This week, as New York Fashion Week winds down, we take a look at the lack of color on many of the runways this season and the brands that bucked the trend, and what it means for the state of the industry.
It’s not just your imagination: New York Fashion Week was more visually subdued than ever.
While there were pops of color to be found on the runways this season, you were far more likely to see monochrome looks, heavy dark fabrics and neutral colors. The sameness of all that monochrome was enough to prompt a provocatively-titled Washington Post op-ed from Rachel Tashjian: “When did New York Fashion Week get so boring?”
Tashjian noted that brands like Diotima, Proenza Schouler, Altuzzara and Tibi, among others, had a tendency toward the same silhouettes and color palettes. Hilary Milnes, the Americas editor for Vogue Business (and formerly an editor at Glossy), noted a similar trend on her Instagram story. The Glossy team reported seeing the same trend, including on the runways and racks from big brands like Khaite to many of the smaller brands showing at the Venue Collective showcase in the West Village.
Data from Tagwalk, a fashion data analytics company, forecasted a 241% increase in gray looks on the runway this season. The focus on safe and same is part of an ongoing trend in fashion since the onset of tariffs earlier this year. As brands are increasingly facing an uncertain market, focusing on seasonless, core products could be seen as a safer bet until the market stabilizes.
But not every brand avoided color. Patbo, the Brazilian brand started by designer Patricia Bonaldi over 20 years ago, held a show on Tuesday. In accordance with the theme “Latin Soul,” the collection was bright and varied, with vivid colors mixed in with neutrals. Bonaldi told Glossy that color has always been an intrinsic part of her designs.
“I’m talking about the Latin woman, the Latin soul,” Bonaldi said. “I couldn’t exclude color. When I started in Brazil, the only way to be chic was to wear black or white. But this was not the way I see fashion. For me, fashion is about expression, and color is what I like. For me, it’s the only way to do it.”
The bright colors also fit nicely with Patbo’s current position as a flourishing business with a lot of growth ahead. In the last few years, Patbo has opened its first stores in the U.S., including a Miami boutique last fall, and grown its direct-to-consumer business to make up half of its revenue. This season’s show also served as the debut for the latest category added to the Patbo assortment: footwear. The shoes will be available only online and in Patbo’s owned stores until it’s presented to retailers later this year.
For Bonaldi, the theme of bright colors also served as a deeper message as one of the few Latin-American designers showing at New York Fashion Week. At a time when harsh crackdown on immigration in the U.S. is leading both to a steep decline in tourism to the U.S. and frequent international tensions like the ongoing clash with South Korea, there’s more reason than ever to skip New York Fashion Week. And while other Latin-American designers like Willy Chavarria have decamped to Paris, Bonaldi has remained focused on New York Fashion Week every season since her first show in 2021.
“I am trying to send a message with my clothes,” she said. “I’m proud of being a Latina woman and presenting in the U.S., even with all the challenges. It’s a hard moment, but I’ve been developing the business here for eight years. I have a team here. We have a lot of Americans working for Patbo who are very connected with the team in Brazil. We are a global brand, and I wanted to communicate resilience.”
Another brand with a chromatically daring show was Cucculelli Shaheen. The custom made-to-order brand run by husband-and-wife designers Anna Shaheen and Anthony Cucculelli held a sunset show at Pier 40 on Monday evening. The collection was full of vivid jade greens and golden embellishments.
“We always like to pull inspiration from cultural things we experience,” Shaheen told Glossy before the show. “We went to the Frick on opening day and the colors were just so beautiful, so rich and tactile. We always do a decent amount of color, but it goes in cycles. When we first started, we were very loud and colorful, then after Covid, we were a bit more subdued. Now, we’re doing way more color — more over the top, more maximalist.”
The brand was joined by a number of other designers like Zankov, Libertine and Melke that all made far greater use of color than others.
Because Cucculleli Shaheen is mostly custom, the designers can afford to be more adventurous with their designs. But Shaheen also said that, as a smaller brand, there’s a need to make the most out of its shows. The pieces on the runway, for example, will all be sold, which is not always the case for conceptual pieces that brands showcase.
“I’m not going to make an $80,000 dress that’s not going to get sold afterward,” Shaheen said. “It has to be worth the investment.”
The focus on custom has also meant that Cucculelli Shaheen has transitioned toward a mostly direct-to-consumer business, with a few wholesale accounts for discovery purposes. Shaheen said customers often discover the brand through a retailer then buy direct when they want a higher level of service. But like many brands, Cucculleli Shaheen has had to navigate the challenging environment that wholesale fashion retail is currently in.
“It’s really challenging,” Shaheen said. “We have moved away from some retailers because we can’t afford to wait a year or a year and a half to get paid. But we have a good relationship with a few retailers who give us a deposit and then pay within a month. Those are the ones we want to keep.”
News to know
- Gosha Rubchinsky, the Russian designer who closed his brand in 2018 after allegations of soliciting explicit images from minors, is relaunching. Rubchinsky is rebuilding the brand from scratch. He joins other designers who were previously accused of inappropriate behavior attempting comebacks, like Alexander Wang, who showed at New York Fashion Week this season.
- At a Uniqlo event in New York this week, founder Tadashi Yanai said he expects that it’s the U.S. economy and customer who will suffer the most from ongoing chaos created by tariffs and their inconsistent application.
- A rumor that Adidas may be preparing a takeover attempt of Puma sent the latter’s stock price up 5% this week. Neither company publicly commented on the rumor. The merger would unite the legacies of brothers Rudolf Dassler, who founded Puma, and Adi Dassler, who founded Adidas. The brothers worked at the same footwear company in the early 20th century but had a falling out before founding their respective companies in the 1940s.
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