New York Fashion Week doesn’t need guest designers to survive

Alaïa, the label, and Azzedine Alaïa, the man, have a history with New York. The designer staged a show in the city back in 1982 at Bergdorf Goodman at the behest of then-doyenne Dawn Mello. Thierry Mugler helped with the casting, and Andy Warhol photographed it. It’s that very show that helped the late couturier find enough wholesale support to launch his ready-to-wear business — it’s that very show that helped make Alaïa the maison we know today.

Mulier lived in New York during his time at Calvin Klein with Raf Simons, so this show was a homecoming for him, too. He told Vogue Runway and Vogue Business global director Nicole Phelps that he looked to American designers for inspiration, including Charles James, Claire McCardell and Halston. “I looked quite literally to some American designers that we haven’t forgotten in Europe, but that don’t really have the status of what a Dior has or a Chanel has. And for me, they’re as important as them,” Mulier said.

And they are just as significant. The thing about American fashion is that everyone else can see its value other than, it seems, ourselves. As part of this show, Alaïa also launched an exclusive New York capsule. Jonathan Anderson also descended upon New York, not for a show, but to host a dinner with Saks Fifth Avenue to launch an exclusive edit of its autumn collection. More international brands used the week to open stores and pop-ups, including Zegna, Jacquemus, Cecilie Bahnsen and more.