New York fashion week’s key collections – in pictures

“In a chaotic world, we thought about what ‘effortless’ means now,” Tory Burch said of her starting point for the collection. Pared back silhouettes were key. Burch said she experimented with adding stretch to crinolines that have “historically restricted women’s bodies”. The moulded bags were designed to hug to hips while footwear was mainly flat. Hemlines hit high above the knee while some dresses had wide hoops that orbited the body. Held at the Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History, the collection’s soft colour palette was enhanced by the gentle curved concrete interior.

In the weeks leading up to Peter Do’s debut for Helmut Lang, it became one of the most highly anticipated shows of the season. Outside the venue, the hype was palpable with guests jostling to get in. Do’s friend, the writer Ocean Vuong, had painted verses of a poem on the concrete floor, a nod to the slogans Lang used from artist Jenny Holzer. Vuong’s words were also emblazoned on T-shirts: “Your car was my first room” read one. Do continued to delve into the Lang archive with seatbelt straps and Crombie coats, but it was the simple tailoring, such as flat-front trousers, that stood out.

Michael Kors said he had been thinking about the joy of holidays. Inspired by the memories of taking trips with his recently deceased mother, Kors deleved into the past, adding images of Jane Birkin in France and Jackie Kennedy barefoot in Capri to his mood board. “You could take that picture today and you’d say ‘Oh, that’s today’, not 55 or 60 years ago,” Kors said. The collection was a celebration of pieces with permanence. Kors honed in on the empire silhouette with crochet dresses made for promenading. “We want glamour, but at the same time for me it’s always going to be about comfort.”

To mark his 10th anniversary as the creative director of Coach, Stuart Vevers took over the New York Public Library, inviting stars including Jennifer Lopez to celebrate. For this collection, the British-born designer said he wanted to explore his own personal memories of arriving in the city as a graduate during the 1990s. Grungy slip dresses were inspired by the girls he used to dance with at the Pyramid Club in the East Village. Leather biker jackets and short, strappy dresses were made from deadstock and repurposed leftover factory floor scraps. Much of the delicate lace was also upcycled.

Minimalism might be big on FashionTok but judging by the queue outside Ulla Johnson’s store on Bleecker street on a Saturday, there’s still plenty of appetite for a bolder boho aesthetic. This season, Johnson teamed up with the Brooklyn painter Shara Hughes on a series of vibrant prints. “Shara has a way of treating colour and landscape in this psychedelic, distorted nature,” Johnson said. The rest of the colour palette was just as uplifting with chartreuse and watermelon shades. There was plenty of tactile detailing too, such as raffia fringing, beading and lace embroidery.

Kate Spade took over the The High Line, serving up iced lollies and slushies to guests including actors Christina Ricci and Molly Gordon. Inspired by the first feeling of spring in NYC, “when you abandon your winter wardrobe and refuse to go back,” the collection had an easy, breezy aesthetic. There were slouchy silk trousers and sequined striped board shorts. Cardigans, varsity jackets and neat handbags featured a reimagined “Noel” print. The abstract “KS” monogram was dug out from the archives where it was first developed by Kate and Andy Spade in 1999.

This season, Gabriela Hearst’s references included Druids and Wicca. Collaborating with the Haitian artist Levoy Exil, who draws inspiration from Voddoo spirts, Hearst used his paintings as the basis for her macrame fabrics. Craft is at the heart of Hearst’s work; she advocates for slower and more sustainable practices. A long poncho dress took 1,500 hours for Bolivian artisans to complete, handcrafting each stitch, knot and weave. Beaded mesh pieces (pictured) were made by individually threading each glass bead onto silk threads.

Born in Singapore to Nepali parents, Prabal Gurung was raised in Kathmandu and worked in New Delhi prior to emigrating to New York. For this collection, he examined old photographs of his aunts leaving for the USA and his grandmother’s painted wallpaper. “It’s about time the West meets the East,” Gurung told reporters. Peplum tops were a nod to the blouses Rajasthani male dancers wear, low-slung trousers were an homage to loose-fitting Dhoti pants while tops were draped like saris.

To celebrate 15 years of his brand, Christian Siriano invited guests including Janet Jackson, Laverne Cox, Avril Lavigne and Laura Linney to less of a catwalk show and more of an extravaganza at the Pierre Hotel off Central Park. Inspired by the ballet, his introduction to “clothes and fantasy dream world,” there was plenty of corset detailing, tulle and ribbons. A surprise performance by Sia in a voluminous sherbet pink gown as the model Coco Rocha struck a variety of dramatic poses went viral.

This season the design duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez said they were trying to find the balance between creativity and “the realities of commerce”. They held their show at Phillips Auction House, telling W Magazine it was “like a metaphor itself. That’s where art comes to be judged on its commercial viability.” Continuing on from last season, the duo focused on streamlined suiting before introducing lightweight jersey dresses and fragile skirts adorned with jingling crystalline embroideries. Bags including a new take on the PS1 came embossed with the brand’s first-ever logo.

Ralph Lauren took over a giant warehouse in Brooklyn, transforming it into a rustic Colorado ranch, albeit one with giant crystallised chandeliers and gold gilded mirrors. The front row was just as glamorous, heaving with celebrities including Julianne Moore, Diane Keaton, Jennifer Lopez and Laura Dern. Opening looks harked back to Lauren’s roots, taking inspiration from the purpose-built clothes of the American West. Denim came lined with tulle and embroidered with tiny sequins and beads. But it was Christy Turlington in a liquid gold one-shoulder gown that was the real showstopper.