NYFW FW24 Trends: Refined style, collegiate looks and lingerie silhouettes dominate the runways

There has been some criticism leveled at New York Fashion Week recently and a certain amount of it is valid; location-wise it’s all-over the place, the cost to put on shows is prohibitive, the sponsorships of yesteryear are gone, and so forth.

On the other hand, for those of us ‘mature’ enough to remember back to the 80’s and 90’s, New York fashion has always been a tale of two cities; uptown chic versus downtown cool. Thirty-odd years ago, season after season, year after year, the Week began with Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta at The Plaza, and ended with Geoffrey Beene across the street at The Pierre. In-between, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan et al, used their showrooms on 7th Avenue to present their current collections. The only invited guests were store buyers and the press.

At night, those same attendees went to the downtown clubs and restaurants to mingle with young designers they had read about in ‘The Village Voice’ and ‘Details Magazine’. Don’t forget that while Marc Jacobs celebrates 40 years in the business this year, and is considered part of the NYC Old Guard, when he tried to marry the two parts of NYC fashion with his 1992 ‘Grunge’ collection for Perry Ellis, he was summarily fired from his job.

With its influencers, street style stars and major celebrities sitting front row, present-day NYFW might seem a very different proposition from 30 or 40 years ago. But the fact of the matter is that the industry infrastructure hasn’t really changed and until that does, no amount of runway shows will fix it.

On the bright side, New York is still the first major city to show, (even though Copenhagen becomes more relevant with every passing season). It acts as a bellwether for what to expect to see in London, Milan and Paris, so for industry professionals wanting to get a jumpstart on the season, it’s prudent to review the key trends seen at NYFW. Here are four of the strongest.

Refined Style

Dressing in a refined and even ‘ladylike’ style is in the zeitgeist. The current TV show, ‘Feud: Capote vs. the Swans,’ with its couture-attired seventies-era socialites perfectly captures its essence. Capes, dinner suits, sheath dresses and yards of Chanel-like bouclé tweed are at the center of this trend, perfect for emulating the strong and confident ‘ladies who lunch’ of the Upper East Side.

Badgley Mischka

Look 24: an ochre-colored bouclé mid-length dress with a pearl trim and leather boots.

Carolina Herrera

Look 44: a slim-fit black turtle neck knit top and a mid-length satin skirt with floral embroidery, yellow patent pumps, a red clutch and wide black belt.

Sandy Liang

Look 25: a brown and cream flecked tweed two-piece suit with a scoop-neck fitted jacket and knee-length skirt. Accessories included black ballet slippers and black shoulder bag.

Tory Burch

Look 1: a tweed fit and flare knee-length dress with sheer knee-length socks and point-toe flats.

Pamella Roland

Look 5: a black two-piece suit with a cherry blossom print; a one button fitted jacket with a deep vee and a full, gored, mid-length skirt.

Inside Out

As the saying goes, ‘What goes around comes around.’ explaining the recent fascination with ‘nineties and Y2K styles. The image of Kate Moss in a slip dress is part of fashion history. Lingerie looks, including slips and corsetry in satin and silk fabrics, were prevalent during NYFW FW24.

Joseph Altuzarra

Look 42: a black lace skirt slip and semi-sheer black bustier with sequin embellishment.

Eckhaus Latta

Look 30: a silver satin short slip under a black sheer overlay with embroidered embellishments

Michael Kors

Look 7: a black satin knee-length slip dress with a lace bodice and hemline.

Ludovic de Saint Sernin

Look 6: a black satin slip dress with gold placed print and border.

Tory Burch

Look 30: a black leather bodysuit in a crocodile pressed pattern under a sheer black embellished waist slip.

Prep Rally

It’s been an astonishing 44 years since Lisa Birnbach published the ‘Official Preppy Handbook.’ What was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek guide to emulating wealthy and WASPY Americans, turned into a blueprint of what to wear, for a diverse crowd of fashion lovers. Never really out of style ever since, prep school looks abounded this season with Tommy Hilfiger leading the way.

Anna Sui

Look 17: a printed knit zip up jacket, mini skirt and beanie with an argyle sweater and matching socks, conversation print silk scarf and slingbacks.

Helmut Lang

Look 31: a plaid wool oversized top and fringed hem skirt with matching boots, all in red, cream and black.

Tommy Hilfiger

Look 16: a black shearling jacket with a logo over a cream-colored cable knit sweater, a red, black and cream micro-mini tweed skirt; sheer knee length socks and loafers.

Meilke: designer, Emma Gage

Look 16: a thick ivory colored rolled neck sweater with fish embellishments with a plaid pleated mid-length skirt, red hose and Dr Marten lace-ups.

Sandy Liang

Look 10: a navy zip-up jacket with rosette embellishment over a thick navy knit and a white pleated knee-length skirt accessorized by white ballet slippers.

It’s a Wrap

Many New York designers played with the idea of cocooning, being well wrapped up against the cold of winter. Puffers, shawls and oversized scarves all still continue to check, as well as a more refined style of knitwear.

Fforme: designer, Paul Helber

Look 20: a long-sleeved cream-colored wrap front top with embellished trim over banana shaped pants

Jason Wu

Look 3: a grey mohair sweater with wrapped shoulders and a charcoal grey wrap maxi skirt

Brandon Maxwell

Look 2: a pale grey rib sweater-knit dress with wrapped shoulders and a scarf in the same color

Prabal Gurung

Look 19: a bi-colored blue wool jacket with wrapped scarf front over a turquoise two-piece pant suit

Tibi: designer, Amy Smilovic

Look 19: a camel-colored knit coat over a matching sweater over a black patent skirt accessorized by ankle socks and point toe pumps in bronze.