The 5 most interesting collections from NY and London

After more than a year of stanby, designers came back to present their creations with IRL fashion shows. From New York to London, the mood of these last fashion weeks was joy, lightness, color, vitality. Each creative has shaped its own codes to tell this desire for life and socializing. Proenza Schouler's duo was inspired by Hawaii, Moschino presented preppy and playful looks, Chromat took everyone to the beach, while Collina Strata organized a party on the roof of the Brooklyn Grange. We find the same attitude in the many party looks, which, together with refined tailoring proposals (Peter Do docet!), marked this sort of fashion rebirth. The keywords of the next hot season are shining with color, covering oneself with glitter and crystals, daring with sexy minidresses and cut-out details, celebrating the beauty of everyday life also by simply choosing what to wear.

Here are the 5 most interesting collections presented in NY and London.

Peter Do

 Peter Do's runway debut was one of the most anticipated shows of NYFW. Since launching his brand in 2018, the Vietnamese-born designer has quickly become one of the fashion system's new favorites, so much so that he was nominated for an LVMH Award and is often worn by Zendaya. The reason for this success is his ability to create timeless, refined fashion, made up of power suits and layered pieces, constructed so perfectly and lightly that they seem minimal, true essentials that each of us would want in our wardrobe. The SS22 collection is yet another confirmation of this. To present his latest creations, Do chose a stunning location, the rooftop of a building in Greenpoint in Brooklyn, and distributed to the public a handwritten letter in which he compared the collection to pho. Just as a good traditional Vietnamese broth dish he used to cook with his father can convey the idea of home and must be reduced to an essence, Do's tailoring expresses his origins and his sophisticated yet easy design. With the East River and the New York skyline as a backdrop, the designer's proposal for next spring-summer seemed almost magical: from relaxed suits in neutral tones to knit dresses, from maxi t-shirts with cut-out details on the back to wide shirts that puff up in the wind, from asymmetrical power suits decorated with hand-painted flowers to áo dài, the traditional Vietnamese dress, that is a silk dress cinched at the waist that is worn over pants and also looks a bit like a tribute (in an ultra-chic version) to Y2K fashion.

Eckhaus Latta

It’s about feeling more free. - Said Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta explaining the mood of Eckhaus Latta's SS22 collection - Really feeling yourself, coming out of the past year-and-a-half and wanting to feel sexy and confident and free.

Now in its tenth year, the brand continues to evolve its codes while always keeping fit and versatility in mind, resulting in an extremely contemporary look. The designer duo returned to Bushwick in front of Rosalía, Troye Sivan and a small group of other guests with a series of pieces that is a hymn to freedom, to a positive sensuality, made of contrasting elements to play with depending on your mood. Transparent shirts and dresses alternated with wool twinsets, knitted suits held together by rows of snaps with micro tops and leather pants, heavy colored wool sweaters with mini dresses and garments full of cut-outs.  The palette? Alongside the classic black & white, orange, purple and green exploded. A choice of energetic nuances that amplified the optimistic and sexy inspiration of the collection.

Collina Strada

An explosion of energy and color. After months of lockdown, Hillary Taymour presented, Snail's Pace, the new collection of Collina Strada with a community party, a sort of celebration of the return to socializing, on the rooftop farm of the Brooklyn Grange. In this particular location, between rows of tomatoes, arugula and jalapeños ran, jumped and danced an inclusive cast of mothers and daughters, friends and lovers, led by model Jazzelle Zanaughtti aka Ugly Worldwide. The joyful mood of the show perfectly reflected the multicolor chaos of the brand's new garments made of psychedelic prints, stars, checks, stripes, flowers. The keyword of the collection? Vibrant maximalism. Asymmetrical skirts full of ruffles alternated with cargo pants, voluminous dresses with corsets, hand-embroidered bodysuits with macramé skirts, bikinis with sustainable tees, slip dresses worn over pants with jeans from the new collaboration with Levi's.

LaQuan Smith

LaQuan Smith made history this NYFW by becoming the first brand to stage a fashion show at the Empire State Building. The Queens-based designer took his guests to the 86th floor of the historic building, where they were greeted by an orchestra playing the Big Apple's greatest hits. These details, together with the spectacular city skyline and the models who walked down this particular catwalk holding French poodles on the leash, were enough to make LaQuan Smith's SS22 collection one of the most interesting of the last fashion weeks.The other reasons are the same that have attracted celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Beyoncé and Rihanna: the super sexy dresses that, with ad hoc cuts, gathers and drapes, emphasize the curves of the body.  Also next spring-summer fans of the designer will be able to wear tight mini-dresses with bling-bling details, bodysuits, mini-skirts, lace jumpsuits, taffeta cocktail dress, corsets and fishnet stockings.

Nensi Dojaka

There is no doubt that Nensi Dojaka, recent winner of the prestigious Lvmh prize as best emerging designer of 2021, is one of the most beloved names of the contemporary fashion system. This talented creative who, with her hyper-feminine garments made of silk, tulle, organic georgette, organza and light wool has conquered Bella Hadid and Dua Lipa, made her debut at London Fashion Week without disappointing her many fans. On the catwalk she brought what she does best, which is to design enveloping silhouettes with complex architectures, deconstructed and reconstructed with layers of sheer silks. For their next red carpet, Rihanna & co. will be able to choose from dresses with sweetheart necklines, maxi blazers to be worn with tight pants, tailoring pieces to be alternated with transparent tights with floral details, high-waisted tapered skirts and pants, georgette tops. What's new in the SS22 collection? A little extra dose of romance, given by the flowers and the use of soft pink that illuminates Dojaka's series of mini little black dresses. Many of those who looking at the new creations will think of the 90s proposals by Helmut Lang and Alessandro Dell'Acqua, will be happy to know that soon Nensi will collaborate with Dell'Acqua, creating a capsule collection that will revisit No. 21's codes.