Donna Karan Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2015

Donna Karan’s whole career has been inspired by New York City. For Fall she used the nighttime skyline as a backdrop for the runway, and made the blacks and grays of the buildings and the glinting golds of their lights her show’s central colors. Perched on platform sandals or boots, the collection’s long, lean silhouette owed something to the city’s new class of super-scrapers. New York is tall and getting taller. It’s a melting pot, too. Obi-like belts and origami folds on the one hand and opulent, burnished brocades on the other conveyed something of its multicultural glamour.

Depending on the season, Karan shifts between tailoring and dresses. This collection was mostly built on the former. All manner of jackets, from blazers to a leather bomber, were belted at the midriff above tapering trousers or narrow skirts. Her evening dresses had a modern spirit.