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I can’t lie. I felt famous during New York Fashion Week. With my focus oscillating between Google Maps and the cobblestone streets of Tribeca, I had no time to stop and think about the scene I would be approaching. The thing with runway shows is they never start on time. Who shows up early these days anyway? For me, someone constantly late but willingly accepting every opportunity, NYFW’s schedule worked to my advantage. Still, inklings of doubt mixed with the rush of not knowing how late would be too late – leaving me with little room for mental preparation. In the case of the Brandon Maxwell show, I anticipated an intimate setting. I was told the guests were close friends, family, and a few high-profile fashion moguls who were asked to refrain from using recording devices during the presentation. It was a trusted circle of less than one hundred. I knew there’d be paparazzi outside impatiently awaiting the elite attendees. However, I didn’t foresee the vast amount of turned heads and focused cameras crowding the corner of Walker Street and Cortlandt Alley, all readily directed at me. Suddenly, I was someone to be noticed. Through the white flashes and crisp calls for attention, I approached the threshold of the Andrew Kreps Gallery. I presented myself to be checked off a list of people deemed special enough to see inside. Camera personnel and event staff had no clue who I was or why I was there – the irony. I wasn’t Julia Fox, Anna Wintour, or Blake Lively-level distinguished or expected. But I, Kaleigh Werner, was presumed worthy of being photographed and granted access based on proximity, invitation, and seating. It was thrilling. I felt as though I’d made it. In the literal form, yes, I’d arrived at my destination and found my chair. But metaphorically, I was on the cusp of something sensational that surpassed the rush of being realised through an entirely new lens. As a reporter, someone invited to review these presentations, it’s easier to block out the A-list noise. My attention remains locked on the intricacies of each collection, and figuring out how they mirror the thoughts of a designer. Whether sitting in the front or standing in the back, I’m concentrating on how a designer’s societal impression can be contextualised in fashion, while still adhering to the temperature regulations of the season. I’m in a gallery or a museum to perceive art, not at a red carpet event. I’m not being dressed by the brand. I’m not worried about how I look. The runway demands my attention. So, my gaze is directed there. This year I attended three shows: ADEAM, Atelier Ndigo, and of course, Brandon Maxwell. For ADEAM’s spring/summer 2024 show, hosted inside a warehouse on the west side of Manhattan, creative director and CEO Hanako Maeda effectively fused her longtime love for the ballet with her desire to “juxtapose the performance art as a sport”. “I think the collection combines the romanticism and couture-like craftsmanship that you see in ballet costumes with a more modern, sporty mood. I also added a touch of rock ‘n’ roll edge with the accessories,” Maeda told The Independent. Through tulle skirts, corsetry, ribbon, sheer Ponte, mixed media knits, and tailoring, Maeda - who designed the costumes for New York City Ballet’s Fall Fashion Gala in 2015 - reconfigured ballerinas to be models replicating a facile silhouette on the street. By using the specific material and intentional shape often associated with ballet, she harnessed the “athletic prowess” a performance artist displays and weaved it into everyday wear. Atelier Ndigo played with personal inspiration by utilising vibrant colours, textured fabrics, and structured pieces. From a bumpy white two-piece to balloon short sleeves, brand founder Waina Chancy once again proved to be an architect in dainty yet outspoken fashion. The white-washed walls of Spring Studios, complete with a backdrop of block brand lettering, only made every shade of red, purple, pink, and orange louder. Back at Andrew Kreps Gallery, Brandon Maxwell strayed from the eccentricity of his past spring collections to construct an ethereal response to the power of love. To him, that response is seen through sheer and natural beauty, along with coding that only added a breath of elegance. On the catwalk, gusts of chiffon, leather, knits, and denim blew past the few guests who sat in the studio. With flourescent lights and white ambiance, it felt as thought Maxwell had called upon angels to introduce a new wave of purity and innonence. Yet, the see-through materials mixed with belted pieces reminded us of the allure of form. The Brandon Maxwell spring/summer 2024 runway presentation wasn’t just the launch of a new line, but a visceral discussion on freedom and restraint - being simutaneously aware of both independence and determinism. From the distant eye, minimalism was triumphant. But upon closer look, the details were unveiled. Spliced sleeves turned biker-esque jackets and blazers into capes; sheer layers over and under long, fitted jackets transformed signature workwear into chic formalwear; and ripped, patchwork denim paired with slouched sweaters or unbuttoned button-ups brought an air of luxury to street style. As I exited down the steps to return to the reality of a typical work day, I stuck around to see who I could spot leaving the venue. NYFW has assumed a certain social stigma and media blitz. As much as it’s known for the inspired collections crafted