The highlights of New York Fashion Week: the most discussed moments of the season

Parades in abandoned metro stations, massive choral performances and excursions to the legendary Apollo Theater.

The compressed program was intended to restrict sprawling show formats and was commissioned by designer Tom Ford, the new president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

"We are aware of people's time and budget," said Steven Kolb, President and CEO of CFDA. "In recent seasons, we've learned that the longer schedule was difficult for publishers, buyers, and fashion show guests."

Rihanna at the Savage X Fenty show on September 10, 2019 in Brooklyn, New York. Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images North America / Getty Images for Savage X Fenty

With a shorter program and more programming in staggered locations than ever before, careful planning was needed to integrate all of this. Some guests felt that they had to choose between the designers, as many programs were late and in conflict with the official journal. Here are the highlights of New York Fashion Week.

Brooklyn Rising

Gone are the days when a trek at noon in Brooklyn during fashion week was unusual.

Although some brands have always organized their shows in Brooklyn (Eckhaus Latta, for example), the calendar of the season was filled with Brooklyn's places of the greatest designers: Brandon Maxwell, Pyer Moss, Telfar and even Michael Kors.

"It was not about finding a place in Brooklyn as such, we fell in love with the Brooklyn Museum's space," Burch told CNN Style. "He has presented some of the most extraordinary exhibitions you will find, often focused on strong female artists."

The wide open spaces of Brooklyn could be a serious contender for the future of all shows. The focus was on outdoor shows – Carolina Herrera was held in downtown Battery Park, Maryam Nassir Zadeh on a sports ground on the Lower East Side and Kate Spade in the charming Elizabeth Street Garden.

Theater and performance

Rachel Zoe, Joan Smalls, Ansel Elgort, Miley Cyrus, Russell Westbrook, Amber Valletta and Naoki Kobayashi attend Tom Ford's show, which was held at Bowery Street Tube Station. Credit: Billy Farrell, Sancho Scott, Nei / Billy Farrell, Sancho Scott, Nei

Non-traditional formats have been the watchwords of this fashion week, particularly in the form of theatrical performances. Tom Ford, for example, took his guests underground in a deserted subway station, where the platform also served as a track. The drinks were flowing, there were real subway workers, and the booming music gave the entire show a cool downtown vibe.

Emerging designer Susan Alexandra, known for her beaded handbags, has recreated a complete bar mitzvah with food, music and super-sized versions of her balloon purses.

Collina Strada's creator Hillary Taymour organized a farmers' market and invited customers to take the product to highlight her commitment to sustainable development (all garments were made from recycled materials, with the exception of jersey fabric).

"This show is my ongoing attempt to reconcile the desire we all have to create and consume with the responsibility we all share to be conscious and ethical," said Taymour, one of the 10 finalists of the 20199 CFDA / Vogue Fashion Fund, a prize that recognizes the new American Talent. "I do my best to use my platform to communicate urgent messages with positivity and honesty."

A model walks for the show Collina Strada. A farmers' market was organized as part of the track. Credit: Mitchell Sams

During this time, there were three types of returns. After five seasons in the world, Tommy Hilfiger returned to NYFW to present his TommyXZendaya (Fall-Winter 2019) collection ("See Now, Buy Now"), a collaboration with American actress Zendaya. The event was held at the historic Apollo Theater and included shows, songs and dances.

The same evening, Pyer Moss returned after a year-long break on the catwalk with a show at the Kings Theater, a concert hall located in Flatbush neighborhood, Brooklyn, by designer Kerby Jean-Raymond.

Choirs have always been one of the pillars of Pyer Moss' performances and this season, the Pyer Moss Drip Tabernacle choir (formed with its show director Dario Calmese in 2015) brought together 90 singers.

New names to know

A model performs at Tomo Koizumi's Spring 2020 fashion show at New York Fashion Week on September 6, 2019. Credit: JP Yim / Getty Images

In addition to the big names in fashion week, several up and coming designers presented their own fashion shows, and in this case, many of them deserved to hold attention beyond performance.

Japanese designer Tomo Koizumi, who made his spectacular debut last season, dressed the transgender model Ariel Nicholson in his larger-than-life and almost sculptural rainbow creations. His hair stitched to a point, Nicholson turned into voluminous tulle creations in a packed one-woman show.

Elsewhere, the rising independent brand Puppets and Puppets, designed by former fine artist Carly Mark and costume designer Ayla Argentina, combines Romanov-inspired shapes and textiles with flashes of surrealism, accompanied by a surprisingly appealing soundscape of the city. feminist Dorit Chrysler.

With a tighter schedule than ever, crowd favorites Vaquera teamed up with Section 8 and CDLM / Creatures of the Wind for a group show. Experimental net hats and the simple black and white palette of section 8 marked the label to watch.

Diversity in every way

A model parades for the Chromat track at New York Fashion Week on September 7, 2019 in New York. Credit: Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images

New York has not only paved the way for racial diversity in all the fashion weeks (although it is widely acknowledged that there is still a lot of work to be done), but this year the designers have deliberately attempted to be more inclusive.

The Kate Spade fashion house aired its three-generation show, featuring blogger Lyn Slater and 65-year-old actress Debi Mazar, accompanied by her teenage daughter Evelina Corcos.

"We wanted to have a wide range of women," Creative Director Nicola Glass told CNN Style. "Kate Spade as a brand has always shown a diversity of women in their marketing, but it's the first time we reflect that in a fashion show."

Meanwhile, the swimsuit brand Chromat, a fervent advocate of diversity, celebrated its 10 years in the fashion industry with a large number of body types, races and ages. Among them, Tess Holliday, a positivity activist for the body, paraded in a long white dress, sown with a white dress, covered with the words "sample size".

Sustainable and political

A model walks on the track of Gabriela Hearst's carbon-neutral show. Credit: Gabriela Hearst

Behind the scenes, fashion shows are usually noisy and chaotic, but Gabriela Hearst's preparations were strangely silent. That's because the designer has been trying to organize NYFW's first carbon neutral show. The models' hair was braided in the back while they walked in cotton and woolen and silk trench coats and in hemp dresses from Hearst.

The capsule collection by designer Maria Cornejo further illustrates sustainability. Cornejo used recycled textiles and leathers from car interiors in collaboration with Hyundai. The result was a very portable set of casual dresses and pantsuits nicknamed "ReStyle".

One of NYFW's most political moments may have been the parade of Prabal Gurung, which marked the 10th anniversary of his brand. His collection included elements of Americana, the country's floral emblem, red roses and classic blue denim. This culminated in the fact that each model was sent to the track wearing a pageant style belt with the words: "Who can be American?"

Finally, fashion favorite Marc Jacobs wrapped up the week with an eclectic show celebrating life with bright prints, flowers and high-volume shapes.

The next step in this year's fashion week calendar? London, Friday, September 13th.