Blue morning skies gave an optimistic start to the fourth day of New York Fashion Week as the marathon of shows continues. The day's program featured seductive and fun collections from three independent brands, including Puppet's and Puppet, Zankov and Aknvas.
Puppets and marionettes
While the optimism of a new week was palpable on Monday, the mood at Carly Mark's Puppets & Puppets show that night was a little somber and bittersweet. After launching his brand just five years ago, Mark revolutionized the fashion scene with an incredibly popular and profitable bag carrying a chocolate chip cookie and quickly went from being an outsider to the independent scene (Mark is also a contemporary artist ) to a rising fashion brand in New York. Just as she resolved some of the problems associated with her experimental clothing (resolving production, design and fit dilemmas and guiding the styles in a more commercial direction), Mark is pulling the plug on Puppets & Puppets ready-to-wear to focus in accessories. The change also includes a transfer to London.
Backstage after the show, Mark spoke to FashionNetwork.com and other media outlets about the move.
“I am proud of the community I built; I am happy but melancholic. It's the last show for now. I feel very sorry for the program; It was the best I could, the most honest and I am proud of the community I built here,” she said.
In fact, the collection seemed to encapsulate Mark's originality; She is a fan of the draping and cuffed effect, often anchored as a head covering, the half-garment effect, unusual fabric combinations, open backs and sides, billowing trains and a well-placed stocking splice. As polished as this latest installment was, Mark said the reality is that he couldn't afford to put it into production, but he continued to design and complete it, as he was already halfway done when the decision was made to close the production. RTW division.
Therefore, Mark said she felt more comfortable without the stress of wondering how the collection would perform in sales. “Normally, right after the show in New York, I fly to Milan with the collection and I sit there and pray that it sells well because that makes the difference between another season or not. When that is taken out of the equation, I can just enjoy the process and put whatever I want on the runway,” she rationed.
For now, she will focus on her handbag business, a source of income, and explore other accessory categories, such as jewelry and shoes, confident in the well-oiled production process she has in place. “As much as I love RTW, that process has been much more difficult no matter how much I believe in it. I will continue doing things that will go nowhere; “This is just what needs to happen right now,” he added, professing his love for New York.
“This city raised me for the last 18 years; Everything I like and what I wear depends on how the culture has shaped me,” she said. The space Mark showed was a raw, unfinished space on one floor of a Madison Avenue office building. While he had put in a lot of work in this space, there was still a lot to do to realize the full potential of it, kind of like Puppets & Puppets.
Zankov
Guests arriving at Zankov's Fall Winter 2024/2025 presentation at the new NYFW show center, the infamous Starrett-Lehigh Building on West 26th, They enjoyed a bright, sunny space with skylights to view Henry Zankov's latest designs for his eponymous line of intriguing knitwear. Equally refreshing were the bastions of fans, who dressed in their own Zankov purchases to see the new “Hold Me Closer” collection. The format of the presentation in several cases was the reason for some glances to decipher the model by the guests.
In the show notes, Zankov remembers feeling embraced when he returned to New York City a year ago. “Reconnect with the energizing and imposing personality of the city and slip very gently into the unmistakable indifference of it. “It all felt like a big hug,” he said in show notes.
Speaking to FashionNetwotk.com, the former DVF knitwear designer shed some light on his colorful mix of knitwear, ranging from fine gauge and soft to chunky and shaggy, and his approach to creating a collection.
“I begin with a sentiment as cliché as it sounds. It's really about a feeling for me; “I explore that word and color, technique, silhouette, and start pulling out things that express that for me,” she explained. And the word for the season? “Seduction.”
Zankov professes his love for the process. “What I am most passionate about as a knitwear designer is advancing technique. Knitwear starts from scratch, making something out of nothing. “I push the limits not only technically but also visually.”
Her style with color also promoted knitwear, which for fall is characterized by floor-length skirts, scarves that become part of the garment, and color combinations that express sophistication.
With major retailers already selling the collection or about to, Zankov has been welcomed into the fashion fold just three seasons later.
Aknvas
Another knitwear-filled outing came from Aknvas by Christian Juul Nielsen. At its fall 2024 show, Nielsen proved that its is a budding brand to watch out for. The creative director of Herve Léger opened his collection with delicious cable knits in bold colors for men and women. He showed off his tailoring skills with suits often covered in gold vinyl fabric (also impressive as a car coat and trench coat). The Robert Artschwager-inspired pom-pom effects created a playful sophistication, and the crochet styles looked modern, not hippie.
The designer proposed several floor-length faux fur and shearling coats, a nod to John Currin's pieces, in which Nielsen showed he was equally adept at using the material to create pants, a skirt and a form-fitting top from the voluminous material. with success (the secret is to combine them with patent leather.) The designer finished with denim embellished with floral appliqués and a gorgeous ivory sequin evening dress and minidress paired with opaque black tights from Les Belles, which seem destined to mark the beginning of a new fashion of leggings. The embellished details carried over to a footwear collaboration with Stuart Weitzman for the women's looks, most evident in a thigh-high denim boot style, while the men's looks were paired with custom Doc Martens.
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