Field notes from the fall 2024 season of fashion week in New York
And some thoughts on what is gained and lost from the burgeoning establishment
Greetings from somewhere neither windy nor cold.
One thing that has been on my mind a lot lately is what happens at the point at which a product makes the transition from indie to establishment. I think in a way we’re approaching that moment with Substack, with so many writers of different genres coming over and probably without even meaning to, creating standards (the “what” “everyone is talking about,”) for what it means to cover x and/or succeed (what defines high engagement, a big audience, etc) on the platform.
It’s affirming on the one hand because ships rise together — writers fortify the communities and industries from which they spring and whether intentionally or not, I think in a way, we also keep each other close to the work, feeling less like isolated astronauts floating in open space and more like humans in consistent dialogue. My experience as a writer and reader on Substack is made infinitely better but the half dozen or so fashion newsletters I subscribe to.
The barrier to entry is also made less daunting when there is a standard — when you know what you want to cover and there exists a model for how to do it, you’re more likely to throw your hat into the ring, to feel confident that you can do it too (in 2010, blogs like fashiontoast, Style Rookie and Sea of Shoes made me feel like I could start Man Repeller).
So we get a lot more people launching their things and some of these people, which may never have tried if they didn’t know which way to turn once they got here, have the power to, I’m not exaggerating, change our lives with their work.
But one negative side effect of anything becoming establishment is that the very same standards that make it easier to start make it harder to find the freedom to shape shift and experiment as you’re going. To take creative risks.
It’s one of the big trappings of expectations, you know? That it becomes really easy to fold yourself into the systems and standards that have been set (maybe that you have set), and to keep on the train indefinitely.
It’s safe and it can feel really comforting for a while, and having a structure to work into is important. But inevitably what happens when you’re in a system for too long without lifting your head is that the kind of risk taking that is essential to creative progress starts to suffocate and in a way, the product begins to die.
So rarely do I think of creativity in terms of life and death but more and more I am learning that without a focus on the preservation of creative energy — pattern disruption, routine breaking — in a person’s life, we lose our motivation, our will. Everything is on automatic and so it gets dull.
Part of how this happens is that we lose contact with our respective senses of vulnerability, which is often what grounds us in the present, saturating the colors as we see them.
We start to feel vulnerable when we’re uncomfortable, and discomfort is not often associated in the mind with feeling good. But maintaining even just a small bit of discomfort all the time might be the difference between progress and presence and stagnancy.
The basic premise here can be applied to the success and progress of fashion weeks — it takes a designer taking emotional risks for clothes to feel alive, and when they feel alive is exactly when clothes have the power to move us.
This principle can be applied to your own life too. If everything feels a little grey might just mean it’s time to put a small piece of yourself on the line.
A few trends I picked up on from on and around the New York runways this past week:
It looks like we’re doing leggings-as-pants again, or that was the vibe with Sandy Liang, Judy Turner, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Bevza.
Sandy Liang fall 2024 
Judy Turner fall 2024 
3.1 Phillip Lim fall 2024 
Bevza fall 2024 Bubble hems are slowly inching their way into the zeitgeist. The instances on deck in New York this season included only Maria McManus and Judy Turner, but last month in Paris, Patou showed some at his Fall 2024 show too. I’ll date this one back to Jil Sander’s summer 2023 collection, well-knowing my depth of perception might be a little hollow right now.
Maria McManus fall 2024 and actually, while we’re here, these *are* leggings too: 
Feeling strongly about a robust belt buckle to wear over seamless clothes too Gloves are part of the outfit. Or so the sentiment was conveyed at Kallmeyer, Altuzarra and Proenza Schouler. Maybe this means phones are out of fashion.
A closeup from Kallmeyer’s fall 2024 presentation at La Mercerie Fun caps might be The Winter Reprieve. At Colleen Adams, Fforme and Altuzarra, I got the strong feeling that as we tumble deeper into the current trend cycle, the key to enjoying wearing winter clothes — that is, to feel like you’re having fun getting dressed, is actually all about the accessories you choose.
Fforme (pronounced form!) fall 2024 
Altuzarra fall 2024 The thing is, they’re not wild and out there like a gigantic fuzzy hat necessarily. The swim cap inspired knits harken back to the headgear Prada showed for her Spring 2024 women’s collection (September) and then again for men’s last month in Paris.
Prada spring 2024 
Prada men’s fall 2024 This — the fun hats (and sheer lens sunglasses) is actually something I’ve been thinking about too: what it means to have fun getting dressed. Like finding a way to enjoy the process no matter what impediment you might have up against you. I think it’s an element of what lives at the center of why I care so much about clothes, which I’ve not yet articulated in clear terms. Getting dressed is just a moment in your day and so I understand why it’s easy to write it off as a thing that you have to check off your morning routine’s to-dos, but putting a little work into figuring out what suits you can in fact arm you with the confidence it takes to feel more fluid and free in your own skin.
