Fashion Week Highlights - New York City

NYFW has drawn to a fabulous close. Designers outdid themselves this season with collections that were heavy on embellishments, loosened silhouettes, and classic luxury. The four greatest standout collections from this Fashion Week would have to be Public School, Prabal Gurung, Monique Lhuillier, and Reem Acra.

These four collections owned this Fashion Week with their highly detailed clothing, aesthetics reminiscent of classic Hollywood glamour, and approach to constructing a free but refined silhouette. They were the epitome about what this Fashion Week was all about. This season was all about how glamorous and detailed designers could get with the embellishments, and two of these four designers really stood out in particular.

Monique Lhuillier and Reem Acra were the queens of embellished detailing this Fashion Week, with dresses that included beads and sequin detailing to elevate their dresses to the next level of luxury. Lhuillier, who is more famous for her bridal gowns, proved that she is quite the expert when it comes to ready-to-wear as well. She actually checked off youth as one of the inspirations for her collection, but the collection still had that aesthetic of classic sophistication to it.

Like many designers, she loosened up the silhouettes, leaving a woman's body to be more free, but that's one of the things that helped make Coco Chanel so famous after all, so it was still classic in a sense. Bright colors was big this season, and Lhuillier was not afraid of it at all. Her collection include beautiful emerald green, poppy pink, and electric blues which were all vibrant standouts in the collection, meaning we're in for a spring/summer fashion season that isn't afraid of color.

Reem Acra wowed the world this season with gowns that touched the floor, and showed that embellishments are a must have in fashion right now. The designer's signature piece for her collection was a crimson dress with strips of emerald beading across it, emphasizing Acra's gifted eye for detail. Not a single look in her runway show was the slightest bit boring, and every look had true character.

The most transformative designers of the week were easily Public School's Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne. The designers, who have long been traditionally associated with a streetwear aesthetic, elevated their aesthetic to classic sophistication, giving the industry one of the best surprises of the season. They have moved on from owning a one-dimensional aesthetic, and have proven that they are versatile enough to do everything from streetwear to traditional high-fashion.

Prabal Gurung, Public School, Monique Lhuillier, and Reem Acra round out the top 4 best highlights of NYFW

For the duo, who also unveiled their first collection for DKNY this season, there was little room for error. They pulled off their task flawlessly, and people are sure to be talking about Public School until next season.

Arguably the most captivating highlight of this NYFW would be Prabal Gurung's show. Gurung opened his show with 30 monks saying a prayer and chanting to bless the collection that was about to go down the runway. The monks had to be one of the most interesting and unique touches ever seen at a NYFW show, and certainly something that has never been done before.

Of course, the real highlight of his collection and the reason people go to Fashion Week are the clothes. Gurung showed the world that the bias-cut, made popular by the legendary Madeleine Vionnet decades ago, is stronger than ever in contemporary times. Gurung who usually tends to be a little more ostentatious, toned it down to follow this Fashion Week's theme of classic sophistication with a trio of brightly colored gowns closing his show.

These four shows proved to be some of the top highlights of this year's NYFW spring/summer 2016. With embellishments, freed up silhouettes, bright colors, embellishments, and classic sophisticated aesthetics, they all encompassed the five major trends seen on the runways this past week. They came out on top in a season where it was the battle for the best glamour, and only a select few would claim the top prize.

photo1:Monique Lhuillier via renegadecouture.co
photo2:Public School via deuxhommesmag.com
photo3:Reem Acra via renegadecouture.co
photo4:Prabal Gurung via trendcouncil.com