- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
Play and glitter: New York Fashion Week kicks off amid Covid
Experimentation, play, and glitter: a coronavirus-impacted New York Fashion Week got under way Friday with Fall/Winter 2022 shows by Proenza Schouler and Christian Cowan.
In its collection, presented in an art gallery in Manhattan's trendy East Village, New York brand Proenza Schouler played with shape, contrasting fitted waists with loose or slightly rounded skirts.
Designer Lazaro Hernandez said the idea was to exaggerate and juxtapose different forms to respond to "this whole body obsession these days with social media and everyone showing the body."
Model Bella Hadid wore an outfit featuring buttoned sleeves, accentuated shoulders, and a black velvet hooded top -- giving off a Catwoman vibe.
"Experimentation and play are key, perhaps now more than ever," Proenza said of its collection.
- Glamor and glitter -
Christian Cowan -- who has dressed Lady Gaga and rappers Cardi B and Lil Nas X -- presented his collection in the observatory atop the One World Trade Center skyscraper that replaced the Twin Towers felled on 9/11.
The show had the atmosphere of a nightclub, highlighting the British designer's taste for glitter and glamor.
Ahead of the runway, the label teased fans with what might be in store by posting an image of the "Freedom Tower" all in pink on its Instagram page.
Despite pandemic restrictions and the Omicron variant upsetting preparations, several other brands have opted for in-person shows, including Michael Kors, Altuzarra, Tory Burch, Brandon Maxwell and Telfar.
A notable absence was Tom Ford, chair of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) that organizes the event.
He was due to close the week next Wednesday but canceled at the end of January due to a surge of Covid-19 cases among his team.
"We have tried everything possible to avoid canceling our New York show but ultimately are faced with the sad fact that we will simply not have a completed collection in time," he said.
For several years now, New York has had to deal with big names deciding to skip the event in favor of displaying their latest collections elsewhere.
Some designers are also choosing to eschew the classic runway calendar, with growing criticism that the frantic pace of fashion is out of step with sustainability.
The absence of top creators like Christopher John Rogers -- the CFDA's women's designer of the year 2021 -- and Kerby Jean-Raymond's Pyer Moss brand, also provided an opportunity for emerging talents to grab the headlines.
Or at least that is the hope of labels such as Melke and Dauphinette, which promote sustainable and ethical fashion.
"It is really rewarding realizing that people can see the work that I've been doing and they think that it deserves a place amongst a bunch of other very successful brands," 26-year-old Emma Gage, who founded Melke during the pandemic, told AFP.
"It kind of really solidifies you as someone that people know is going to be around for a long time," she said inside her small studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Nogueira--PC