Almost two years since the news broke of
Harvey Weinstein’s abusive and predatory
behavior, starting the #MeToo movement
and altering the power structure in numer-
ous industries; just as a raft of books are
published and planned on the topic; in a
year in which there are more women run-
ning for president than ever; in a season of
collections meant to be sold in 2020, a cen-
tury after American women got the vote, fe-
male empowerment has been oddly low on
the fashion agenda.
Or at least the question of what it looks
like today, which should theoretically be one
of the questions when it comes to clothing.
Instead, there’s been a lot of talk of cheer
and how fashion can be a bright spot in grim
times, talk of sustainability and talk of
wrestling with uncomfortable questions.
The usual mining of the past.
All of this is useful and much of it is rele-
vant, and yet it has produced kind of wimpy
clothes: the tequila-sunset-in-Santo-Do-
mingo moiré, raffia, and chiffon fanciness of
Oscar de la Renta; a host of early 1980s ca-
reer girl (and boy) leathers accessorized
with a jaunty silk scarf at the neck and cut
by some wink-wink Richard Bernstein pop
culture references (Barbra Streisand, Rob
Lowe) worn not on the sleeve but the shirts
at Coach 1941. The suddenly mainstream
femininity of little ruffled dresses, sequined
slips and wide trousers of the formerly odd-
ball Eckhaus Latta.
Also one excruciating misstep: Vera
Wang, returning to the runway after two
years with a moody mishmash of lingerie
layers, men’s wear herringbones and wool
and misty bordello romance, threw in shoes
so acutely angled and vertiginous that her
models’ knees shook with the effort to re-
main upright.
Two fell, and one limped down the run-way with one shoe off, one leg about six
inches shorter than the other.
In 2019, no woman should be tortured by
what she wears.
At least the quiet environmental chic of
Gabriela Hearst, marrying geodes and lin-
en embroidered with insects gone extinct;
blanket-stitching and urban trenches (the
coat kind); and dresses made from multiple
rolled strips of recycled print fabrics pieced
together into cha-cha fringe, was crafty.
But while Ms. Hearst name-checked
strong women as inspiration backstage, the
effect was one of gentle suggestion.
But this is not a time for subtlety.
Witness Michael Kors’s Ellis Island-
meets-“Oklahoma!,” the musical ode-to-
American classics, all star-spangled,
striped, red-white-and-navy 1940s glam.
Also gingham and anchors aweigh, apple
pie and lemon meringue, the last two con-
cepts picked out in crystals on black cock-
tail suits. And a few spikes here and there to
puncture the clichés.
It had structure (a quality that has been
out of favor in fashion for a while now), but it
was Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernan-
dez of Proenza Schouler who finally put
strength back on the table.
They had power shoulders! Power hips!
Power accessories! Power irony! Yeah,
they were revisiting the decade of the
power suit. But at least they were doing it
with energy and glee.
Jackets were oversize on top, pants high-
waisted and pleated, and dresses draped
and cowled at the chest to create exaggerat-
ed curves. Things were jutting out all over
and taking up space.
There was some heavy metal in belts and
big brassy buttons, and some on-purpose
frumpiness. (Just, you know: take that,
male gaze!) There was a glimpse of skin in
the deep-dipped sides of easy-access
bronze-beaded halter dresses. Lesley Gore
was singing on the soundtrack.
They were clothes for womansplaining. It
was a blast.Top, a lineup of looks from
Proenza Schouler, spring 2020.
Left, a look from Gabriela
Hearst. Above, looks from
Eckhaus Latta.STEFANIA CURTO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMESTop, looks from Vera Wang, spring 2020. Above from left: looks from Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta and Coach 1941.
Dressed for Womansplaining
FASHION REVIEW
By VANESSA FRIEDMANSOME HAD
IDEAS, BUT
OTHERS
TRIPPED UP.JEENAH MOON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMESDOLLY FAIBYSHEV FOR THE NEW YORK TIMESRICHARD DREW/ASSOCIATED PRESSVINCENT TULLO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMESSLAVEN VLASIC/GETTY IMAGESNINA WESTERVELT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMESTHE NEW YORK TIMES, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 N D11
Fashion insiders took a pause
from New York Fashion Week on
Tuesday to attend an event that
lacked a runway or after-party,
with seats well behind the front
row.
