Stepping out New York City Style is a big statement, especially during this week when Manhattan once again welcomed designers, fashion editors, buyers, and style aficionados for the latest iteration of NYFW (New York Fashion Week). Showcasing an array of American and international talents that graced the runways with their visions for Spring and Summer collections of 2025. Our September issue takes a fashionable-sized bite of the Big Apple - from designer insiders and highlights to inspirations for Where & Wear these collections will take us to new Scene & Seen destinations . . .
New York City style
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Global designers, models and A-list celebrities to influencers, editors and fashion insiders converged on Manhattan to catch a glimpse of the latest Spring - Summer 2025 season trends during New York City's most fashionable time of the year. The week was buzzing with designer pop-ups, store events, and public events all around town. The NYFW schedule kicked off on September 6th with AREA, global avant-garde favourite and closed out with CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner, Melitta Baumeister - a designer known for her boundary-pushing creations. The season’s lineup was a thrilling mix of legacy labels, celebrity-fav brands and emerging designers. With over 60 runway shows and designer presentations, plus additional collections presented digitally and by appointment. Returning brands included - 3.1 Phillip Lim, Alejandra Alonso Rojas, Andrew Kwon, Brandon Maxwell, Carolina Herrera, Coach, Collina Strada, Delpozo, Diotima, Eckhaus Latta, Elena Velez, Jason Wu, Jonathan Cohen, Kallmeyer, Khaite, Lafayette 148, LaQuan Smith, Luar, Michael Kors, Monse, Naeem Khan, PatBo, PH5, Prabal Gurung, Rio Sport, Sandy Liang, Sergio Hudson, Theophilio, Tibi, Tory Burch, Ulla Johnson, Willy Chavarria, COS, Cynthia Rowley, Simkhai, Who Decides War and Zankov. First-time appearances in NYC by Off-White, Ronald van der Kemp, TOTEME, Cotte D’Armes, Michael Fausto, Salon 1884 and TWP were presented and the season marked the 20th Anniversary of the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund with finalist brands 5000, Grace Ling, Kate Barton, Jane Wade, L’Enchanteur, Presley Oldham, Sebastien Ami, and Wiederhoeft unveiling their collections. Ralph Lauren staged a lead up in the Hamptons on September 5th and Proenza Schouler presented their off-program runway two days earlier. We've highlighted some of our top New York designer inspirations.
NYC STYLE
"Where & Wear"
THE DESIGNER
ULLA JOHNSON
ULLA JOHNSON west coast flagship store
8823 Beverly Blvd. West Hollywood
Ulla Johnson was born and raised in Manhattan to archaeologist parents, she honed her signature style between the streets of New York and destinations of her family travels. She founded her line in 1998 after graduation from university and immediately caught the attention of the fashion press. Starting with only a handful of boutiques and an early endorsement from Barneys New York, Ulla's collection grew a dedicated following across the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Her steadfast attention to the details of construction have become her hallmark - basing each of her collections on a foundation of natural fibers, beautiful finishing, and ease of fit and form. The New York based designer recently also opened a flagship store in West Hollywood. Filled with the brand’s ready-to-wear collections, including swim wear and her sustainable denim collection made in Los Angeles, plus limited-edition pieces designed exclusively for the store and a curation of fine jewelry in conjunction with New York company Kentshire. The 3,000-sq-foot space features a solarium of Malibu nursery plants and a 16-foot Brachychiton tree. Furnishings and sculptures are crafted primarily by local artisans made of organic materials - woven raffia, resin, burl wood, handwoven textiles mixed with vintage finds and with rotating art installations and series talks on cultural topics. While in L.A. looking for her new space, Ulla stayed at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel, enamored by its aesthetic created by Kelly Wearstler - she hired Wearstler to design her L.A. store.
