By Dia Arora I Social Media Marketing Intern

This year's New York Fashion Week signifies hope to create a better precedent for diversity in the fashion world. In the past few years, inclusivity on the city’s runways has been inconsistent. The upward trajectory of diversity in one cycle is often crushed by the next. Despite this disappointing fluctuation, certain designer’s seem to be on track to change this fate within their upcoming collections. This year, the call to reflect the diversity of the world onto the runway is more prominent than ever. People on all spectrums of gender, race, and size want to be represented in today’s designer clothing. This demand is anticipated to become a theme within Fall/Winter 2022 collections. Here are 5 brands to watch if you are looking for diversity this fashion week:

1. Eckhaus Latta

Created by Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta, this brand has been a face of unapologetic diversity on the runway for years. They reject the conformity of being a strictly men’s or women’s collection and instead choose to have a completely gender neutral stance on fashion and silhouettes. This brand takes pride in its ability to be universal: clothes to be worn by any gender, race, or ethnicity. This belief is displayed within the brand’s model casting. Eckhaus Latta has built a reputation for their consistent hiring of plentiful models of color, people across the gender spectrum, and models of all ages and sizes. If you are looking for a collection with unique representation at NYFW 2022, Eckhaus Latta’s runway is the place to be. 

2. Collina Strada

This fashion brand by Hillary Taymour is an active promoter of social activism. The brand focuses on ecological sustainability, using ethical materials and procedures to create high fashion. To spread these messages the brand displays a diverse array of models, strutting down the runway in bright and unique clothing. The brand has been praised for its inclusion of models of all races and sizes. Collina Strada stands out from others for it’s casting of LGBTQ+ activists and disabled models. If you are in the mood for a diverse, colorful, and eco-conscious collection: Collina Strada’s Fall/Winter New York Fashion week show is perfect for you.

3. Christian Siriano

Once a contestant on “Project Runway”, Christan Siriano has built a name for himself among notorious fashion designers. Through his rise he has always prioritized diversity in his runway shows. Not only does he provide an ample display of models from all races and ethnicities, he also displays an expansive size range within them. His newest collection walking the runway this week is made to go up to a size 30. Though he is considered a women’s wear designer, in the past Siriano has not been afraid to showcase his clothes on gender non-binary models. Through his clothes the designer crushes societal norms, and creates luxurious designs for all types of people. Siriano’s reputation for inclusive shows, sets him up to be a promising promoter of diversity at NYFW this year.

4. Telfar

With the tagline, “it’s not you, it’s for everybody”, designer Telfar Clemens builds collections made to represent the diversity of the world around us. Telfar not only continues the trend of gender fluidity within fashion, but is one of the originators of the concept itself. The brand has been creating fashionable unisex collections since 2006. Their runway’s emulate the diversity of people and styles that can be seen on any street, abundant with non-traditional models and explorative fashion. He prides himself on being non performative: creating inclusive fashion before doing so became a political statement. Telfar has always been ahead of the times when it comes to embracing diversity on the runway. His 2022 NYFW display is guaranteed to match this pattern.

5. Claudia Li

Designer Claudia Li uses her identity as an Asian American woman to shape her approach to diversifying the runway. She is most famous for her striking decision to include only Asian models on the runway in her NYFW 2018 debut. Ironically her exclusivity in this casting is exactly what made her inclusive: celebrating multicultural identity in a way that no other runway did. She flipped the narrative of having exclusively white shows, to show the diversity and beauty within asian cultures. Even when she uses models of different races and ethnicities in her other collections, her themes of promoting diversity and celebrations of identity are evident throughout all her work. Based on the unapologetic nature of her previous NYFW display, her fall/winter 2022 collection will definitely be one to watch on this weeks ramp.

Thank you Dia for a wonderful recap of NYFW Fashion Week! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!

Bio: Dia is excited to work with the rest of the team to spread the messages and stories of inspiring women. When she is not working, she can be found reading a book, painting, or grabbing dinner with my friends. Through this year of interning she is ecstatic to learn and grow, not only as a writer, but as a confident woman as well.

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