Closing out Day 1 of New York Fashion Week, the British designer Christian Cowan took us to new heights with his Fall-Winter 2022 collection — quite literally. While some designers decided to scale back and host more intimate presentations, Cowan opted to go big while, of course, still abiding by the coronavirus regulations. The CFDA finalist’s iconic looks naturally deserve equally as iconic views, which is what landed him staging his runway 102 floors above New York City at the city’s One World Trade Center.
If the Guinness world records had a section dedicated to the highest runway show in New York Fashion Week history, Cowan sets the record. He takes the title only a season after New York-based designer LaQuan Smith hosted his runway show on the observatory deck of the Empire State Building. Not only does Cowan set the record for the highest runway show, but he’s also the first designer given the opportunity to present in the space.
Although the venue offered pristine views of the entire city at a viewpoint most of us don’t see that often (unless we have friends in town who want a tourist moment), all eyes were fixated on Cowan’s glamorous-meets-sexy designs as soon as the first model took the runway. The collection had all notes of the designer’s quintessential design style but in an array of elevated silhouettes that would be suitable for a night downtown or gala uptown.
After the runway, showgoers dashed to the elevators, with the knowledge it’ll take a minute to get back to the streets of the city (peruse of any fashion week event that takes height). Once guest made it down to the building’s lobby there was only one thing left in mind, Cowan’s afterparty. And every fashion aficionado knows, the only thing better than a Christian Cowan fashion show, is a Christian Cowan party.
