New York In-Between Week
A dispatch from the days between New York Fashion Week and New York Climate Week
A few updates before jumping into this week’s post -
Next Season (my upcycled knitwear brand) is hosting a popup at Rue Saint Paul (313 Court St. in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn) on Saturday, 12pm - 6pm. If you’re in the area come say hi and check out our new pieces!
And you can shop online now too - at nextseason.nyc! I’d recommend following along on Instagram @nextseason.nyc to learn about new product drops & popups / events before they’re posted on the site.
I’m thrilled to participate in the Fusion Fashion Tech Summit next Monday, September 23rd. The summit is an official Climate Week NYC event, taking place at FIT - I’ll be speaking in a panel about upcycled fashion, highlighting innovative approaches to repurposing textile waste.
I’m also excited to come back for the 2nd cohort of the Circular Fashion Coalition, created by Cynthia & Laura of the Untangling Circularity Podcast. The Coalition was a bright spot of my week over the summer, as ~40 members (representing fashion brands, non-profits, academia, textile sorters / recyclers, and more) met regularly to learn & collaborate on advancing circularity in fashion.
On NYFW & NY Climate Week
If you (like me) follow a bunch of fashion writers & media folks on Substack & Instagram, you’ll have been inundated with content about NYFW (New York Fashion Week). If you don’t, you didn’t miss much… Despite my long-lived love of fashion, I found myself skipping most of it. I’ve never found runway-show and brand party recaps all that interesting (easy to say when I’m not invited, ha) - but if I had to make a quick assessment as to why? I think it’s because my interest in clothes has always been pretty tactile: seeing them in person, trying them on / wearing them, and now, making them. And my favorite fashion content is usually a ‘behind the scenes’ / ‘how it’s made’ POV.
This year I was struck by the juxtaposition of NYFW (last week) and NY Climate Week (next week). There were a few sustainable / slow fashion events last week, and some shows & designers focused on vintage, sustainability, and upcycled materials. But sustainability was far from a theme for NYFW (at least from my outsider perspective). Which isn’t exactly surprising? It’s just another visible example of the disconnect between the ‘fantasy’ of a fashion collection and the reality of it’s impact.
This fall, my focus is on Climate Week more than it was on Fashion Week. That may change in the future, hopefully a future where the lines are blurred. I’ve been using this ‘in-between’ week to prepare for Saturday’s popup & the various events I’m attending next week. Here’s a roundup of some work in progress:
Set-in Sleeve Sweater
I’m developing a new sweater pattern! Up until now, every sweater I’ve made has been a ‘drop shoulder’ design. Here’s an illustration of the difference between a drop shoulder design and a set-in sleeve design:
Drop shoulders are much easier to design and construct, because they require minimal shaping. The shoulder seam does not need to (and in fact is not intended to) sit at the edge of the shoulder, and so the ‘fit’ of the sweater is forgiving. Drop shoulder sweaters have an intentionally boxy, oversized look and fit.
These aren’t the only shoulder / sleeve styles out there, but two of the most common. Interestingly, I had a much harder time finding examples of set-in sleeves (at least poking around SSENSE) - I wonder if it’s because drop shoulders are easier to make / easier to fit…
Regardless, I wanted to progress my skills (both pattern making and knitting) beyond drop shoulder and master the set-in sleeve, so that I can offer a broader range of styles and fits. I drew out a design, taking measurements from previous sweaters I’ve made and a few store-bought sweaters I own with set-in sleeves. My up-front research on the geometry of a sleeve-cap paid off (I used this knitter’s recommended approach) and it all came together with minimal hiccups. I also decided to work exclusively with black and white yarn this time, and added some volume to the sleeves for fun:
I plan on wearing this for Monday’s panel talk - and hopefully get a lot of use out of it, and more importantly, out of the pattern(!) this fall & winter.
Small Accessories
Another area I’m exploring is accessories - thanks to the feedback of friends, family, and fashion industry experts! I’m wary of drifting too far into ‘craft’ vs ‘fashion’, but recognize the importance of offering products at a variety of price points. A few ideas that have floated to the top:
Scrunchies - a quick and easy way to incorporate a pop of color into your outfit
Scarves - duh..! So many possibilities
Bags - I’m particularly excited about this one, it’s something that’s been bouncing around in my head for quite a while…
I’ll be debuting some accessories on Saturday, so come by and let me know what you think!
Best,
Anne
Yay for the pop-up, wish I could make it!