New York Fashion Week Fall 2015: Designers tell the story of the dress at NYFW

Diane Von Furstenberg and Victoria Beckham both built their businesses around the most basic item of a female wardrobe — the dress. The former introduced the wrap dress to the lexicon and the latter gave women confidence and power through polished and sophisticated body-con dresses. And so for fall 2015, Von Furstenberg and Beckham chose to further explore the item that solidified their roles in the industry.

Diane Von Furstenberg

Seduction was the main theme of the Diane Von Furstenberg show and the set, with its lace backdrop and red lighting, easily gave off a boudoir atmosphere. Out came variations of the wrap dress, from the opening version — an ivory jersey dress with a black sash worn by Kendall Jenner — to exuberant floral and lip prints. Lace was seen throughout the collection too: as in a wrap dress completely spun from Chantilly lace, a black floor-length gown with a plunging V-neckline and a red shirt dress with a men’s-style, contrast-color cuffs and collar.

Lace was also spun into the other motif of the collection, that of women in the workplace, women ruling the world. A tuxedo-style romper was spliced with lace on the side to give it a feminine spin and a men’s waistcoat was reworked as a dress with sleeves and a skirt of Chantilly lace.

The show relied heavily on a color palette of red and black, interrupted in the middle by blue ensemble, including a ‘70s style pantsuit and an indigo denim and fur parka.

Victoria Beckham

At Victoria Beckham the dresses were more abstract, more conceptual. In her aim to evolve the silhouette of a dress, Beckham used seaming, gathers and spiraling techniques to move beyond her body-con aesthetic. The result was refreshing and wholly unexpected.

Chenille dresses with slight gathers on the hips that flounce with the models’ gait were abundant; so were the dresses with pannier-like skirts. Much of the collection was about fitted bodices flaring into tempered voluminous skirts, creating new A-line shapes. She also showed chunky knitted sweaters with twisting, oversized sleeves.

But it was with outerwear that Beckham really left a strong impression. She sent sculptural coats with stiff collars and dramatic volume on the back, in navy and orange.

Monique Lhuillier

At Monique Lhuillier’s ready-to-wear show, there were less of the frothy and sweet cocktail dresses and gowns she’s been known for. In a brilliant turn, she showed a collection that relied heavily on a ’70s vibe and sex appeal by way of Saint Laurent coupled with a smattering of ’80s disco references and some Kate Moss stylistics.

Soft and fluid jewel-tone dresses, a couple of sheer chiffon numbers and ruched evening gowns that were largely left unadorned were welcome surprises from the designer.

3.1 Phillip Lim

Reinvention seemed to be on everyone’s mind as they were creating their fall 2015 collections. The same is true for 3.1 Phillip Lim Ready-To-Wear, where the designer kept stressing the word “reinvention”: reinvention of his overall aesthetics, reinvention of the building blocks of a woman’s wardrobe. To achieve his pursuit, he layered trenchcoats over dresses over apron skirts. He injected a touch of grunge to his usually pretty look by way of slouchy shapes and plaid fabrications. Throughout the collection were pieces with utility straps — from loose cargo trousers to wool vests to parachute T-shirts.

If spring 2015 had a sophisticated and dream-like quality, fall 2015 brought the style of the street to the runway.