2 min readFor Maria McManus’s New York Fashion Week presentation, the Dublin-born, New York-based designer showed at Magen H Gallery—a Manhattan space whose permanent collection includes Pierre Chapo S28 chairs, Jean Prouvé coatracks, and Charlotte Perriand stools. Draping her clothes against the mid-century French pieces, McManus let the furniture share the spotlight. The setting wasn’t an accident—McManus has spent years making the case that a piece’s materials matter just as much as how it looks, and designers like Chapo and Prouvé would agree.
The stools are Le Meme. The chair is Hervé Baley.
The table is Hervé Baley and the lamp is André Sornay. The chairs are Pierre Chapo S28. Print by Alicia Penalba.
Rooted in her Irish heritage, the collection is rigorous but not cold. A hand-crocheted bandana knitted on the Lower East Side nods to her grandaunt’s lacework back home; a midnight-black reversible faux fur coat is cut from recycled cashmere-cotton jersey; gathered skirts run in Naia Renew sateen, derived from sustainably sourced wood pulp.
The black coat rack is Jean Prouvé. The stools in front of the rack are Pierre Chapo and Charlotte Perriand.
McManus wasn’t alone in treating the venue as part of the vision this NYFW. Ralph Lauren took over 46 Lafayette Street, a Beaux-Arts clock tower in the middle of Tribeca that was once the home of the New York Life Insurance Company. There, vintage furnishings upholstered in the brand’s fabrics and floor-to-ceiling hand-painted murals of a brooding, misty forest set the scene for the designer’s new collection.
Carolina Herrera’s creative director Wes Gordon commissioned artist Sarah Oliphant to paint the backdrop for his runway show, surrounding his downtown New York venue with colorful murals in tones that matched the collection’s palette. He also cast female creatives Amy Sherald, Rachel Feinstein, Ming Smith, and Hannah Traore alongside the models. Just uptown, Khaite’s Catherine Holstein took over the Park Avenue Armory with a set designed by her husband, architect Griffin Franzen. It featured a 60-foot LED screen, with scrolling letters, numbers, and symbols hanging above the audience.
Across the river, Cult Gaia made its long-anticipated NYFW debut at One Hanson Place, the landmarked Beaux-Arts tower in Brooklyn that once housed the Williamsburg Savings Bank. New York has never exactly struggled for interesting rooms—this season, designers remembered that.
Julia Cancilla is the engagement editor at ELLE Decor, where she oversees the brand’s social media and writes about the intersection of design, pop culture, and emerging trends. She also authors the monthly ELLE Decoroscope column. Her work has appeared in Inked magazine, House Beautiful, Marie Claire, and more.