by the minds of upcoming and distinguished talents, the seven-day affair has been hit with criticism, as more participants and curious observers are blinded by its social scene. After an animal rights advocate and PETA supporter stormed Coach’s spring/summer 2024 runway to protest the brand’s use of leather, discussion errupted around influencers increased presence at NYFW. Famed creators like Taylor Hawkins have been quick to point out how “dead” some events can get, due to the amount of brands that prioritise seating and dressing social media stars based on their online presence. Kelly Cutrone, best-selling author and CEO of People’s Revolution, echoed these sentiments in conversation with Dear Media during NYFW in February. “It’s just like, because you’re good at marketing yourself on the internet doesn’t make you a fashion expert,” she said about influencer being invited to shows. “Don’t pretend that just ‘cause you come here for a week that you’re in the fashion business.” For industry representatives - who are devoted to furthering the conversations that are evoked in fashion collections - their experiences are entirely separate from those who are invited to sit and make content about what they saw. These professionals are behind-the-scenes, speaking with the creative directors and producing copy to candidly honour their own work. “You know what I really don’t get, and what I don’t have much time for anymore. The fact that so much of the fashion content around the show that I see, especially on Instagram with these influencers, it’s really all about them,” fashion journalist Mosha Lundstrom Halbert said on her podcast, NEWSFASH. “It’s all about the fact that they got to go to fashion week - okay, cool. The fact that they’re being dressed by the designer - great, I’m happy for you,” she went on. “No editors get dressed by the designers, that’s really just influencers. And the fact that they’re going to show you where they sat and who they’re friends with...” But, there’s an advantage to having paparazzi feed off the unpredictable swarm of A-listers and influencers, and an obvious benefit to designers who decide to fill their front row with them. At ADEAM, Lana Condor, Elsa Husk, Poppy Delevigne, Harry Shum Jr, and Anna Cathcart were among the photographed VIPs. Meanwhile, Brandon Maxwell hosted Henrik Morten Lischk, Lisa Aiken, Eva Chen, Camila Alves McConaughey, Kat Collings, and Alex Badia. From a brand perspective, visibility is everything. In order for clothes to sell, the pieces need to be represented and observed by the right people – the “Emily Ratajkowskis” who generate buzz, or the social media influencers who inspire fads. It’s worth noting that, even though the production, styling, and individual garments speak volumes to the attractiveness of a collection, desire is often born from those who are adored and admired. Designers will develop their seasonal lines in tandem with a muse or inspired concept, like ADEAM’s spring/summer 2024 being motivated by the ballet or Brandon Maxwell’s being an answer to the impasse of freedom and restraint. Then there was Dolce and Gabbana’s famed spring/summer 2023 show curated by Kim Kardashian, after both Domenico and Stefano were galvanised by the reality star’s “it girl” essence. High fashion runway can be viewed as a melting pot of celebrity image and designer conception. While the relationship between famed figures and name brands is pertinent to Fashion Week criticisms, the focus shouldn’t be on celebrity sightings or social climbings. Although I observed a clear presence of exclusivity hovering over runway presentations and after-parties, I found the purpose is not to be seen but to step inside the minds of imaginative designers and celebrate the execution of their visions. Read More London Fashion Week 2023: All the highlights from day two British Vogue appoints Chioma Nnadi as Edward Enninful’s successor London Fashion Week: Jourdan Dunn walks in emotional Richard Quinn show

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By the time the Premier League trophy is handed over to Pep Guardiola again, the English game will have something it has never seen before. It has made many within the sport unsure how to feel. That goes beyond a staggering level of domination, which ensured Manchester City only felt the prospect of defeat for a mere 10 minutes for the final third of the season, something that should raise questions about the competitive health of the Premier League. City are after all only the fifth club to win three English titles in a row. They are also the third club to win five in six. They are however the first English team to do it with such a suffocating sense of dominance. They are also the first English champions to face charges from the very competition they have just won, that – if proven – could yet see the club stripped of previous titles and even expelled from the league. That is a historic landmark, even if the length of time until its conclusion is as uncertain as the outcome. For now, it leaves a caveat and a question about all this success that may see the perception of the club’s entire era completely changed. Teams to win three titles in a row Huddersfield Town 1923-26 Arsenal 1932-35 Liverpool 1982-84 Manchester United 1998-2001 Manchester United 2006-09 Manchester City 2020-23 Teams to win five titles in six seasons Liverpool 1978-84 Manchester United 1995-2001 Back in February when the Premier League understatedly released such a jaw-dropping