DKNY Fall 2014: New Yorkers Take to the Runway in a Style Mash-up

Scenes from the DKNY Fall 2014 show . “Real” New Yorkers mixed with models on the runway (photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images.)

Diversity  of shapes and sizes is not something that you usually see on the runway at New York Fashion Week. Uniformity is the standard runway look.  The typical fashion show consists of Stepford-wife like models, gazing straight ahead, with the same hairstyle and make-up, unsmiling and moving in step down the runway in sizes zero and two.   Donna Karan eschewed the cookie cutter pattern of professional models at her DKNY show yesterday. In a surprise move, “real New Yorkers”  joined runway models to model the DKNY Fall 2014 collection.  The show was a brilliant way for consumers to see how the collection might actually look on them, rather than a sample size model. DKNY’s Fall 2014 collection included menswear as well as womenswear.

Sexy dress in pearl gray and hot pink for Fall 2014 at DKNY (Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images.)

For Fall 2014, Donna Karan was inspired by New York “street style.”   Her collection was a literal mash-up of chic with the street and classics with cool. Professional models strolled the runway along with everyday New Yorkers.  The show included everything from updated varsity style high school “letterman” jackets to hot pink lace overlay dresses and sexy lingerie style maxis.   There were sweats juxtasposed with sequins, faux fur mixed with shearling.   Because that’s the way “real’ people (not professional stylists) go into their closet and mix and match pieces, right?

Walking in the runway for the DKNY Fall 2014 show were artists, musicians, TV presenters, a” biologist”, students and DJs.  It was an exuberant mix as diverse as New York itself, the city which has often been called a “melting pot.”    The pieces were wearable, uncomplicated and simple —features that will appeal to consumers everywhere.  After 25 years, Donna Karan is still being innovative with her DKNY runway shows and brand.  That’s a rare thing on the runway where shows are too often sterile and follow a formula where sameness is the standard.   As a consumer, and an attendee of the show, I appreciated  this show’s style, heart and message more than any other I have seen this Fall  2014 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week season.  Here’s to seeing more personalized style on the runway and models of all shapes and sizes!