THE INSPIRATION
Santa Monica Proper Hotel
SANTA MONICA PROPER HOTEL
700 Wilshire Boulevard Santa Monica, CA
Santa Monica’s first and only luxury lifestyle hotel - the Santa Monica Proper is ideally located within walking distance to the beach and situated in the city’s vibrant heart just steps away from boutique shopping, health-conscious cafes, renowned farmers market, and exquisite dining. The 267 rooms and suites designed by Kelly Wearstler, capture the essence of local history and landscape - harnessing the natural light and ocean breezes that reflect the local coastline’s organic tones and textures. The hotel features a Balearic elevated rooftop restaurant & bar serving fresh, vibrant Mediterranean and California cuisine with natural wines, seasonal cocktails and small-batch spirits. Whether from the sundeck or the circular bar, you can enjoy the breathtaking views of the surf, coastline, mountains, and cityscape along with exclusive access to the Westside’s only rooftop pool deck and cabanas. The Surya Spa offers Eastern-inspired treatments from acclaimed Ayurvedic doctor, chef, and herbalist Martha Soffer, centered around age-old Indian wellness principles from the leaders of modern Ayurveda - therapeutic massage, steam and oil treatments, cooking, yoga, meditation, Dosha Yoga consultations, and cleansing Panchakarma programs. Afternoon high tea is available Fridays-Sundays in the cozy and art-filled Palma Lounge with seasonal teas, curated bites & endless bubbles - perfect for a cherished afternoon ritual.
photos courtesy of Santa Monica Proper
THE DESIGNER
ECKHAUS LATTA
ECKHAUS LATTA
75 E Broadway, New York City
Eckhaus Latta is an American fashion brand with locations in New York City and Los Angeles known for their use of unexpected materials exploring texture and tactility in their designs and for incorporating writing, performance and video into their vision. In 2018, Eckhaus Latta opened a show at the Whitney Museum - Possessed, which was the first fashion-related exhibition at the museum in 21 years. The label previously exhibited their sculptural collage of fashion, fine art and video, in group shows at MoMA and Hammer Museum and nominated for the LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) Prize 2018.
THE INSPIRATION
Whitney Museum
WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
99 Gansevoort Street, New York City
The Whitney Museum of American Art is a must-see New York destination - the preeminent institution devoted to the art of the United States, presenting the full range of twentieth century and contemporary American art, with a special focus on works by living artists. Located in Manhattan's Meatpacking District steps away from the Hudson River Greenway and the West Side Highway. Opening on September 25th - Edges of Ailey is the first large-scale museum exhibition to celebrate the life, dances, influences & legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey. Bringing together art, history, live performance, and music to explore the full range of Alvin Ailey’s passions, curiosities and creative output. Presented at the Museum in two parts, Edges of Ailey consists of an immersive exhibition in the Museum’s 18,000 square-foot fifth-floor galleries featuring works by more than 80 artists (including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden, Faith Ringgold, Alma Thomas, Jacob Lawrence, Rashid Johnson, Kevin Beasley, Kara Walker, and many others) and an ambitious suite of performances in the Museum’s 3rd-floor theater, including AILEY in residence for one week each month during the exhibition. Tickets are limited and must be booked in advance - exhibition runs September 25th, 2024 through February 9th, 2025 TICKETS HERE
New York City style
PARCELLE + HOUSE OF DAGMAR Dinner Greenwich Village - Karin Söderlind and Sofia Wallenstam, granddaughters of the seamstress who fostered the ethos of their family-ran sustainable luxury brand - House of Dagmar which has been around for 20 years. The sisters officially launched Stateside a year ago and hosted a dinner party along with French actress Rebecca Dayan at the newly opened Parcelle in Greenwich Village, outpost of the famed crowd-pleasing Dimes Square wine bar. The assortment of vintage mid-century furniture from Scandinavia felt like a very a sophisticated candle-lit home - Parcelle is not the kind of place you pop into for a quick drink, it actually has no bar, just tables spread out across a room with rugs on the floor and sheer curtains on the windows - where all the servers are also sommeliers there to leisurely guide you of over 500 hard-to-find and unique wines tucked away in their kitchen.
CAVIAR KASPIA + Gigi Hadid Collab MARK HOTEL NYC - Caviar Kaspia, the see-and-be-seen mess hall for the jet-set type of fine dining and fashion, announced its exclusive partnership with model Gigi Hadid and her fashion brand Guest in Residence. Caviar Kaspia is the style set’s French seafood version of Nobu, with locations in Paris, Los Angeles, Sao Paolo, London, New York, Dubai, and Turkish seaside escape in Bodrum. The evening before the official start of NYFW, Gigi hosted an intimate dinner at Caviar Kaspia at The Mark for friends to celebrate her collaboration - including two colourful cashmere sweaters featuring the restaurant’s signature teal hue and tin artwork. Each dinner seat had guests’ very own teal Caviar Kaspia tin but instead of caviar, inside was a pair of Guest in Residence socks. The cashmere pullover can be purchased at the restaurant’s location in the Mark Hotel in New York, or snag one online when they become available $750.
