Hundreds of new designers fight for Net-a-Porter pickup each season but achieve only #obsession status. The ones whose shows make celebrities cry or raise awareness about mental health—those are the New York Fashion Week shows that make us stand up and take note. As with every season, we're sharing our picks for the latest Fashion Week Virgins dressed (literally) for success. Remember their names now; hoard their imminent runway hits for life.
BY. Bonnie Young
After 16 years at Donna Karan, including six as their senior creative director, Young struck out on her own last season with a tight collection of wide-leg pants, textured workwear blouses, and sheaths that straddle '70s glamour with women-who-work practicality. And because in her previous life—as a luxe kids designer— she noticed shoppers often bought childrens' clothes for themselves, her knits have a tighter fit perfect for smaller frames or layered looks.
Club Monaco
Your favorite mall staple for "grown-up clothes" hits the big time this season with its first-ever presentation, crafted by creative director Caroline Belhumeur. "The collection is all about juxtaposition, highlighting the contradiction of Victorian romanticism with military structure," Belhumeur shares. Like what you see? Buy all 25 women's pieces right after the range's September 9 debut.
Frances Valentine
Whatever happened to Baby Jane Kate Spade? She's back with husband Andy on a new accessories collection, called Frances Valentine and featuring a nifty collision of tweedy fabrics and cool-girl silhouettes. Judging from the few pieces currently selling online, it's going to be a love-at-first-step affair.
God Save Queens
Well, this should be interesting: The strap-happy lingerie line famously modeled by Kendall Jenner on Instagram zips from Poland to Manhattan for its debut show, helmed by designer Karolina Bernaciak. Considering these racy preview images, it should be one of the season's most-clicked collections.
Kenzo
Last year, Givenchy swept in from Paris to take our breath away. This time around, it's Kenzo's turn. The French ready-to-wear label backed by Opening Ceremony's Humberto Leon and Carol Lim will debut its new fashion film, The Realest Real, with its collaborative team—including director Carrie Brownstein and actress Rowan Blanchard—on hand to celebrate. But will costar Kim Gordon play a not-so-secret show?
Krewe
Of all the brands debuting at Milk Studios' infamously raucous presentations this season, we're most curious about the CFDA Fashion Fund nominee whose shades are made in New Orleans and sported by Beyoncé. How in the world will they show off their optics—sorry, their optiques? Stay tuned.
Lois London
Speaking of Beyoncé, Radhika Perera-Hernandez worked as the pop star's receptionist during her House of Dereon days before working her way up the design ranks. Now she's debuting her own line at New York's Harlem Fashion Row, with a focus on Grecian-style dresses that travel well, drape generously…and show strategic slices of skin.
Misha Collection
In May, Bella Hadid famously opened and closed Misha Collection's runway show at Sydney Fashion Week. Now designer Michelle Aznavorian—who's often considered the Aussie version of Nasty Gal's Sophia Amoruso—is coming to Bella's home turf for yet another catwalk parade. We hear Ms. Hadid is booked elsewhere this season (and that Jourdan Dunn will have the honor of opening and closing the show), but if you're into neutral-colored body-con pieces, you won't want to miss it.
Oday Shakar
This L.A. native is most famous for keeping red carpet royalty like Sandra Bullock and Dianna Agron dressed in sequins and painted silks. But when he relaunches his namesake line—and debuts a collection for the first time ever in New York—Shakar's line might look a little different. Called "Unveiling" and "inspired by [his] Arab-American and Muslim heritage," it promises to fuse Western and Middle Eastern influences—and maybe promote some much-needed understanding in the process. We're rooting for you, Oday!
PH5
If you're looking at these clothes and saying, "Oh my gosh, this is cool," then we're on the same page. Label founder Wei Lin comes from a family of textile manufacturers, and co-designer Mijia Zhang came from Nike and Christopher Kane (hello, wavy hemlines) . Definitely ones to watch.
Talitha
To totally destroy a Hamilton quote, it must be nice (it must be niiice!) to have the Delevingnes on your side. Talitha's designers Kim Hersov and Shon Randhawa do—and they nabbed Poppy D herself, along with Kirsty Hume, to model the label's latest collection. Named for heiress Talitha Getty and featuring elevated versions of our favorite hangout staples, the range already has a cult following in London…probably because it looks like Sienna Miller's fabric spirit animal.
Vipe Activewear
Athleisure is dead; long live athleisure? Sure, we'll go with that—at least until we see what Vetements is doing in Paris. Until then, consider investing in Vipe Activewear, a line created by former field hockey pro Marlies Korijn and Susi Auzinger, whose last gig was at Stella McCartney x Adidas. Together they'll premiere a range created with hip-hop heiress Angela Simmons on September 13. By then, we'll be so exhausted from fashion week that we'll need all the premium sweatpants we can get.
