At Fashion Month, the Star Designers Wore Denim

While most would consider a runway model’s last look to be the end of a collection during a fashion show, audience members typically wait a beat for the designers to take their customary final bow. Each head of house is unique in the way they take their flowers: Ralph Lauren, Véronique Nichanian, Willy Chavarria, and Ludovic de Saint Sernin, among others, have been known to take a full, jubilant walk down the runway after a particularly feel-good denouement. Others, like Demna and Veronica Leoni, barely step out of the sidelines for a quick show of gratitude before scurrying back to the action. Though brief, a show simply feels unpunctuated without a designer show-face at the end.

This fashion month in particular, with so many highly anticipated debuts, the proverbial designer lap felt as obligatory as a cap toss at the end of a graduation ceremony. Outfit-wise, last looks are known for being understated (designers typically love to wear black) so as not to distract from the collection. Three relatively recently appointed female creative directors (or, all three of them) dressed up for the occasion in a very professional yet understated, designer-y way: Calvin Klein’s Veronica Leoni and Givenchy’s Sarah Burton wore pleated trousers, as did Bottega Veneta’s Louise Trotter, who pulled her hair back into a chic, messy bun. But, perhaps in subconscious solidarity, many of the new-ish or freshly christened male creative directors opted for the ultimate no-frills workwear staple: denim.

When Alessandro Michele stepped out onto Valentino’s massive, stark stage for a respectable seven seconds, barely perceptible to attendees in back rows, he did so in light-wash denim with a loose, mid-rise fit similar to that of mom jeans, and accessorized with his go-to “Techno Is My Boyfriend” cap. Though strobe lights rotated and blinked throughout the run of the show, the flashes held steady and shone hard as Michele turned his weed-leef-printed checkerboard Valentino x Vans inward, baby-girl style, and bowed.

Similarly, Seán McGirr—still somewhat new to McQueen—tucked in his Nine Inch Nails T-shirt into faded, bootcut jeans. On top: an unbuttoned striped shirt and a mop-top ’do. (He could’ve easily passed for Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner circa 2007.) After presenting his vision for Dior, Jonathan Anderson was met with a standing ovation when he walked out, bleary-eyed, in a pair of rugged ocean-blue dad jeans with a button fly—made even more dad-like by his kicks, green Salomon trekking shoes. Coach’s Stuart Vevers wore a version of this dad look, too, when he took his bow while carrying his young child, River, in his arms.

Running onto his galactic Chanel runway to hug model Awar Odhiang, Matthieu Blazy wore baggy blue jeans cuffed at the hem to reveal a pair of gnarled Nike Cortezes. Meanwhile, Jil Sander’s Simone Bellotti stuck to his final walk formula of a long-sleeved gray tee, a Detroit Tigers cap, and tapered, deliciously broken-in dark denim. (Bellotti wore a version of this look to conclude his reign at Bally earlier this year.)

But the look(s) that came out on top were the matching-ish fits donned by Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez, who stepped out at the end of their Loewe debut, coolly overcome with emotion. The bottom halves of their outfits could’ve easily been spotted on a line cook: dark, baggy pants and sturdy leather kicks. But up top, with their respective red and royal blue Ralph Lauren tops, they looked like Berghain versions of the Menendez brothers (complimentary). All they were missing was a pair of hand-rolled cigarettes and maybe a pair of ironic performance glasses.