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY La Côte Basque + J. CREW - in true fashion of giving old traditions new life " For One Night Only " - J.Crew resurrected the legendary NYC restaurant, La Côte Basque, with Chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr. Guests enjoyed Caviar service, chilled lobster and petite baguettes sitting alongside personal branded J.Crew butter jars. The evening was rooted in nostalgia and the rebirth of the J.Crew Catalog after seven years of its printing halted. Guests also enjoyed a ten-piece jazz band with Tony Award-winning actor Anika Noni Rose, who took the stage to serenade the crowd. Upon exiting the long historic hall, guests received a 2024 prized catalog featuring Demi Moore and a limited edition Fall 2024 T-shirt reading “The New Yorkers” because, in New York City, everyone gets to be part of the Crew.
Alaïa Collection at The Guggenheim Museum - It-girl favourite brand Alaïa transformed the Guggenheim Museum into a runway where models walked down the building’s famous curved staircase - marking the first-ever fashion show to be held in the iconic location. The Spring ’25 Collection was the brand’s first return to NYC since 1982.
WILLY CHAVARRIA - Chavarria’s shows have risen to the most coveted of NYFW ranks - an invite is a golden ticket in 2024. After working at American powerhouses like Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, Chavarria’s own brand has come to represent what a modern American fashion label can be - elevated sportswear imbued with Chavarria’s Chicano roots. Friday’s show was no exception, guests were seated under a massive American flag hanging, the show's booklets placed at each seating contained the US Constitution and began with a parade of Chavarria’s signature tailoring before the lyrical music stopped and the lights went down, and then shifted to red as part two began: the Adidas debut. The finale, led by Chavarria himself was met with cheers, after drinks and some very good chicken tacos.
AIR MAIL + BLOOMINGDALE'S Upper East Side Soiree - Cohosted by Graydon Carter, Olivier Bron, Isabella Rossellini, Christine Baranski and Morgan Spencer, “From Italy, With Love” fall campaign at the Academy Mansion. The setting of the 1920s mansion made for a lively evening with Italian touches throughout the party including a food installation by Laila Gohar (the artist’s second NYFW party of the week), which featured constructed cubes of Italian olives, tomatoes and mozzarella presented as art. DJ Stretch Armstrong performed until his playlist was interrupted by the sound of opera singing from Erin Morley who appeared on the courtyard’s juliet balcony - she and tenor Jamez McCorkle performed a Puccini composition in honor of the centenary of the composer’s death. The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan will be staging both “Tosca” and “La Bohème” operas this season.
THE DESIGNER
PROENZA SCHOULER
Proenza Schouler is a New York based womenswear and accessories brand founded in 2002 by designers Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez who met at Parsons School of Design in NYC. They collaborated on their senior thesis which became their first collection as Proenza Schouler (named after their mothers' maiden names) and was bought in its entirety by Barneys New York. Since then, the duo have become known for their use of fine luxury materials, consistently infused with a marked sense of effortlessness and ease. Proenza Schouler has played an important role in reinvigorating American fashion - having been awarded with the inaugural CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund award in 2004 along with five CFDA awards - including the 2003 Swarovski award for Ready-to-Wear, the 2009 Accessory Designer of the Year award, and the Womenswear Designer of the Year award in 2007, 2011, and 2013. They kicked off NYFW with an off-program runway show of their 2025 collection 2 days earlier, hosted at New York Mercantile Building.
THE INSPIRATION
Waldorf Astoria
WALDORF 301 Park Avenue NYC
photo courtesy Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts
Waldorf Astoria - Proenza Schouler’s latest partner, is not an unexpected collaboration. Linking up with a globally renowned hospitality brand that has locations in more than a dozen countries from China to the U.K. made sense “It has to feel natural, because we don’t do a lot of collaborations. There are a lot of codes we share, including luxury and being founded in New York City. So, it seems like we’re speaking to the same customer.” Lazaro Hernandez told ELLE.com. An inspiration for design as Hernandez tells, “We don’t make menswear, when friends got married, we needed a gift that worked for everyone - we did this big, beautiful, double-face cashmere coat that Jack and I ended up turning into this king-sized, finished blanket for the bed. And when people would come over, they’d ask, ‘What is that blanket?’ We’ve been giving them as wedding gifts ever since.” When Waldorf Astoria approached them about creating a product - “We thought, why don’t we design blankets to put in every room? It just seemed really obvious that we’d put one in every Waldorf suite”. The duo will be traveling overseas to recharge after NYFW - first to Rome, then the Hotel IL Pellicano on the coast of Tuscany for some much-needed beach time.
