NYFW AW16 Day 3: Plaids, Checks And A Case For The White Winter Boot

1) Lacoste’s sporty, polar vortex-appropriate pieces

With the wind chill reaching -25 it seemed quite fitting that Lacoste's clothes were inspired by Sixties skiwear. Despite its delightfully retro feel though, these were pieces for the modern working woman: a wet-look mustard A-line skirt with matching poloneck, knitted side-stripe trousers in navy, red and white, and ribbed knit dresses are all pieces we can see slotting into our wardrobes come September.

Harriet Stewart, Market & Retail Editor

2) Rebecca Minkoff’s direct-to-consumer revolution

Rebecca Minkoff’s customer is always top of her mind. She is part of the revolutionary See Now, Buy Now, Wear Now set of designers that includes Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford and Burberry, who are shaking up the catwalk schedule and planning runway collections timed for when the clothes actually hit stores, not a season in advance.

This show was for her fans, with a selection of very sellable pieces – some sweet some more rebellious – the very greatest hit being that they could walk down the road to her store and buy the pieces they loved without having to wait a season. Get shopping!

Michelle Duguid, Senior Fashion Editor

3) Suno’s comfort plaids and checks

Change and rebellion – the impending structural and systemic changes to the fashion industry are all anyone can talk about.

So, it was inevitable that it would impact the look and the feel of the clothes too. Erin Beatty and Max Osterweis’s label has always been the place to which we look for boldly out-there, highly layerable prints and graphics.

In a way, this season’s line-up of relatively subdued plaids, checks and stripes seemed out of character, and yet strangely comforting, which was the point. 'What we know, whether it be politics or fashion, is suddenly not what it is or has been. The rules are changing, but no one seems to have a playbook – so we’re all just trying to hold on,' Beatty and Osterweis explained in the press notes.

'For whatever reason, during times of change it feels right to focus on the internal – the conceptual muse that we look to at Suno. A girl who is somehow both quirky and practical, stand out yet measured. She’s a girl that can weather (even lead!) the storm of change, no matter what comes her way,' they said.

That meant a series of wearable workwear pieces that sat just left of centre: oversized plaid dresses with frills and dramatic pussy bows, for example, retro ribbed knit separates with a hint of lurex and denim culottes and matching tops in slouchy, voluminous shapes.

Kenya Hunt, Fashion Features Director

4) Tibi’s case for the winter white boot

We’re only days into New York Fashion Week, and already some themes are beginning to emerge, such as utility and functionality.

Tibi’s Amy Smilovic showed a collection filled with military coats and mannish womenswear (the slouchy suits, the relaxed knits), with even a few men mixed in for good measure.

But the most memorable piece came on the model’s feet: a series of white leather riding boots, which she paired with a series of wispy silk dresses – effectively winterising and giving you a longer shelf life for that piece you’ve most likely already started buying for spring, the slip.

Kenya Hunt, Fashion Features Director

5) Self-Portrait’s lace

Everyone's favourite affordable occasionwear brand has begun its foray into more casual dressing.

Lace is the DNA of Han Chong’s brand, but this season he moved it on from his signature off-kilter occasionwear to include more of the sort of pieces you might be seen wandering down the street in.

There were tailored and lace trousers, bomber jackets and a particularly great hand-stitched lace parka, which Han himself said he was hand-stitching until the early hours of the morning. Toughened up with Robert Clergerie boots.

Kenya Hunt, Fashion Features Director

6) Banana Republic’s equestrianism

With an equestrian theme cropping up across #NYFW already, we were drawn to this nipped-in corduroy jacket with its skinny lapels.

Could this mustard-cyan-teal be a new colour-combo for AW16?

And gold shoes with frills? We’ll take a pair of those too, please.

Harriet Stewart, Market & Retail Editor

7) Moncler’s deep freeze

Someone thought it was a great idea to use an outdoor show space on a record-breakingly cold New York day, a risky decision as temperatures fell to life-threatening.

Our fingers may have lost their feeling but at least it made us long to look as chic as the models in one of the amazing signature down jackets.

The pseudo military dance troop hired to perform was fantastic at the start of the show, but by the time the models came on for the presentation they felt like an afterthought. We did love being reminded of the glamorous old days of a ski suit paired with a beautiful silk scarf, though.

Michelle Duguid, Senior Fashion Editor