Weekend highlights from New York Fashion Week

Celebrities, capes and car parts: AFP rounds up the best shows from Saturday and Sunday of New York Fashion Week.

Tory Burch

Actresses Julianne Moore and Lucy Liu, and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour sat front row as Tory Burch showcased floral patterns inspired by Turkish, English and French porcelain on Sunday.

The fall-winter 2020 collection -- unveiled at Sotheby's -- included crepe dresses with embellished sleeves, a napa leather Sgt Pepper jacket and an embroidered cotton tulle caftan.

The looks were "punctuated with a strong boot: mid-calf, riding, over-the-knee; pointed or tapered square toe," according to the collection notes, and featured a new Eleanor shoulder bag.

New York artist Francesca DiMattio designed the prints, and models walked past 11 of her sculptures through five gallery rooms, as American singer Alice Smith belted out 1960s classic "You Don't Own Me".

"They sort of blur the lines of femininity and masculinity," Burch said of DiMattio's designs.

"That's something I relate to, and all with the nostalgia of pottery," she told AFP.

Longchamp

French fashion house Longchamp evoked Paris of the 1970s, as embodied by the actresses Catherine Deneuve and Romy Schneider, with elegant, feminine-inspired designs that lit up Fashion Week on Saturday.

Brand ambassador Kendall Jenner looked on as leather Bermuda shorts were paired with patterned jumpers, blouses and capes, and bomber jackets with hefty shearling collars lined up alongside gauzy black dresses.

Kate Moss's daughter Lila Moss was also in attendance, as a burgundy cape similar to those worn in dystopian TV drama "The Handmaid's Tale" and colorful designs inspired by John Chamberlain's sculptures made out of car parts paraded past.

Leather, the trademark of the 72-year-old luxury goods brand, mixed with fur, while Longchamp's "It bags" included embossed calfskin made to look like python or crocodile leather.

Creator Sophie Delafontaine said she felt able to take more risks in New York than when she parades at home in Paris.

"I feel more free in New York. (Being) elsewhere, we go further, we explore more," she told reporters.

Christopher John Rogers

Bright, bold and sexy were the key words as 26-year-old rising star Christopher John Rogers displayed his women's wear for fall-winter of this year.

The show was fresh off the back of Rogers winning 400,000 US dollars from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue Fashion Fund for best up-and-coming creator in November.

Former winners include Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler and Pyer Moss. Flowing dresses in striking yellows, oranges, reds and greens mixed with shiny fabrics and power suits boasting huge shoulders, big puffy sleeves and plenty of ruffles.

"We like to play with volume. But there's a new edginess, a trimmer line. More feeling. A bit sexier than seasons past," Rogers told Essence magazine.(AFP)