DKNY Fall 2012

The undeniable fact that there’s never a cab around while you need one is a continuing gripe of all New Yorkers; the fight to catch one during Fashion Week is a sideshow in itself. There’s one place, however, you’re always more likely to discover a yellow taxi nowadays, and that is on the DKNY show, where for the past few seasons, a cab was parked on the top of the runway and rolls onto the road. Today has undoubtedly been the coldest day this week, and because the army of models swept in from the sidewalk, they brought with them a frosty chill, and fashion editors within the front row huddled together to maintain warm. Wearing a glittery black leather and shearling coat fastened securely round the neck, the primary model that walked into the spotlight was more appropriately dressed than most for a chilly Ny winter. That top, wind-shielding collar ran during the entire collection, sometimes worn as a detachable scarf atop one-button blazers with leather sleeves and black dresses with flirty leather peplum insets. Indeed, if there’s one insulating top layer set to topple fashion’s current love of fur this season-judging from what we have seen of fall to date-it’s leather. It sounds as if all around the collection, from the pinnacle-to-toe look of a skirt suit to the embossed croc corset-like belts cinching a comfortable puffer.
 
That being said, the strongest message to return through for fall resonates on the brand’s very core. It is time for the young, city-dwelling DKNY girl to return to black. Within the 20-plus years because the label launched, that concept of an urban uniform has became a universal, working dress code internationally. In that sense, it is easy to forget that the all-black-everything look originated here with women like Donna Karan. When the designer emerged from the road to take her bow on the end of the show, she did so wearing the shearling that opened the show; the consummate New Yorker through and thru.