It was a memorial for Oribe Ca-
nales, a celebrity hairdresser
known simply as Oribe (pro-
nounced OR-bay), who helped
create the larger-than-life looks of
the supermodels of the 1980s and
’90s.
The event was at the prome-
nade of the David H. Koch Theater
at Lincoln Center, and the turnout
of about 400 people reflected
Oribe’s influence.
There were actual supermodels
like Cindy Crawford, Christy
Turlington Burns and Stephanie
Seymour Brant. “Oribe just exud-
ed this passion, this light, this fire,
and he was unbelievably charm-ing,” said Amber Valletta, another
top model. “When he put his
hands on your head, you just knew
something magical was going to
happen. And it was going to be
big.”
Designers including Anna Sui
and Michael Kors skipped out of
fashion week duties to attend, as
did many front-row regulars like
Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, Grace
Coddington, Mario Sorrenti and
Bruce Weber.
And notably, for a field that is
not always considered collegial,
there were numerous hairstylists,
including Garren, an early sup-
porter of Mr. Canales who encour-
aged him to follow suit and drop
his last name; Jimmy Paul and
Rita Hazan, who were protégés;
and friendly competitors such as
Edward Tricomi, Orlando Pita and
Frederic Fekkai.
“For a lot of people, fashion
week becomes their family,” said
Veronica Webb, a model. “For
someone like Oribe, this is his
life’s work. We are his family.”
Although Mr. Canales died in
December, the memorial was
scheduled to coincide with fashionweek. The idea came from Naomi
Campbell, who organized a group
chat that included Ms. Turlington
Burns, Linda Evangelista,
François Nars and Donatella Ver-
sace. Judy Erickson, Mr. Canales’s
longtime assistant, worked for
several months to put together the
event. (Ms. Campbell could not at-
tend but recorded a video state-
ment that was shown during the
service.)
“Naomi sort of made it her job,”
Ms. Turlington Burns said. “She
started the WhatsApp. She was
responsible for bringing the dif-
ferent people in, and kind of kept
me posted.”
Mr. Canales’s death also served
as a reminder that a certain era of
fashion is over, accentuated by the
recent deaths of Peter Lindbergh,
a photographer who ushered in
the supermodel era, and Marina
Schiano, a model and muse.
As Ms. Crawford put it: “Hav-
ing this event this afternoon and
having lost Peter last week, it just
reminds us all that life is short and
also that so many people that I
grew up with in this industry,we’re not babies anymore.”
Colleagues, friends and family
members shared their memories
of Mr. Canales onstage, as did Jen-
nifer Lopez and Marc Jacobs, who
also appeared in pretaped videos.
“We kind of fell in love with each
other from maybe the first time
we set eyes on each other,” Ms. Lo-
pez said.
Miley Cyrus, who became
friends with Mr. Canales in his lat-
er years, ended the proceedings
by singing a Dolly Parton-esque
version of “You Are My Sunshine.”
Afterward, attendees gathered
on the terrace for a reception that
felt more like a Council of Fashion
Designers of America cocktail
party than a memorial.
Mr. Kors, who was still prepar-
ing for his show the following day,
recalled when he sat in Mr. Ca-
nales’s chair. “I think he could con-
vince people to do anything,” he
said. “I mean, I used to have really
long, Peter Frampton hair, and he
looked at me one day and he said,
‘It’s time to take the chop.’ I said, ‘I
don’t know,’ and he said, ‘I’m go-
ing to do Steve McQueen, and
you’ll be happy.’ ”Stars Remember
Beloved Hairdresser
Praise for the ‘magical’
Oribe Canales, who
died in December.
By RACHEL FELDERTop, a film on Oribe
Canales that was
shown at Lincoln
Center; at left from
left: Judy Erickson
and Miley Cyrus;
below left, Doutzen
Kroes, Susan
Holmes and Miss J;
Stephanie Seymour
Brant getting a hug.Left, Lance LePere
and Michael Kors;
above, Christy
Turlington Burns;
below left, Cindy
Crawford; below,
center, Liya Kebede.PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEENAH MOON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES