Last week's snowstorm did little to derail the start of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which began with a handful of presentations on Wednesday and continued through the weekend despite the news of designer Alexander McQueen's death on Thursday morning. Among the myriad of off-site runway shows and presentations, a few stood out with some creative takes on set design and entertainment.
During Wednesday night's blizzard, Gen Art brought back its "New Garde" show, exhibiting four lines in vignettes scattered around Drive In Studios. Sophomore made the biggest statement with the simplest stage design—a live photo shoot that had models cavorting around a white set.
Equally as uncluttered was Marc Jacobs's display at the 69th Regiment Armory on Monday, dominated by cardboard and brown paper.
Conversely, Gant opted for a more intricate build out, marking its first foray into Fashion Week and its collaboration with Michael Bastian by fabricating a locker room inside St. Anthony's Memorial Gym for its Saturday afternoon showcase.
On Sunday, Valentine's Day provided some of the inspiration for tongue-in-cheek antics on two catwalks. Y-3 returned to the Park Avenue Armory with a laser light show that ended with models handing out red roses and designer Yohji Yamamoto in a mock fight. And Johnson's runway show, her first since switching to presentations last February, put toy guns, fake money, and inflatable red hearts in the hands of her models for a Wild West-themed outing at the Altman Building.
