Twice a year, celebrities, socialites, journalists and fashion devotees flock to New York City to attend New York Fashion Week (NYFW), where designers debut their latest designs in runway shows. Along with other fashion weeks in Paris, Milan and London, NYFW is one of the most important fashion gatherings of the year. The two fashion seasons are spring and fall, but designers show their collections months before the actual season arrives—spring collections come out in September and fall shows in February. The long lead-time gives clients a chance to prepare their wardrobes and gives fashion critics time to mull over the collections and declare what is in and out.

This year’s fall fashion trends were displayed at NYFW Feb. 2 to 9. Designers showed around 80 collections in large white tents, characteristic of NYFW. Serious tones and textures dominated this season, in contrast to the floral prints and floaty textures of spring 2007. The fall shows were more sophisticated, with thicker, solid-colored fabrics and fur. The predominant colors were rich orange hues, red, deep purple, brown and gray, a marked difference from the bright greens, pinks and prints of the previous season.

More than just colors and textures changed—new trends emerged as well. Pant waists rose higher and many collections showed wide leg trousers and jeans, though the overall silhouette remained slim. Dresses were tailored and structured. There were interesting takes on plaid as well.

Although NYFW may seem distant and the clothes unattainable to students, the trends seen in New York do make their way to Gunn. Junior Viktoria Tsukanov spends hours looking at photographs of the shows after NYFW, and sees the root of many student fashion trends in the designer fashion of Fashion Week. “People don’t realize it, but the trends shown in Fashion Week definitely trickle down to us,” she said. “The best example is skinny jeans, which few people wore before they were made popular by high fashion designers in New York and Europe. Other good examples are the long shirt, shirtdresses, leggings and blazers—all these trends stemmed from high designer fashion.”

Junior Nora Boyd, who designs clothes as a hobby, also admitted the influence Fashion Week can have on ordinary students. “Even though not many Gunn students ‘watch’ this kind of fashion like I do, many of our clothes reflect what’s going on in this fashion world,” she said. “A lot of the trends in the ready-to-wear shows in New York or Europe come to us through stores like H&M. Many of H&M’s designs are directly influenced by Fashion Week’s clothes.”

Fashion trends aside, NYFW is also a source of artistic expression for designers to channel their creative energy—allowing spectators to be inspired. “The shows have such a wide variety of colors, darks, skin or no-skin—even if no one would wear it, it’s still beautiful to look at,” Tsukanov said. “Fashion at this level is an art form.”

There were many noteworthy shows this season. Zac Posen’s collection included many tailored 1940s suits and jewel-toned evening gowns. Vera Wang layered headbands, scarves, cardigans, sweaters and jackets to create a winter effect typical of her style. Marc Jacobs’ Fall show, one of Boyd’s favorites, was also riveting to the fashion world partly because of its stray from the norm. Stiff column dresses, tuxedo jackets and prim sweaters replaced his usual prints, pastels and layering.

Other NYFW shows that may be more familiar to students include Lacoste, Anna Sui, Nicole Miller and Michael Kors, along with designers that have stores at Stanford Shopping Center such as Miss Sixty, BCBG Max Azria and Betsey Johnson.

Whether as a cue for trends or a creative outlet, NYFW is one of the most significant fashion events of the year. Some of its trends are very successful amongst students, while other designs are only looked at. Either way, NYFW can be a source of human obsession and passion. “Fashion allows you to be completely different from everyone else,” Boyd said. “Fashion Week is always interesting, exciting and beautiful.”