Women in Fashion Weeks Part 1: New York

Fashion weeks are some of the largest, most celebrated events in the fashion industry. Lasting about a week long and taking place in many different cities worldwide, fashion weeks are a time for designers and designer brands to showcase their recent collections to the media, typically through events such as runway fashion shows. The most highly recognized fashion weeks include New York Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, and Milan Fashion Week. New York Fashion Weeks (commonly referred to as NYFW) in particular occur every year in September and February in Manhattan, New York City, consistently drawing the public eye to fashion through the many resulting magazine articles and social media posts paying tribute to the world of clothes. Although invitees of fashion shows are often restricted to celebrities and people working in the fashion industry, the themes threaded into designer collections and working their way into magazines are deeply influential in the coming year’s fashion trends, both in the extreme upper class and in the new collections of common everyday clothing stores. During fashion week in these cities, streetwear escalates as well, as people greatly step up their fashion game, whether they are attending a fashion show or not.

It’s no secret that fashion tends to be associated with ultra femininity. Modern fashion frequently has all genders donning skirts, dresses, florals, and hot pink. When we think of models and catwalks, we generally picture Bella and Gigi Hadid, rather than male models such as David Gandy and Tyson Beckford. Many aspects of what makes the fashion industry fashionable, such as makeup and vanity, are stereotypically feminine. The fashion industry is made up of more women than men, and yet, behind the curtain, men dominate the fashion world. As written in a Vogue Australia article, “​​Men who enter female-dominated fields shoot straight to the top; women find themselves pushing against an invisible barrier.” Most of the most widely recognized designer fashion brands were founded by male designers, such as Ralph Lauren, Gianni Versace, Oscar de la Renta, Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, and Jean Paul Gaultier. Business of Fashion says that “only 14 percent of major brands are run by a female executive.” Despite how feminine we believe fashion is, major fashion brands rarely begin from a real feminine touch.

Fashion Week, however, is a celebration of all designers, fashionistas, and styles, of all genders, races, ages, and prestige. With headlines such as Can Female Designers Save New York Fashion Week? and Women Designers Dominated London Fashion Week, it is no secret that female designers are on the rise. Women in fashion around the world are finding bigger, better ways to celebrate women: they’re designing better clothes for women, showing off their incredible talent, and expressing themselves through their art. The diversification of the fashion industry only makes for internationally better fashion for genuine, real people. Here are some of the top female designers from New York Fashion Week to learn about, learn from, and admire:

Women of NYFW:

photos courtesy of Carolina Herrera

Carolina Herrera, founder of the self-titled designer brand, was born in 1939 in Caracas, Venezuela. As her family was of upper class status, Herrera had access to viewings of Balenciaga fashion shows early on in life, and developed an interest in fashion at a young age. She moved from Venezuela to New York at the age of 41, in 1980. Her elegant designs immediately caught the attention and praise of the media and the fashionistas around her. They exhibited a unique level of sophistication that many women appreciated. She styled many famous women over her career, such as Caroline Kennedy and Taylor Swift. She eventually began selling successful fragrances as well. Today, her designs remain simple, yet with a certain regal flair. The latest Carolina Herrera collection was inspired by the famous movie The Secret Garden, displaying many vibrant colors and floral patterns. View one of her collections here: The Carolina Herrera Spring Summer 2022 Collection

photos courtesy of Vogue Runway

Kim Shui was born in the United States, but she was raised in Rome, Italy, for the vast majority of her life. Her work reflects the diversity of her background, in her Beijing and Sichuan ethnicity, upbringing in Italy, and education in America, London, and Paris. She draws inspiration from the arts as well, in visual arts, film, and music. Shui graduated from Duke University in 2011 before going on to attend Parsons The New School of Design and Central St. Martins. Her first NYFW was in 2016, where she showed off her Autumn/Winter 2016 collection. She has since won many awards and been recognized by many labels and magazines. Her works are thought provoking and nearly futuristic. View one of her latest collections here: Kim Shui Spring 2022 Ready-to-Wear Collection

photos courtesy of Paper magazine

Sintra Martins of the brand Saint Sintra has already, at the young age of 25, dressed iconic celebrities such as Willow, Sydney Sweeney, and Olivia Rodrigo for the brutal music video. Similarly to Kim Shui, she also graduated from Parsons, though she had come from Los Angeles, California. Her first, smaller collection partook in the clowncore trend, and her collections since, both within NYFW and outside of it, have maintained that youthful feel with color, silhouettes, and fabrics. Apart from clowncore she has considered many other assets of culture overall, such as bimbo couture and armored knights. View her runway debut here: Saint Sintra's Runway Debut Is the Start of Something Big

Female fashion designers of all different generations and cultural backgrounds have been thriving lately, in all aspects of the fashion world. Here’s to recognizing and celebrating successful women!