announcement, Guardiola already realised so much about his team had to change. The City manager denies that the charges served as motivation. You could understand why he doesn’t want that to become a central part of the story right now. It was nevertheless a period when so many strands of the season came together, as well as the team. The most common account put forward is that the players came together for a clear-the-air meeting after the 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest, and decided enough was enough. That match represents the last time they dropped points before winning the title. There was a frightening new focus about the team. If Arsenal had a “hunger” that previously concerned Guardiola, his team responded with a new ravenousness. Many sources feel it was impossible that the charges didn’t influence this, that the squad played on a sense of righteously proving they could do it on the pitch. Those at City would point to pure football reasons, of the type that are given exaggerated weight in the moments of glory; that see Erling Haaland’s diet mentioned more than the ownership. The squad had already been reshaped by getting rid of Joao Cancelo, a decision that represented a message to anyone content to be “happy flowers”, as Guardiola so memorably put it. This restored focus to their outlook. Guardiola then restored focus to their shape. Haaland naturally warrants focus in such a season, especially since his potency has come to personify City’s overbearing new power. Except, rather than a boot stamping on the face of football forever, it is a Nike Phantom GX sidefooting the ball into the net forever. It’s remarkable to think now that, amid Haaland’s most productive spell, he also represented the closest City have had to a “problem”. Although the Norwegian had scored 69 per cent of his total Premier League goals with 25 by the end of January, it was clear to the manager and almost everyone else that he wasn’t fully in tune with the team. Haaland often had so few touches that it was as if he was separate to the other 10 players, in a way that seemed to go against Guardiola’s principles. The Catalan is after all one of the game’s great ideologues, but this was one area where he was willing to bend. Guardiola had been seeking to add more attributes to the Norwegian’s general game, humorously calling him “Haaland!” rather than by his first name, in the way he does with other players. The manager soon realised it was better to just go with his best player’s best strengths. It also gives Guardiola some satisfaction he went back to his own roots. The Catalan recreated the defensive “box” that Johan Cruyff devised in the Barcelona team that won the club’s first European Cup in 1992, and that Guardiola himself played at the tip of. It at once solved so many issues in the team, while allowing Haaland to move in the way he needed to without the cost of more space opening up elsewhere. John Stones has excelled. City, put bluntly, became close to perfect. They became something unstoppable. They finally put up “the run” that everyone had felt would eventually come, and Arsenal would have no answer to. That was precisely what happened. City won 13 of 14 games, the exception being that 1-1 draw against Forest that preceded 11 straight victories. The most momentous of those was the 4-1 over Arsenal, but to cast it as a title showdown would be as much of an illusion as the idea that there was ever a race at all. The truth is that City just reached the pace they were always going to reach when a team close to trebles for half a decade has a goal machine added under a genius. That April victory made it 7-2 over two games against the runners-up, Mikel Arteta’s side just blown away along with everyone else. Arsenal have been fairly criticised for the way they have “collapsed”, as it’s clear the pressure got to their players. But how couldn’t it? They were up against a team who considered an 81-point return in 2020 their “bad season”. In even matching that, a feat that is one of Arsenal’s highest ever Premier League hauls, Arteta’s young side have performed to their outer limits. It was almost inevitable they would buckle as the realisation grew any slip would be fatal. This is one element that really separates City: that ability to sustain it. It’s very difficult for almost anyone else. And it’s not even like City have gone to the ludicrous levels of 2018 or 2019. Their current return of 85 points from 35 games, and a forecast of 94, would leave them in the mid-range of their own performance level under Guardiola. That is how much this project has distorted the game. Just pointing to winning runs doesn’t sufficiently explain the nature of these titles any more. Much more telling is the manner of those victories. The figures are almost as overwhelming as Haaland’s 36 league goals. In those last 14 league games, City have spent just 10 minutes losing. That was the brief period between Mohamed Salah’s goal for Liverpool at Eastlands and Julio Alvarez’s equaliser. City won that match 4-1. It was one of four three-goal-plus wins over Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, to go with the same in Europe against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. That was close to their default position in that final unbeaten run. Accumulated minutes of scoreline states in City’s last 14 games One goal behind, 10 minutes (0.8%) Level score, 446 (35.4%) One goal ahead, 346 (27.5%) Two goals ahead, 241 (19.1%) Three