Marc Jacobs crowns New York fashion

Showman Marc Jacobs brought New York's spring/summer fashion week to a sumptuous close with a stunning catwalk display of Americana and 1940s glamour down the red carpet and through a fabled movie theater.

The indoor-outdoor show allowed the public and fans to jostle with photographers for a glimpse of the decadent-looking models as they strode in the street before sashaying through the cinema.

The designer took over Ziegfeld Theater, seemingly the last remaining large single-screen movie theater in New York, flashing on the billboard outside: "One Night Only, Marc Jacobs, #MarcJacobsPremiere."

Inside there was a big band dressed in tuxedos, uniformed ushers handing out playbills and French maids offering concessions as if the crowd had been transported back to the 1940s.

Jacobs, who considers himself the brightest star in the New York fashion firmament, pulled in models of the moment Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid.

They powered down a red carpet in the street outside, in the heart of New York's entertainment district, to the sounds of the city and cries of "beautiful" and flashing bulbs echoing under the tented canopy.

It was a magnificent touch, which following on the heels of Givenchy that offered tickets to the general public, cemented a new trend of widening beyond the narrow fashion pack the audience for a show.

In keeping with the theater and the larger than life creations, there was a cabaret, cinematic quality to the collection, and the mix of casual sportswear and high-end fashion that characterizes the label.

There were distressed pants in the stars and stripes of the American flag, military-style coats with brass buttons, an elegant 1940s silhouette to suiting and floaty transparent skirts that hinted at the 1970s.

It was as eclectic as it was different, a riot of different fabrics and colors, pointed flat baseball-style shoes and embellished stilettos, and Andy Warhol-like pop prints fashioned into suits, dresses and jackets.

Here are the other top highlights on the last day of New York fashion week, as the spring/summer 2016 season now shifts to Europe:

- Ralph Lauren -

Flame-haired screen sirens Julianne Moore and Jessica Chastain were the guests of honor at the designer's Riviera-inspired collection of timeless elegance that saw French chic meet East Coast high society.

"It has a romantic rusticity, as well as a sleek and luxurious sportiness that represents to me both the cool insouciance and understated style of the women who inspire me," wrote Lauren, one of New York's most beloved designers.

For day, it was a maritime look of white linen shantung pants, navy viscose dresses with cut-out shoulders, navy jackets, sweaters with Breton-style buttons on the shoulder and white silk organza skirts.

Otherwise, white and blue were paired with prominent use of saddle leather -- fashioned into jackets, blouses, cropped pants, shorts and a skirt.

Besides the plain separates, there was a colorful "bateau" print -- inspired by multi-colored sailing ships -- and evening dresses were strapless with billowing skirts.

The designer came out to rapturous applause at the end, kissed his children and guests of honor, who rose to their feet to greet him, before walking the runway to Frank Sinatra's classic track "I Love Paris."

- Calvin Klein -

Jenner sat front row at Calvin Klein in a barely-there red dress and towering black stilettos, as did actress Zoe Kravitz in cream.

Francisco Costa, the label's Brazilian-born women's creative director, presented a collection that he summed up as "the morning after" -- an exploration of "modern sensuality through intimate deconstruction."

The overall effect was unfinished, as if the pattern was still pinned to a mannequin in the studio.

There were lots of apron dresses, sashes hanging down, triangular slits cut at the back bottom of pant legs and seams stitched on the outside, but the collection won warm applause from the fashion crowd.

As always at Calvin Klein, the main focus was on black and white, with the eggshell and gold so pale that they could be mistaken for white.
Source: AFP