This Fashion Week Feels Different
Area FW26 reminded us of play, and understanding my seat at the show.
Everyone has been saying that this fashion week feels different. It’s the state of the world. Lingering fear and anxiety. The aftermath of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, where he wore… Zara. Whatever the argument may be in that regard, the feeling right now is that it’s not about the clothes.
The state of the world is unsettling. With ICE terrorizing communities across the US, the cruelty of our current government, genocides taking place in Palestine and Sudan, recessions, and the failing job market, to name a few. There is an undeniable feeling of unrest among the general public. Person to person, we discuss the insurmountable issues of the world and think about what we can do.
Still, in times of peak insecurity, fashion reminds us to create. Even now, it is important. To create, to play. To focus on the things you can control. Beautiful things can still be made out of the darkest of times. “The rose that grew from concrete” - right?
The Area FW26 show reminded me of that. Walking into the show, we were submerged into darkness with a thin row of overhead spotlights to light the way. The runway felt like theater and classical improv. Each seat was met with a script of a woman's verbal argument with darkness and her longing for glamour. It felt oddly fitting.
Area FW26 Presentation. Photos my own.
Seated next to the leading personas of fashion editorial, I watched the collection unfold this Friday evening. I’m in my third year as a fashion market editor and freelance stylist assistant after a stint at Harper’s Bazaar. I believe I have a fairy godmother who works at Lucien Pagès Communications, to whoever that is, thank you.
The first looks that emerged were composed of structured denim, a skirt, jacket, and pants, with unexpected ties in the back. Utilitarian in form, these pieces alluded to wearing a denim jacket in an unconventional manner. Jacket as a skirt, sleeves tied in the back. Fun.
Area FW26 Looks 3 & 31. Photo Credit: Vogue Runway.
As the procession of eccentric models continued, we saw silver gilded flapper-esque dresses flounce and dance to the beat of the music. Then came the hoodies, innately effortless and cool in form. Creative director, Nicholas Auburn offered an interesting take, with skirts and gowns of tied sweatshirts, enhancing the avant garde ease and coolness of the wearer. It reminded me of an early Fenty x Puma collection from 2017. Timely, for the sake of our throwbacks.
The intricately tied scarves as tops paired with vibrant blue and red flapper skirts reminded me of play. The tassels danced with each step, cheekily revealing exposed skin and matching underwear. These looks reminded me of fun in New York. The unrealistic, statement making - sometimes jarring, ‘oh she’d wear that?’ looks that the women in this city major in. It is our forte. The ‘oh you know she had fun putting that together’ look. I saw myself in these looks.
Area FW26 Look 19. Photo Credit: Vogue Runway.
To the team at Lucien Pagès, thank you for a fabulous seat at the show next to my personal celebrities. I know who everyone is, and have been following their work for longer than I can remember. Initially, I was a little surprised that there was no one my age seated around me.
I was seated at the end of the section directly next to Virginia Smith, Global Fashion Network Director of Vogue US, who sat next to the woman I have to thank for my introduction to the industry, the inimitable Naomi Elizée, Fashion Market Director at Vogue.
At first I thought this must have been a mistake, or rather a happy accident to my personal thrill. As I’ve mulled it over, I realize I was intentionally seated there to echo the theme of the show, for the sake of the editors. Here I am, eccentric ex-editorial 20-something fashion girl who would wear some questionable but statement making pieces just for a regular night out. Everything in fashion is chess, and I’m understanding myself as a pawn. And honestly - is anything ever done by accident in fashion PR?
Area FW26 Looks 17 & 27. Photo Credit: Vogue Runway.
As the show went on there was even more fun to be had, striking purple and lace, paired with a leather moto jacket to fashion a makeshift corset. There were crystal hotfix sets donning a print of lips and faces of a girl in seemingly erotic bliss. It felt like dancing and being carefree.
Some looks felt hastily put together or even unfinished. In true city girl fashion, we run home and put together a look the best way we know how. We’re texting ‘otw in the uber’, running 20 minutes late, and we’re actually still standing in the mirror. But in my opinion, the undoneness of some only strengthened the feeling of the stand-out looks. Not everyone knows how to be a diva.
As the show went on we were met with the drama, in the form of white feathers on a cocktail dress and a long black gown. The contrast between the velvet black bodice and white feathers speckled with unexpected dots of color reminded me of shredded newspaper clippings. Beautiful. Regal. Interesting. Elegant. Life as theater. She’s everything, she is the moment.
Area FW26 Looks 40 & 41. Photo Credit: Vogue Runway.
At the final walk, together they looked like the epitome of New York women. Unconventional wearing. Coolness. Polos worn backwards. Utilitarian denim. Scarves as skirts and tops. A hoodie dress and skirt. Hoodies with everything. Party dresses with feathers like ripped up newspaper. Each stand-out look was fashioned perfectly for the coolest woman in the room. With a perfectly poised audience to watch.
The Area FW26 collection reminded me of fun in New York. Nightlife with the flyest women in the world. And above all, despite all the grim and hopelessness in the world, the importance of play.
