing was made for me. It is the perfect balance of preppy and flouncy, often referencing my favourite movies and tv shows. Another thing to point out that is unique about this show, is that all of the accessories and shoes were already available to purchase.
With that, here are some of my favourite looks:
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A classic trench but with a rounded collar?! Are you kidding me?? So cute. I also need the velvet flower scrunchie. |
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| I'm not one to bare a lot of midriff but I would, just to wear this suit. So fun. Love it with her Pointe Mary Jane flats too. |
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| The detailing on this dress is just beautiful. I'm also a sucker for a knee-high sheer sock, ever since that Prada Spring 2019 show literally changed my life. This show has a few subtle nods to Prada, I think. |
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| I can never say no to an oversized collar and this dress is so wearable. |
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| Gorgeous! Sandy's SS22 show was also styled with Salomon sneakers, so it's interesting to see she has done the same with this season too. I remember loving them last year, so maybe I finally need to buy some. |
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| I don't really have anything to say about this. I just love it. |
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A very Simone Rocha-esque dress I think, which is probably why I love it so much.
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As I said, there are very few brands that show during NYFW that I actually follow, but special mention to these:
A brand I have never heard of, and it was very vintage inspired but still felt a little trend-based. Super fun nonetheless.
Obviously! I love Batsheva. Her shows are always so fun too. I'd love to own one of her dresses. <3
This show has been doing the rounds online because of the absolutely beautiful menswear that was shown. Very reminiscent of Simone Rocha FW22 with an almost love heart shaped back cut out. Stunning!
Thanks to their genius choice of influencer marketing - which is not something I say lightly or often - Coach seems to be having a bit of a comeback. This show gave me Marc Jacobs vibes, in a really good way. Loved the babydoll dresses, and the multi-coloured jumpers were reminiscent of Linmick's work, which is not really a good thing but she is an ambassador for them so clearly no shady business is going on. Loved the slouchy messenger bags too.
LFW
I think London Fashion Week is my favourite. Most of my favourite younger brands show, and it overall looks a bit less hectic than NYFW.
I discovered this brand through Mandy Lee, of one of my favourite
TikTok accounts, and she always looks amazing wearing their pieces. It's not a brand I would ever wear, but they too have such a clear brand identity and there's nothing else really like them on the market at the moment. Their pieces are so extravagant and loud but so wearable at the same time. I think they have a very bright future ahead of them, especially considering this was their first runway show!
Previously Charlotte Knowles, Knwls is another brand that doesn't really fit my personal style but I love checking out what they're showing each season. It's like a cool, chic version of what I Am Gia wishes it was.
Such a cute brand. They produce such wearable and timeless pieces.
A brand I have never heard of before, and would probably never wear, but has shaken up the internet a bit because she showed her collection in total silence, with the models walking at a sexy snail's pace around the room. Very cool to see a newer brand disrupting the traditional runway rules in such a subtle way.
I always look forward to seeing Molly's shows. I've said this so many times throughout this piece already, but she is another brand with such a clear brand identity, and does a fantastic job at building upon the world she has already created.
A newcomer to LFW and this year's LVMH prize winner, S. S. Daley has a gorgeous brand vision. The perfect mix of kitschy and cute mixed with classic tailoring. The show featured a lot of bunny motifs - several models were wearing huge bunny ears - and very English florals, invoking images of a classic English countryside garden. In
Sarah Mower's review of the show on Vogue Runway, she mentions how the show was "based this time around a dramatised reading of the love letters between Vita Sackville West and Violet Trefusius. They played it on a set evoking Sackville West's famed white garden at Sissinghurst." I love a literary reference, and Daley does it so well.
I don't know too much about Yuhan Wang, but I love seeing what she does each season. This collection featured beautiful florals and lace, and I loved the asymmetrical thigh/knee high floral socks. She always has a really great juxtaposition between sexy, sheer, form-fitting garments, mixed with really classic girly florals. I love it. There was also a super cute flight and airplane motif going on in this collection. The idea of escaping and freedom seems to be a running thread with brands this fashion month.
