New York Fashion Week: Celebrity sightings and more highlights from the Fall-Winter 2023 shows

(CNN) — Fashion Week has taken over New York City once again with six days of Fall-Winter 2023 shows from brands including Rodarte, Thom Browne, Prabal Gurung and Eckhaus Latta.

Last season marked the return of nearly all in-person shows, and A-List celebrities descended on the city for a packed schedule of slick high-production shows all around Manhattan and Brooklyn. This week, the trend toward iconic backdrops and grand architecture continues, with shows taking place at the historic main branch of the New York Public Library, classic hotspot the Rainbow Room, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

On Friday, the mood was high fantasy as Rodarte kicked off the official schedule inside the neoclassical Williamsburgh Savings Bank, transforming the landmarked Brooklyn institution into an otherworldly banquet populated by gothic fairies. Rodarte’s romantic collections have a loyal celebrity following, and guests included actors Brie Larson, Jemima Kirke, and Natasha Lyonne.

The night continued with themes of transformation, from Collina Strada’s playful presentation of models-turned-animals to Dion Lee’s edgy club-kid looks that played on the idea of clothes as shedding snake skin (the latter attended by the internet’s favorite “It” girls Julia Fox and Ice Spice).

At the New York Public Library, designer Prabal Gurung sought to create a celestial escape in the heart of the building, inspired by meditation and his Nepalese heritage. Models in asymmetrical draping and a variety of outwear walked on a mirrored floor beneath star projections, while guests including Kimora Lee Simmons and Nicky Hilton looked on.

“I wanted people to forget for 10 minutes that they are in New York — to feel like they are on a spiritual journey with me to Nepal,” he told CNN ahead of the show.

Setting the stage

Another weekend highlight was Area’s dramatic take on fruits, turning bananas, watermelons and grapes into sculptural ensembles that seemed to draw heavily from art history, from Andy Warhol’s pop art to Dutch “vanitas” paintings. Models walked to the sounds of buzzing flies and thumping techno, while colors shifted from vibrant to black, signaling decay.

Celebrity runway cameos have included Lindsay Lohan’s siblings Ali and Cody, who walked Christian Siriano’s early Thursday show (with Lohan present in the front row), as well as a surprise appearance from “White Lotus” actor Jon Gries on the Eckhaus Latta runway on Saturday night. Emily Ratajkowski closed Simkhai’s presentation of power-dressing ensembles.

Other celebrities spotted front row during the week have included the always-masked South African singer Orville Peck and Japanese Breakfast frontwoman Michelle Zauner, the latter who showed up to Rodarte and cool-girl staple Sandy Liang. “I’m so flattered that people get it,” Liang said of cultivating a loyal following, which includes Bella Hadid and Phoebe Bridgers. Liang’s latest collection imagined the dress as a “modern, everyday uniform,” mixing feminine silhouettes — with signatures bows, rosettes and ballet pointe flats — with utilitarian additions.

Scroll down for the moments that caught our eye so far.

This highlights article is ongoing and will be updated during the week.

Top image: Fairy glam at Rodarte

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