10 of the best womenswear looks from New York Fashion Week

Flowing yet streamlined garments dominated the New York Fashion Week runway this year. While many designers stuck to the season’s standard blueprint of arresting colour and joyful patternwork, others opted for muted silhouettes that embodied a distinctive type of spring splendour. Here’s our pick of the most impressive shows to grace the catwalk. Famed for his over-the-top red-carpet looks, Indian-American designer Naeem Khan sustains his fondness for megawatt textiles, as is apparent by this incredible print. It's likely a throwback to his early years in New York City during the late 1970s, after he emigrated from India and landed a life-changing apprenticeship with legendary designer Halston. With his choice of a silky material, Khan displays a bit of restraint here, andas well as a flair for draping that realises his label's hybrid aesthetic of soft and sheen. It's always sunny and peppy in Alice & Olivia land. Launched in 2002 by designer Stacey Bendet at luxury Manhattan department store Barneys by designer Stacey Bendet, the brand is now sold in more than 50 countries, including a boutique at The Dubai Mall . Bendet is great with conceiving shape combinations, as seen in the lines of this bright number, which is just ripe for a social media snap. Los Angeles designer Jonathan Simkhai fashions fabric into seemingly plain yet languidly desirable pieces. Simkhai often draws inspiration from his unique Iranian-Ukrainian heritage and features intricate detail in unorthodox places, such as the waist formation in this look. His clothes are always versatile, figure-flattering and very romantic. With a focus on muted lines and austere cuts, the week’s lineup needed a true spectacle, which designer Prabal Gurung delivered. Celebrating his label’s 10th anniversary, the Nepalese immigrant says his collection is a response to the unsettling question: “Who gets to be American?” Never one to shy from talking politics, Gurung handled it all with care – and an exhilarating use of colour – as models of varied races and body types displayed lush, fearless, hopeful patternwork (and immaculate shoes). We have always been charmed by Chilean-born Maria Cornejo’s garments, which cocoon the body in unusual but beautiful ways. Her latest runway collection delivered one hit after another, proclaiming her dexterity and finesse on matters that concern hue and fabrication. This look’s curving lines and geometric silhouette could appeal to a woman of any age, proving that Cornejo is worth keeping on your radar. It has been a triumphant year for Brandon Maxwell, what with his assemblage of celebrity muses, red-carpet extravaganzas and a successful new stint as judge on Project Runway . Known for eveningwear elevated by an iridescent design vocabulary, Maxwell is now emphasising fundamental silhouettes tightened and tailored in unexpected places. Clearly, there is easy retail appeal here, too. If there's one brand to know this season, it's Pyer Moss, created by Haitian designer Kerby Jean-Raymond and winner of last year's Fashion Fund prize from Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Jean-Raymond celebrates African-American culture through his sumptuous combinations of textiles that evoke both serenity and euphoria. The play of both firm and free cuts in this look is masterful. Speaking of the CFDA and Vogue Fashion Fund award, designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez won the inaugural prize in 2004 for their outstanding label, named after their mothers. Fifteen years later, Proenza Schouler continues its influential exploration of juvenile sophistication: its latest creations remain fresh deconstructions of traditional luxury-wear. At an outdoor runway on the streets of Manhattan’s Soho neighbourhood, the ever-reliable Cynthia Rowley reimagined power dressing, but in pastel. The showcase of volumes here is glorious, emphasising the designer’s tough-retro aesthetic. It’s all fun, groovy and very pretty. Originally from the Philippines, designer Josie Natori consistently brings out the best in fabrications for her chosen materials and patterns. Here, her decorative work on the sleeves is simply sublime. That they are cut intentionally loose and delivered in white turns the look into an absolute stunner.

10 of the best womenswear looks from New York Fashion Week

These looks can dictate your own fashion-forward wardrobe