Anne Hathaway and Anna Wintour Bring ‘Devil Wears Prada’ to New York Fashion Week

Michael Kors

Sometimes fiction meets reality in the best way—and at the best moment. And so it was on Wednesday, the final day of New York Fashion Week’s Spring/Summer 2023 shows, that Anne Hathaway and Anna Wintour were both guests at the Michael Kors show. They were seated together, and so of course any Devil Wears Prada fan was agog at what was being said. Yes, probably famous person chit-chat, but we can only hope that Wintour also launched into a lengthy explanation about the history of the color blue.

In fact, Hathaway wasn’t wearing blue. But, surreally, she was wearing an outfit (brown coat over black turtleneck) that echoed what Andy wore in the last scene of the movie—you know, when she has got the job at that worthy publication, Miranda has, not-shock-horror, given her a great reference, and then they share a charged exchange of looks across the street before Miranda slinks into her seat and instructs her driver, “Go!” (Oh dear, that’s us watching DWP again tonight.)

The Michael Kors 40th Anniversary Show Was a Star-Studded Ode to New York City

The show was flashbulbs-a-go-go: Serena Williams was in a hot pink trouser suit, Lisa Rinna was swathed in furs, Keke Palmer was in canary yellow, Bella Hadid modeled a range of dresses including a shimmering cocktail dress; also there: Vanessa Hudgens, Melinda Gates, Alexandra Daddario, Kaitlyn Dever, and New York City mayor Eric Adams.

The clothes—in stark whites and vivid colors like lime green, poppy-red and turquoise—featured tuxedo suits deconstructed, with fringes of tassels on the hem, sumptuous Grecian-styled gowns, oversized blazers for men and women, dramatic jerseys, sarongs and kaftans, and bold gold jewelry. Flesh was on plentiful display under jackets, or as cutouts, or swathes of material slashed across bodies, revealing long legs and toned mid-sections.

At this civilized daytime disco Baccara’s “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” would have felt perfect. Instead, a live band softly played tunes like Ravel’s “Bolero,” “Killing Me Softly,” and “La Isla Bonita.” You could almost convince yourself you were sitting on some sun-kissed palazzo, sometime in the 1970s—a kind of glamorous wishful thinking that few do better than Kors. Tim Teeman

Gauntlett Cheng

Devoted fans of the buzzy, covetable Williamsburg-launched label Gauntlett Cheng may not be aware that for designers Esther Gauntlett and Jenny Cheng, who met during their days as interns at Eckhaus Latta, their passion project is still technically a side hustle: Cheng is a project manager for the prominent gallery David Zwirner, while Gauntlett handles finances for an architecture firm.

Their entrepreneurial spirit is just as quintessentially New York as their ethereal, achingly cool creations, which have proven to be unforgettable: I discovered their work years ago when I spotted a woman wearing a fuzzy green mohair scarf on the J train and was instantly hooked—I inched closer and closer surreptitiously until I could make out the label.

Their Fall 2022 runway presentation, which actually totally ignores the present season in favor of spring-appropriate “fun, sexy dresses” as the designers don’t like making fall clothing, marks the duo’s first appearance at NYFW in three years. The setting rose to the occasion: at the dramatic hour of 9pm, scored by thudding techno, models did a long loop around the Manhattan Heliport at East River Piers in totally sheer garments.

Because the show was only lit by glowing fluorescents affixed to the tarmac, spectators had to pay close attention to take in the details making up a pale pink asymmetrical party dress and a white, short-sleeved skirt suit made shaggy by fringe. Silver It Girl bodysuits paired with thermals cropped above the breast and burnished gold corset dresses looked counterintuitively wearable, but the real Great Leap Forward came in the form of high heels anchored by long strips of streaming, golden blonde hair running up each calf. A little perverse and vaguely cannibalistic, the shoes are almost guaranteed to become A Thing. Helen Holmes

Kenneth Nicholson

Mixing metaphors was all the rage at an office space in the Trinity building where Kenneth Nicholson showed his corporate office inspired collection during lunch hour on Wednesday.

Reimagining the meaning behind the term “work wear,” the new collection was a range of seventies style men’s suiting complete with thick blue trousers paired with cream and brown striped button up shirts,1950s Dior-style tightly tailored and cinched waist dresses and a stand out structured black gown that would've made Charles James proud. There were more avant-garde looks as well, with see through lace garments, airy silk skin baring dresses, a variety of pajamas, and textiles printed with redacted office memos topped off by janitorial themed coveralls decorated in keys. Sarah Shears

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