Fashion Week Closes on Upper East Side
Marc Jacobs closed New York Fashion Week on Thursday night with a memorable show, for sure. He put on a stifling parade of dripping hot models against a decaying beach backdrop in the Park Avenue Armory, which felt like a billion degrees.
Catwalkers, including Cara Delevingne, wore high-necked wool and lace numbers decorated with tassels and beads on a boardwalk above black sand strewn with garbage and an abandoned bus.
Jacobs puts a lot of thought into the production of his shows and gives the audience only a quick look at the clothes with a fast pace, dim lights and a complicated runway design. It's more about the mood, and this one was apocalyptic chic on a stormy Upper East Side night.
"The weather, the experience, the rain, this sideways rain, everybody fanning themselves, I think that it kind of just adds to the effect of what it takes to put on some kind of show like this," said Julianne Hough, who added she felt "lucky" to be there.
The luckiest models wore Hawaiian print Bermuda shorts and sequined tourist sandals, the flat Velcro-close ones that grandma might wear with socks.
That floral print, though, turned into some fabulous eveningwear that wasn't as exaggerated as some of the opening dresses, but with the same drama. Which front-row celebrities - Drew Barrymore, Winona Ryder, Julianne Hough or Hailee Steinfeld - will wear them first?
"I'm just taking it all in now. It looked really, really good," said Barrymore. "I really liked the florals mixed in with the plaids and stuff like that. ... It went by so fast! But, like I said, I saw a floral dress, and I was like, 'Oh, that looks perfect.'"
One of the best looks was a cocktail dress with navy beads against a black background. It was the peaceful, pretty moment, like waves in moonlight, when it's too dark to see the cigarette butts or Starbucks cups.
Jackets with puffy sleeves, wide shoulders and embroidery, though, seemed most likely to land on the must-have lists of Jacobs fans or the coolest marching band player you know.
Jacobs is considered New York's most influential designer, so the stylists, retailers and editors will have something to talk about as they board planes to cross the Atlantic to see what London, Milan and Paris have to offer for next spring.