Key insights on this front: the size you wear can be the difference between loving your clothes and hating them. This goes both ways as far as sizing up and sizing down. When you size up to make something fit bigger, you want to make sure it’s a seamless garment — a men’s style button down (no darting) or t-shirt or straight sweater. My rule of thumb tends to be (esp in the winter with pants): one size bigger than you’re used to before you size down to regular. I cannot tell you how many one-size-up bottoms have saved me from hating my tops/overall closet.
The other insight: it takes more work to find inspiration getting dressed in the winter, which also brings you a greater chance of expressing big creative ideas — like those sheer lens sunglasses and knit swim caps at Fforme, or this sequined Margiela cap I impulsively bought when I saw it on Denise, a Cereal Aisle reader, at a mini meet-up we had last week. (This probably would have been the lower stakes, still-high impact choice, huh?)
Right alongside the current cobalt boom is next season’s emphasis on pool blue, as seen at Tory Burch, Gabriela Hearst and Auralee (didn’t show in New York — this collection was released during Men’s week in Paris in Jan). I expected that a color boom would follow once brown became the new black, and have to assume this shift will likely result in the end of minimalism as we have known it. I absolutely intend to wear this neon button down throughout the summer.
Tory Burch fall 2024 
Auralee fall 2024 (shown in Paris last month during men’s week)
A few trends I picked up on around the runways (so on the people attending the shows):
Personality hats galore. Be they box shaped, knotted, beret-ed or just a colorful beanie (most of the ones I noticed were red). And if it wasn’t a personality hat, it was a fashion look counterbalanced with a baseball cap. Nothing new, but something about it looks fresher than usual. I love how Gabriela Hearst looked when she took her post show bow:
Shit tons of leather outerwear. Motorcycle jackets did circulate, but the vast majority were more akin to a trench or that one from Toteme everyone’s wearing (me too, I found it on sale for $1250 last month and snatched her right up). Here is the one that predates Toteme — from Turkey and purchased (by my grandmother) in the early 80s:
And towards the end of the week, leopard print too. Last winter I posited that leopard print might be a trend again but now I think it’s more just like, as we inch closer to the end of the winter and start to feel bored and dull but want to look alive, leopard print is such an effective perk up. I saw a few blazers styled on men this week, with light wash jeans and sunglasses and layers of sweaters and they looked really good. Recently got this fringe number from the Turkish brand, La Commune Magique.
It no doubt has to be the main event. And I think it’s better suited with a plain lightweight turtleneck underneath but still needs plain jeans and probably sneakers (Converse/Superga), in case it appeals to you too.
Did anything perk you up this week? The swim caps were a big one for me. I’m into the return of leggings too — it’s fun texture to add styled under a dress or skirt and looks interesting in knee cap-form with tights.
I also liked this impractical sweater cape thing (to look at, probably not wear) from Bevza.
At Tory Burch, my favorite styling was like a continuation from Spring 2024 with ethereal mini dresses styled under structured jackets.
Charlie, who helps me with photos for the newsletter and formatting for Cafe Leandra mentioned that her favorite trend to emerge was what she saw as a new take on American dressing — I didn’t see it at first but after she said it, I looked back at Willy Chavarria and Luar and they did convey interpretations on a more realistic, or modern American dream. A sort of taking back of western style.
Colleen Allen, a menswear designer (with experience from The Row) launched her debut women’s collection last week in Tribeca.
You may have already seen it on social media if you follow FW. She was an editor favorite — unsurprising for a number of reasons least not being the creative shape-shiftiness endemic to a fresh brand’s emergence.
But the February fashion week season is also always kind of drag. Everyone’s sick of wearing winter clothes, and yet here we are, looking at more winter clothes. So when a bright spot shines through the doldrum, you can’t help but cling to it.
Some of those bright spots from Allen’s debut: silk capris, the deconstructed looking tops that were made from muslin and silk (above), this one purple skirt that applied both too (also above), and the white knit caps she styled with.
Everyone loved the red jacket made from polar fleece with boning, which was great too but the other pieces really stuck out because of the tender rawness about them. Allen mentioned that she decided to make women’s clothes following a sort of spiritual opening that took place within her last summer. As she explained, it woke her up to a blooming and entirely new self-definition of femininity.
This is what fashion does at its best, you know? Lay bare these huge and gorgeous and complicated feelings as it attempts to distill them into these delectable, digestible components we can feel.
I’m taking next week off, but I’ll see you back here the next one to discuss the pressing question of WHAT to wear to dinner.
Have a great weekend,
Leandra
My tip: have a set time each day/ week when you log on to social media. Schedule it like an exercise class or a chore with a set time frame rather than a leisure pursuit. Give it boundaries, basically
SIZING up in winter pants = genius.
I’m still in midst of bi-coastal wardrobe madness cull & no pants are safe 🤣🤣 my process of rifling thru clothing racks .. pulling things off to sell/consign/donate..
Since I’ve become ruthless about comfort .. even the slightest bit of effort w buttons, clasps & those pants are OuT!!!!
If I cannot tuck a merino wool into that waistband… that is a pair of pants that’s bound to make me roll my eyes. 😂😂