Every fall, designers, fashionistas and critics flock to New York City for New York Fashion Week. It’s easily my favorite week of the year. I love watching the coverage of shows and presentations through the eyes of my favorite influencers and designers. This year, with the week ending with the 18th anniversary of 9/11, Marc Jacobs paid homage to the day. Every year his show closes fashion week, including the fashion week of 2001 when his show took place on the night of September 10th. He put on the most gorgeous show I’ve ever seen. Beautiful dresses, sleek effortless looks and a perfectly happy pallete. His show was moving for those who love fashion, but the notes he left on each seat are what made this a show for the ages.

“On the Monday evening before 9/11, Marc Jacobs showed a star-studded fashion show at Pier 54, with the twin towers glistening but a few hundred yards away. Glamorous, celebrity-packed and incidentally poignant (the direction was 70’s flower child)… seen in content as a tragically dazzling snapshot of life in New York before the world changed the next morning.”- Christopher Barnard, Paper Magazine.

For my dear friend, David Rivers and all the great friends I will never have the chance to meet, it has been eighteen years and a day we will never forget. This show, like that show (Spring/Summer 2001) is a celebration of life, joy, equality, individuality, optimism, happiness, indulgence, dreams and a future unwritten as we continue to learn from our past and the history of fashion- exploring iconic images of the designers we love, forever catalogued… From the genius of Karl, the cheerful and bright eyed positivity of Doris Day, the incomparable timeless style of Lee Radziwill to the effortless coolness of Lee Radziwill the effortless coolness a half century later among the endless sea of digital influencers… The boundary-pushing, brilliantly cast and hyper-stylisted, Euphoria, so acutely portraying what it means to be a young person today and the poignant depiction of a not-so-distant future… As with closely guarded tradition, tonight is our reminder of the joy in dressing up, our unbridled love of fashion and embracing grand gestures of unbridled expressions, reactions, ideas and possibilities.” Check out the full note on Marc Jacob’s instagram. 

Every year 9/11 reminds us of loss, of the sadness our country felt and still feels for those lost and those forever changed. Our world changed that day and 18 years later it doesn’t hurt any less, and it never will. This note written by Marc Jacobs is a reminder of our past, of where we came from, who we were before, and who we are now. He speaks to those lost on 9/11 and since, like Karl Lagerfield and Dorothy Day, who both made lasting and unforgettable changes to society.  He thanked the producers of Euphoria for depicting the truth of today. This note is a reminder of everything this country has endured, our losses, our successes, and everything to come. I hope you are as moved by it as I was and I hope Marc Jacob’s words stay with you.

While the sentiment of the show was amazing, the gowns and looks are what makes this show unforgettable. My favorite look was the gown Bente Oort wore. She was covered in head to toe flowers made of pink and orange feathers. Think Kylie and Kendall Met Gala 2019 times a thousand. It was an epic look and definitely a show stopper. Gigi Hadid wore the most chic little blue dress that gave me total french girl vibes. Her matching baby blue hat pulled the look together. Kaia Gerber dazzled in a dark flower printed gown. Every last detail of her look was absolute perfection from the chiffon flowers pinned into her updo to her sparkly green manicure. The show took place in a warehouse, the audience sat in white folding chairs sporadically placed in the middle of the room and all of the models walked out at once.

It was different, and magical, and everything fashion should be.

Thank you for reading,

Eleanor Davis

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