By Danielle Broadway and Jenna Zucker
New York, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Guests in wrap dresses and bright colors gathered on New York’s High Line on Thursday as Belgian fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg returned to the runway for the first time in nearly a decade, opening New York Fashion Week.
New artistic director Henry Zankov made his debut for the label, marking a homecoming. Zankov joined DVF as a knitwear designer in 2014, spent four years at the company and later launched his own namesake brand.
Zankov told Reuters he aims to carry forward von Furstenberg’s legacy through “body language and sensuality and seduction and fabric and freedom.”
While the house’s signature wrap dress remained central to the collection, appearing alongside wrap tops and flowing capes, Zankov pushed a bolder mix of prints, textures and color. Animal prints met vivid blocks of color and clashing patterns, while metallic pieces added flashes of shine.
The collection reflected Zankov’s view of modern womanhood as something that transcends age.
“I think all women are modern. The clothes are like tools and you use them how you want to,” he said.
The show returned DVF to the New York Fashion Week calendar while placing Zankov, known for his colorful, graphic knitwear, at the helm of one of American fashion’s most recognizable brands.
Von Furstenberg founded DVF in 1972, whose mission is to empower women through style.
(Reporting by Alicia Powell and Jenna ZuckerEditing by Rod Nickel)
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