Alsharq Tribune - M.Essam
New York will kick off the month-long catwalk season on Thursday, with several luxury labels making their return to Fashion Week to present their latest womenswear creations.
From Feb. 6-11, the city will host the starting leg of the autumn-winter 2025 calendar, with Calvin Klein Collection, Christopher John Rogers and Norma Kamali holding their first New York Fashion Week runway shows after an absence.
Now under the creative direction of Veronica Leoni, Calvin Klein's high-end collection brand, which had been renamed Calvin Klein 205W39NYC in 2017 under previous designer Raf Simons, last held a runway presentation at the event in September 2018.
"Everyone has a very sharp eye on Veronica Leoni... Her show will be the first time the brand has shown in a handful of years so that's very exciting," said Aaron Royce, fashion news editor at industry publication The Daily Front Row, Reuters reported.
"And everyone seems to be paying a lot of attention to New York-based designers who have grown a lot in the last handful of years, like Thom Browne, Luar and Collina Strada." Some 60 labels will present their creations at a variety of venues, a change from a once-centralized show location.
"There is a very wide range of places where shows are going to be taking place and I think that used to be a little more novelty a handful of years ago and now it's become the norm," Royce added.
As well as the clothes, celebrities sitting in the coveted front rows - or sometimes even performing on the catwalk - will likely garner attention.
"There is a lot more of an expectation that Fashion Week will be full of a lot of surprises and viral moments, whether that's somebody sitting in a front row or a collection that has a particularly viral look or moment taking place on the runway," Royce said.
"Social media has really opened the doors for more people to access the industry and do their own homework."
Among the names on the agenda are shows by Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera and LaQuan Smith. Browne will close the event, with fashionistas then heading to London, Milan and Paris for designer presentations in those fashion capitals.