goals ahead, 191 (15.2%) Four-plus goals ahead, 32 (2.5%) In those 14 games, which represent over a third of the season, City spent almost 50 times as long winning by two goals as they did actually losing. Any sense of sporting struggle was a distant memory. This is what is most galling about this, and why this season represents such a threshold, while posing greater questions for football. City have brutalised the very idea of sporting competition. There’s been no tension. There’s been no drama. That has meant there haven’t been any real memorable moments, beyond some great goals and the repeated image of Haaland and De Bruyne tearing at goal. Guardiola and the players would of course argue about how hard they work, but the consequence has been that the results of so many matches have been so predictable. It can’t even be said it’s a one-off. It is anything but. Since the summer of 2017, when Guardiola benefitted from an expenditure of over £200m that helped first shape his squad, City have claimed 543 of 675 available points. That amounts to over 80 per cent over six seasons. Needless to say, no one has ever done this over this stretch of time. This is one crucial reason why there hasn’t been too much will around the game to discuss their greatness or Guardiola’s genius, despite profound respect for the coach and the players. It doesn’t feel like sport should. There is a growing backlash, and a willingness to point out the exact nature of the Abu Dhabi project. As one prominent figure put it, “they have ruined our league, and we still have Newcastle United and maybe Manchester United to come”. This is the story that an increasing number of people around football are now demanding be told, beyond the more simplistic old-fashioned narratives about fine champions or managerial genius. Such a view is entirely consistent with the reality that Guardiola is one of the greatest managers of all time, maybe the greatest ever. But he isn’t separate to all of this, his brilliance just lifting City up. He is a key part of it, as well as the final part of it. The club was first of all able to afford him. Guardiola’s wages are not cheap. They were then able to afford to persuade him. That involved almost wholesale appointment of the hierarchy that gave him his break at Barcelona, as well as the perfect sporting infrastructure, constructed to his specific preferences. This is what happens when you give a genius these pristine laboratory conditions. It has eroded the likelihood for human failure that actually enriches sport. This is what happens when you give him the greatest goalscorer in the world, who also has the potential to be the greatest ever in terms of numbers. Fitting Haaland into a record-breaking team was quite the “problem” to have. Lo and behold, Guardiola managed to do it. City managed to convince the Norwegian to come. There have been moments this season when the £51m figure has been talked of as some sort of bargain, as if it was brilliant negotiation to pull it off. The reality was the club met a clause and were then willing to pay the immense agent fees. This points to one other element that isn’t afforded enough attention in all the discussion around this project. It is not that City always spend the most. It is that there is no financial risk. The state has limitless funds. That is quite a safety net. And this is all happening, it must be remembered, with Financial Fair Play. Imagine what would be happening if such restrictions didn’t exist. That’s also why figures within football are as eager for the outcome of the FFP case as many rival supporters. Some have discussed the idea of clubs chasing damages if the charges are proven. There is a genuine anger within the Premier League, which spiked again on Thursday with the report that the involvement of Murray Rosen KC as chair of the disciplinary commission had been challenged due the fact he is an Arsenal fan. A common view within the legal side of football is that this was “a disgrace”. For the moment, though, it’s all futile. Only a handful of people actually know how the case is proceeding. Nobody can say how long it will take, and it could go into years. City’s hierarchy are meanwhile just as adamant they are innocent. The outcome will be one of the most significant moments in English football history, not least because it will reframe this entire period regardless of what the decision is. This is symbolic of what the sport has become, since almost everything that happens on the pitch is explained by what happens off it. This is why an article marking the English champions goes into so many other issues beyond the excellence of Haaland, the elegance of De Bruyne or the quality of Stones. That’s without even getting into the questions about what Abu Dhabi are using the club for, or the concerns raised by human rights groups. The reality is all of City’s success is ultimately explained by the fact they are a state project. It says much that three successive titles – a feat that has been historically rare – hasn’t been lauded as that much of a landmark. There’s still more to come, maybe for a long time. This City have been so dominant they have eliminated core concepts of sport. They may well have removed the very unpredictability the Premier League sells itself on. Read More Manchester City win fifth Premier League in six seasons after Arsenal falter Pep Guardiola’s five decisions that won Man City the Premier League

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