This fashion month marked Cathy Horyn’s first season as the Cut’s critic-at-large, and she spent it delivering her signature discerning commentary on the industry’s biggest names and most-promising talents. Here’s the full list of all of her reviews from New York and Paris — including musings on the way that social media is changing the industry, the staleness of celebrity front-row saturation, and plenty of new designers to keep an eye on.
• On Nicolas Ghesquière’s exhilarating, innovative designs at Louis Vuitton and Sarah Burton’s successful embrace of intimacy (and move away from masks) at Alexander McQueen.
• On Karl Lagerfeld’s brasserie blockbuster at Chanel, Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski’s “too-tasteful” debut for Hermès, and the unexciting vintage inspirations behind Giambattista Valli and Givenchy.
• On Rei Kawakubo’s powerful bereavement-themed Comme des Garçons sculptures and Junya Watanabe’s stunning economy of design.
• On Phoebe Philo’s hard-core questioning of glamour and authenticity for Céline and Jonathan Anderson’s inventive overhaul of Loewe.
• On John Galliano’s failed modernist mash-up at Margiela, Alexander Wang’s parody of couture glamour for Balenciaga, and Raf Simons’s sublime, simple silhouettes for Dior.
• On the stale celebrity scene at Balmain, Dries Van Noten’s modern, funny, grasp on elegance, and Rick Owens’s rough-and-ready drapery.
• On the rise of mobile fashion — and why it’s making the industry flatter.
• On Tom Ford’s all-American L.A. ambush.
• On Ralph Lauren’s dated consistency, Marc Jacobs’s rebellion against streetwear, and Francisco Costa’s commendable use of textures for Calvin Klein.
• On Proenza Schouler’s freeing approach to tailoring, Michael Kors’s reinvention of Wasp-y classics, and Sophie Theallet’s sensational work with gold lace.
• On finding Rodarte both “awfully bad and awfully good,” Peter Copping’s promising debut for Oscar de la Renta, and the lack of cool at J.Crew.
• On Thom Browne’s trip to a Mafia funeral, Eckhaus Latta’s commentary on the sadness of being young in New York, and the resurgence of Zoran-like styles at The Row and the Brock Collection.
• On Public School designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne and their honest approach to advancing style, Prabal Gurung’s sharp, spare dresses, and Thakoon’s abundance of fresh ideas.
• On Alexander Wang’s masterful commentary on the constraints of branding and Ryan Roche’s minimalist — yet decadent — knitwear.
• On Kanye West’s flawed NYFW debut, Adam Selman’s West Side Story remake, and Gabriela Hearst’s well-thought-out “luxury without the froufrou.”
• On the thrill of returning to Fashion Week after time away — and how fashion is like “one big vagina.”
