More so than January, September is basically the month for a fresh start. It’s the start of a recent academic term, for one, and just as students filter back into town’s schoolhouses, so too the style industry reconvenes from summer vacation to study-up on the spring collections. Luckily, ahead of the primary day of Recent York Fashion Week on Friday, the designers provided WWD a cheat sheet into what lies ahead. So sharpen a number of pencils and prepare to take notes.  

Amy Smilovic actually did. Before she and her Tibi team sketch or drape recent pieces, they like to put in writing them out on paper — a step within the design process that will have contributed to the longevity of the brand, which can mark 25 years with a runway show at Essex Market on Saturday. 

Elsewhere, Loring’s Long Xu put her math skills to the test with experiments within the “geometric vocabulary of forms,” while Wes Gordon cited a piece of nonfiction — “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett — for his next Carolina Herrera collection. Markarian’s Alexandra O’Neill, alternatively, found enlightenment within the Italian Renaissance, linking vine motifs and a play on proportions “to the concept of growth and renewal.” 

For those less bookish, Tommy Factory, a Warholian creative playground from the mind of Tommy Hilfiger, guarantees a recess from the week’s usual proceedings. Going down at Brooklyn’s Skyline Drive-In on Sept. 11, the event marks the designer’s return to the runway after a three-year hiatus and can unveil a see now, buy now offering through “a collision of individuals, artistic mediums, subcultures, creativity and fame.”

That is an apt descriptor for NYFW overall, which appears to be back in full swing. With designers bringing their shows back into the true world, the time is correct for reinvention, so make like Carly Mark of Puppets and Puppets and ask: “What do I would like to wear this season?”

Here, WWD presents the primary of a three-part series taking a look at the inspirations behind the Recent York’s spring 2023 collections.