This season's New York Fashion Week marked somewhat of a landmark moment for Highsnobiety. For the first time ever, I, a dude, attended and provided in-depth coverage for a bulk of womenswear shows complete with original photography and collection reviews (just like how we do with the menswear-dedicated fashion weeks).
The womenswear market is a completely different ballgame compared to the (relatively) low-key male-orientated sartorial realm though. For one, the women's industry is sizably larger, with far more trends, styles, cuts and silhouettes thrown into the mix (with guys, it's usually a consistent rotation of staple wardrobe pieces like tees, button-ups, jackets, etc). As a result, the fashion calendar's womenswear weeks tend to be a much, much loftier affair (especially in New York, where the city's fledgling men's week has proven to be quite the snoozefest over the past few seasons).
I have to admit, when I first agreed to cover NYFW SS17, I was a little concerned that I may have bitten off a bit more than I could chew. I'm not a newcomer to the Big Apple's womenswear weeks, but I am something of a novice when it comes to actually reporting about lady threads. In the end, it wasn't really that bad; dope clothes are dope clothes no matter who they're meant for, and this season offered plenty of eye-grabbing collections to talk about.
With the week's nutty fashion shenanigans finally coming to a close, I thought it'd be fun to get my colleague Stephanie Smith-Strickland in on the action, too. We decided to hit up buzzy conceptual sportswear-meets-intimates label Chromat's show together, and had a little chat about it in the office afterwards (Steph is somewhat of a lingerie enthusiast, whereas I don't even know the difference between a teddy and a negligee).
Check out our review of Chromat's SS17 collection from both a female and a male's perspective below.
Stephanie Smith-Strickland: Was that a contortionist at the beginning of the show?
Nico Amarca: Not sure what that was to be honest. Also, was she pregnant?
Stephanie: That’s a good question! I wondered that too. And then I saw that red dress and forgot everything. [Flame emoji].
Nico: Yeah, v sexy. The models were…interesting.
Stephanie: Yeah. Chromat has a reputation for having a super inclusive runway, though. The girl with the gold leg was lit AF.
Nico: That was cool. The body shapes were allllll over the place. I kind of feel like some of the girls weren’t styled in the right outfits.
Stephanie: I hope we see more of that on other runways honestly. I like seeing the way the clothing will fit on different body shapes.
Yeah, the styling felt very hands-off. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It made it feel more real to me. Like these are real girls who were just asked to do this or something.
Nico: That’s the word. “Real.”
The clothes are very tight-fitting and have a very fetishistic vibe about them. But some of the girls looked genuinely uncomfortable. I get that they want to have a diverse cast, but the designs should bespoke each body type’s respective shape. Otherwise, it just comes off as a bit of a struggle. Know what I mean?
But then again, I know next to nothing about women’s swimwear.
Stephanie: I mean swimwear is kind of inherently a struggle, LOL. All those nooks and crannies and all that stretch material. Struggle city.
Nico: What do girls look for when buying swimsuits? For guys it’s a breeze. “Ah, these trunks fit alright. I’ll take five.”
Stephanie: A lot of things. It depends on your body shape, what you feel comfortable revealing, if you’re actually trying to swim or not. You know, some swimsuits are just for looking cute.
Nico: Does that explain all of the gratuitous straps, slits and sheer fabric embellishments in Chromat’s collection?
Stephanie: I think that’s where the architecture inspiration comes in. I love Chromat for that reason, to be honest. There’s a swimwear/lingerie aspect but the design ethos is great
Also, that skirt. With the straps on it that looked like the girl was about to go sky diving. Loved it.
Nico: Would you personally wear any of it?
Stephanie: Yeah! That red dress and the yellow one with the peek-a-boo panel at the stomach. I also loved the training bra look. I think the designer was wearing one. Also, the paneled pants. It’s like yoga pants but cooler, and I love yoga pants when I’m being basic.
If you had to buy something for the girl in your life, what would you pick?
Nico: Definitely the red dress. Classy enough for dinner at the fusion 5-star sushi joint, litty enough for the club afterwards. You girls and your damn outfit changes. Too extra.
Stephanie: You know what’s even better? You can layer some of their other pieces under the dress. Outfit change easy!
Nico: True that, true that.
Thirsting for more fetishy vibes? Check out everything that went down at Hood By Air-s PornHub-sponsed SS17 collection.