As we all know, I am a huge Simone Rocha fan. Perhaps her #1 fan, if I may say so myself. Her shows always really set a tone for me for the next few months, and every time I return to look at them I notice something else to inspire me. This SS23 show was also her introduction of menswear to her repertoire, which was incredibly exciting. I woke up at 3am to watch the livestream, which I always think is so worth it. It's really special knowing I am seeing the collection at the same time as all the important people in the physical audience. Anyway, this show was absolutely not what I expected. I am still digesting it, and thus struggling to compress my thoughts on it into concise sentences. There were some things I really loved and some things I really didn't, which honestly never happens with Simone shows for me. There was a real lightness about this show, especially compared to her past few collections.
Alice Newbold's Vogue article on the collection says how Simone was really thinking about harnessing emotion, which very literally translates into her use of harnesses and straps, reminiscent of
Junya Wantanabe's Spring 2003 show.
Mandy (oldloserinbrooklyn on TikTok), another huge Simone fan, mentioned in her first impressions video how she thought the show seemed very over-designed, which is not unlike a Simone show. I think for me, it had a strange almost streetwear feel to it, with the inclusion of backpacks rather than leather handbags, and her new ballet/sneaker hybrid shoe, when we used to exclusively see slides and kitten heels in her shows. We still saw those in this show too, but it seems as if she is expanding. Perhaps it is the presence of menswear, but it lacks a lady-like and feminine feel that usually feels overwhelming in a Simone show. It's still incredibly feminine, and has all of the Simone DNA, but there is definitely a different atmosphere present. In some ways it felt like a much tougher side of Simone, which I think we first saw in her FW2021 show. There were more trousers than usual, and more mini skirts too, I think. I also think there was a strange lack of hair clips and accessories, and absolutely no broderie, both of which have become Simone signatures.
This all sounds like a negative review, but I think this is perhaps one of those collections in which I will love individual pieces more than whole looks. I adored the blurry florals, and am so pleased that she has shown two new iterations of her bow embroidery, which we saw in SS22. The menswear was overall fantastic, especially the shirting with the large embroidered florals. The beaded socks and sandals are gorgeous, and I am such a big fan of the sneakers shown on some of the menswear looks. It kind of just feels like Simone had a lot of fun making and designing this collection. As I mentioned earlier, there is a real lightness to it, whereas she often works with the tension between beauty and darkness.
I really hope she does some form of interview about the collection, as I'd love to hear her design process and where she took her inspiration from. It's so interesting how much the presence of menswear disrupted (not in a bad way!) the atmosphere that we have come to know so well. I wonder if this Simone is turning a new page, or just having fun after years of being locked down.
Anyway, here are my favourite looks/details:
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| This is the look that prompted many people to compare it to Junya Wantanabe's Spring 2003 collection, and I can see why. No shade though, it's beautiful. I love the floral. |
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| One of my favourite looks. This mini dress silhouette is new as of FW22, and I adore it. So wearable. I love the thigh high socks, and the gloves are super interesting. |
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| I adore this shirting. I think it's beautiful. The skirt? skort? short? is really cute too. I can see this look becoming very popular in the men's fashion world. |
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| Love the matching sock + sandal combo. |
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| I was so curious to see how Simone would juxtapose her hyper-feminine brand identity with menswear, and I think this is a pretty good summary. I love it. I would love to see a celeb wearing it on the red carpet. |
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| This frill pattern is taken from SS22 socks, I believe, and I love it on the jacket. All these pieces are really simple shapes with a twist of Simone, and I think that makes her menswear pieces a bit more commercial. |
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| A classic. Love! |
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| A very unrestrained look, but classic Simone and I love it. |
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| I love the flower pearl bag, and this is such a great photo to see the details of the floral prints. They're gorgeous. |
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| I love the embellished pearl egg bag. These sell out every season. |
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| The back detail of this dress is stunning. |
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| I LOVE these heels! Simone has been doing perspex heels since the beginning of her brand, and I absolutely love this ballet-sneaker-heel version of them. They look so wearable and comfortable. |
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| I think we are going to see iterations of this bag all of next season. It's so cute. |
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| Another good close up of the florals. <3 Love the beaded earrings too. |
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| Adore these menswear sneakers. These will be so popular. |
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| Simone does cotton poplin so well and I love this embroidery. It feels really fresh. |
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I just love bow embroidery, ok! I have a tattoo of the bow embroidery from SS22 so maybe I need to get this one on the other arm....
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| This is perhaps my favourite floral print. |
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| One of the last looks shown. That lace embroidery is just amazing. |
There are still a couple of days left of London Fashion Week for this season, but not many brands I am too interested in. Perhaps I'll see you back here in a couple of weeks for my review of Paris and Milan...
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