RUNWAY: David Hart FW18

David Hart's take on an American in Paris took a different (and very tongue-in-cheek) approach. There were berets, drawn on mustaches, and knowingly tacky (but very sellable) pins that brought the idea of Americans abroad. Though, as the show notes indicate and evidenced from hashtagged sweats, the collection is a narrative on the "mass exodus of American brands and designers to show in Paris", though no names were dropped. That list grows, leaving NYFW (and the relatively new NYFWM) to fend for themselves in the ever growing number of "fashion capitals" vying for attention and relevance. The clothes? They were perfectly fine, the painted bottoms were very well done, the rugby shirts were All-American but the collection seemed too bogged down by the narrative. NYFW:M has some big names that draws the big-name publications and the growing number of independent brands that are propped up by the American fashion industry, especially by the CFDA, are flourishing and shows that unlike other fashion capitals, New York values fresh and authentic viewpoints, so fret not of those other labels and designers.