Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne said in their DKNY show notes that with their spring collection they tried to define the New York style of the future by discovering “new meaning in the codes of DKNY, in which the aspirational meets the practical.” They called the futuristic new neighborhood they imagined “Neo SoHo” and populated it with young women who looked like a mix of street warriors and athletic explorers.
The show, which opened with Bella Hadid wearing a hooded dress with a plunging neckline, was filled with classic women’s pieces re-proportioned and transformed to become futuristic uniforms of sorts. For example, a blazer was incorporated into an oversize tech-wool jumpsuit, a poplin shirt was elongated to become a bicolor shirtdress cut longer on the back, and a cotton double-faced sweater and matching pants were sliced to inject a dynamic feel.
Chow and Osborne surely managed to express their love for streetwear in the lineup, but it seemed they were missing a certain women’s sensibility. It’s really hard, especially in these confusing times, to imagine the direction in which the world will evolve — but it’s even harder to imagine both New York (not to mention international) women happy to express their femininity by covering themselves with layers of mesh dresses and utility-pocketed anoraks, as well as Windbreakers worn over bras and stretch biker shorts.
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But there were some fun, interesting pieces in the collection, included baggy beige overalls unconventionally worn with a blazer in the same tone, as well as a china-blue nylon jacket left open to show an orange bra top printed with the DKNY logo and paired with sateen paper-waist pants. And the oversize pinstriped suit with the brand’s logo stitched on the back and embellished with a cascade of floating yarns was a smart take on DKNY’s Nineties look.