Hybrid fashion production house and show producer Runway 7 showcased emerging and established designers, presenting their latest and greatest for Fall/Winter 2023 fashion.
Runway 7 run in parallel to New York Fashion Week. With big names like Naeem Khan, Stephen Goudeau, Barbara Hulaniki and Susanne Bartsch, you know a 3-day fashion event from Runway 7 is going to be good.
This time the shows were even greater with a whopping 45+ designers. Runway 7 has definitely upped the game this year with the latest in teen and young adult fashion, swimwear, evening wear, street fashion, emerging designers to keep your eye on, and all with their core focus on philanthropy and giving back.
Runway 7 hosted several amazing sets of designers portraying couture collections for children, teens and young adults this season with favorites like Chick and House of Barretti making appearances from last fall. There also were a few newcomers as well as dedicated collections to the extravagance of the accessory world.
Keppi x Zao
Fitness and swim brand Keppi Fashion collaborated with educational company Zao Learning on a children’s fashion collection for New York Fashion Week at Runway 7
In the unexpected combo of education and fashion, it was delightful to see fun, trendy streetwear inspired pieces on cute, confident little faces. Fashion is also about the attitude you have when you wear it.
Models came out in pairs, wearing an assortment of casual athletic attire, tanks, sweats, and tennis dresses. The collaborative collection also featured fun text graphics such as “You Go Girl” and “Queen” and had accessories to match the look in forms of headphones, sunglasses, and caps.
To top it all off, part of the real enjoyment being in the audience was seeing the models really enjoy themselves being on the Sony Hall stage spotlight. As that is what these shows are all about (or should be), entertainment and having fun.
Lulu et Gigi
Lulu et Gigi is a couture brand founded by designer Eni Hegedus-Buiron with a focus on sophisticated, feminine, French-inspired chic for kids and teens. The brand’s garments reflect a sense of imagination, play and elegance.
Lulu et Gigi’s latest collection, Storybook, featured romantic apparel inspired by fairy-tales and children’s stories. Models wore attire with swan feather embellishments, hoods, flowing red dresses. You also can’t have a fairy-tale collection without dazzling princes and princesses gracefully taking to the runway.
The collection was also a performance in itself, with the models acting out a story of their own.
Having fairy-tale themes gave the evening a soft glow, making the audience feel as if they just entered a different world, subdued by a spell for just a glimmering moment.
Chick
Chick is an NYC based teen fashion brand that offers cute, trendy apparel for young fashionistas and is a Runway 7 favorite across seasons. They aim to empower young girls to feel strong and confident in their bodies.
Chick’s latest showcase featured a variety of crop tops paired with skirts and baggy style pants as well as mesh tops and graphic tees.
All the outfits of the collection just had that perfect combination of comfy and cute with roomy sleeves, hoodies, and high thigh cut body suits showing just a tiny bit of skin.
Chick’s latest collection nailed their brand mission in creating a look that was sporty, chic and sexy in an effortless way.
House of Barretti
Teen and young adult fashion brand House of Barretti came ready with their Fall/Winter collection for 2023. There is always a sense of power and glam with their approach to apparel.
Out of the majority of the showcases, they seemed to be the only ones to include actual winter-season exclusive apparel. Or perhaps, being a native New Yorker, I’m biased any time I see puffer-jacket apparel.
House of Barretti’s latest showcase featured silver snowsuits that were clear statement stunners. They also had cute matching crop top and legging sets and sporty bomber jackets.
But perhaps I’m also partial to their impeccable signature teen suits. I’m ecstatic they included at least one with a tweed like material to complete the showcase. I’ll be honest that their suits bring joy to the part of me that wishes I was as cool as Veronica Lodge from Riverdale.
Designer Bag Exchange
Designer Bag Exchange is a luxury bag market that offers pre-owned bags of lust-worthy dimensions. Led by stylist Nicolette Németh, their showcase for Runway 7 featured select bags from Razabra NYC in a post-modern tribal dystopian feast for our eyes.
Models were expertly matched to their respective bags, filling in that theme of fashion in a hot-weathered world. The bags themselves came in a variety of forms including small cross-body packs, purses, and backpacks – take your favorite pick of leathered goods.
My favorite aspect of the bags shown were the spike detailing. I felt this perfectly matched the theme as in the post-modern desert world, everything should double as a weapon.
Vizcarra
Vizcarra is a luxury jewelry brand based in the lovely Bogota, Colombia. Their showcase featured single-colored gemstones inlaid upon an assortment of jewelry.
Models were adorned with matching earrings and bracelets while wearing simple black dresses as a blank canvas. The jewelry sets came out in monochromatic glamorous fashion in colors such as champagne, rose gold, ruby red and a wonderful vibrant blue.
It really felt like you were watching a magazine being performed, with the models gracefully moving their hands to display their gemstone sets.
It was also a testament to the quality and show-stopping power of the pieces themselves when audience members against the edge of the room ( such as yours truly) could still catch glimpses of their jewelry reflecting in the light.
We covered all of Runway 7’s amazing showcases for New York Fashion Week featuring designers’ Fall/Winter 2023 collections.
Other coverage of Runway 7 this season
Philanthropy and Pets at Runway 7
Resort, Activewear & Lingerie at Runway 7
You can also find more of our New York Fashion Week coverage at our official Instagram account Official Beauty News NYC.
The showcases of the weekend could not have happened without a huge backing to support it all. From the amazing selection of models from Famous Talent Management, the official makeup artist AMA , the official hair team Rogue House and the official model glam location Sicily Osteria. You also cannot have a production without food and water which was taken care of by catering partners Greek Eats and Ess-a-Bagel and hydration sponsor RX Water. Lastly, NYFW is about enjoying fashion in a party environment, which means you need a place to stay and a place to party. INNSIDE New York Nomad was the official Runway 7 NYC Hotel Partner and Me Cabo was the official vacation hotel partner. Nightclub venue MUSICA was the official after party partner and model casting venue for Runway 7.
Credit: All Photos by Ilya S. Savenok // Getty Images for Runway 7