THE INSPIRATION
Hotel IL Pellicano
HOTEL IL PELLICANO
58018 Porto Ercole Tuscany
A secret Tuscan cove just a two-hour drive from Rome - arrival by car to Hotel Il Pellicano is a journey in itself through charming countryside and past gentle rolling hills along the magical Tuscan coast. The timeless cliffside hideaway awaits nestled in a pristine cove on Monte Argentario, one of the most iconic Italian destinations for more than 50 years, Il Pellicano embodies the essence of the Italian Dolce Vita. In the 1960s two lovers - a charismatic American socialite and dashing British aviator, decided to create a private romantic hideaway in a secret cove inspired by its beauty and breath-taking views. Glamorous friends from Hollywood royalty to Europe’s high society came to bathe in the pristine azure sea and party by moonlight. In 1965, the gorgeous Tuscan home was transformed into Il Pellicano. In 1979, businessman Roberto Sciò fell in love with the property and bought it, maintaining the same welcoming atmosphere. Today, his daughter Marie-Louise is at the helm as Creative Director-CEO of Pellicano Hotels Group.
photos courtesy of Pellicano Hotels Group
THE DESIGNER
RALPH LAUREN
Ralph Lauren was born in the Bronx, New York. He studied business at Baruch College while also taking evening classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He worked part-time at Brooks Brothers high-end clothing store and was fascinated by the classic, ivy league-inspired style - and he began to develop his own vision for a fashion brand that would embody the same timeless elegance. Ralph Lauren’s career began in the late 1960s when he started selling ties and then expanded to men's and women's wear. In 1972, he introduced the now iconic Polo Shirt, which became a staple of the brand and one of the most recognizable logos in fashion. Over the years, he expanded his brand to include a wide range of products, fragrances, home goods and accessories - globally selling in over 100 countries. He went on to establish the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care Prevention in Harlem, New York, and has donated millions of dollars to various charities and organizations. Ralph Lauren remains involved in his brand as the Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer after stepping down as CEO of his company in 2015.
THE INSPIRATION
Polo Bar & Ralph's Coffee
THE POLO BAR
1 East 55th St, New York City
Ralph Lauren's Spring 2025 show kicked off NYFW on Sept. 5th far from Fifth Avenue in Bridgehampton - where for one night only, guests were transported to what the brand described as "The World of Ralph Lauren". The show was followed by a dinner of burgers and martinis - a recreation of the brand's popular eatery in NYC - the Polo Bar. In attendance were many A-list guests from Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell to Usher and Dr. Jill Biden. Manhattan's hotspot - The Polo Bar reopened in 2021 with an even more exclusive clubroom private dining experience on the ground floor parlor where up to 16 guests can host eventful gatherings with customized, one-of-a-kind menus, vintage wines and bespoke cocktails. The restaurant's midcentury club aesthetic of wood paneling, saddle leather, classic equestrian artwork, beautifully branded crystal and china remains the same, along with their classic American fare (signature Polo Burger and Polo Bar Brownie with Ralph's coffee ice cream) and cocktail stirrers in the shape of tiny polo mallets. The Polo Bar has a dress code of elegant attire and dining is by reservation only. For a more casual brand experience - Ralph's Coffee, which first opened in 2014 overlooking Fifth Avenue in NYC brought together timeless American spirit and curated vintage charm of the Ralph Lauren brand - in a relaxed, welcoming space for busy New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy a cup of coffee. The success of Ralph’s Coffee has led to more cafés, coffee trucks, kiosks and coffee experiences worldwide.
photos courtesy of RALPH LAUREN
RALPH'S NEW YORK
New York State of Mind
Polo Ralph Lauren’s Fall 2024 campaign “Ralph’s New York” - is a love letter to the city that never sleeps. His affinity for the city is deeply personal, “It has a culture and style all its own. It’s my city - where I first started, where dreams are made and come true. There is no other city like it in the world." mused Lauren -creations that only get better with age and made to be worn, loved and passed on from generation to generation. In honor of this, Ralph Lauren Vintage will be available for the 1st time on RalphLauren.com - the first drop happens this month with continued monthly drops also available in select stores. Polo Ralph Lauren’s film, produced by Jacob Sutton, campaign and is set to Alicia Keys’ soulful cover of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind”. The short film showcases the season’s stars in Polo Classics as they go about their day paying tribute to his hometown of New York City with stunning visuals that celebrate the collection’s timeless style rooted in what the designer himself is known for - classic New York City Style.
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