NYFW Top 5 "Other" Shows and Collections

Fashion weeks are dominated by the large lions. But what of the breakout performers? These unsung heroes typically rely on friends and families to help pull together their collection in hopes of breaking through to take their next steps to fashion stardom and meaningful businesses.

Each season we comb the back alleys, climb the stair flights, and weather the weather to see each and every collection shown during fashion week. Along the way, we catch some breakouts that we wish to showcase.

Designer Sam Linder of Linder has been chipping away at fashion week for several seasons now. But his most recent collection embraced a newfound sophistication with colorful and clean leathers married with madras, all with just the right touch of a designers hand.

Jonathan Cohen is no newbie, having been in business for seven years to suddenly find himself an overnight success presenting his first official New York Fashion Week show. His timing was right, delivering a colorful and mature collection including various takes on florals and great hand knits.

Pyer Moss’s Kerby Jean-Raymond is a designer with a larger agenda than simply making clothes. He continues to make Top 5 Other lists season-after-season because he elegantly addresses social injustices in a contemplative and well-conceived way. This season was no different as Moss showed his Spring 2019 collection at a historic site – where one of America’s first free black communities was established in 1838: Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn.

Husband and wife designing duo, Kristopher and Laura Brock, showcased their Brock Collection at French eatery, Le Coucou. The collection was full of refined Belle-Époque looks with puffed sleeves, corset dresses, and ornate fabrics. Despite the ode to history, the collection was modern and feminine in a way that many New York designers rarely consider.

Los Angeles-based designer John Elliott has made a name for himself in menswear and until his move to Paris, he was one of the highlights of New York Men’s Fashion Week. Fortunately, the designer returned stateside and layered in women’s to bring his casual street influence back to New York. Showing at a skateboard park, the collection blended surf, skate, California sunshine, and youth couture to represent one of this week’s best breakout shows.