http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/12/fashion/alexander-wang-victoria-beckham-tommy-hilfiger-new-york-fashion-week.html 2016-09-12 14:04:41 Hashtag Fashion on the Rise When social media meets style, who wins? Lessons from Alexander Wang, Tommy Hilfiger and Victoria Beckham. === We live in a time of bifurcation and oppositions: Trump vs. Clinton, the one percent vs. the 99 percent, globalism vs. isolationism. So it shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us, really, that fashion is right on trend. There’s a rift opening in On Friday night Then, on Saturday, Fast food! Fast fashion! Fun for all! At least in theory. But what of the clothes? They were buried under an avalanche of Instagram moments. Which was probably a good thing for Tommy and Gigi’s banal parade of nautical greatcoats and tight leathers, varsity knits and frayed denim shorts, thigh-highs and velour sweats, all of it given at least a momentary glow by the carny lights. But too bad, really, for Alexander Wang’s counterintuitive mash-up of surfswear and men’s wear and slip dresses. Athlingerie. Who knew? Bathrobe furs came over neon bras and tailored gray shorts, and C-suite shirting was cut into bloomers and crop tops, ribbons bisecting the naked waist. Oh, and there were shrunken lacy rashguard cocktail minis and wide cropped khakis, leather biker shorts and rough-weft sequined dresses made with the throwaway carelessness of a T-shirt. Not that you had any leisure, really, to realize how weirdly compelling they were, in their pointed commentary on caste and wardrobe. Mr. Wang, who famously runs down the runway in a burst of exuberance at the end of every show, produces some pretty angry clothes, a contrast that bears thinking about. (Mr. Hilfiger’s clothes, on the other hand, require absolutely no thought at all.) But he doesn’t make it easy. The models powered by, and then it was party time. Get out your cellphones and start posting. Or maybe not. Because inland from the piers and in the light of day, something else was going on. Special event hashtags and Snapchat filters be damned. Akris Inspired by the Cuban artist Carmen Herrera, who will have a retrospective at the Whitney Museum starting Friday, the designer Albert Kriemler imbued long-line jackets and flared trousers with a purist geometry, contrasting beige and cream with emerald green, tangerine and periwinkle. Shirtdresses and tailored shorts suits came in butter-soft leather and laser-cut lace, and evening gowns had an arty, unstructured air. The linearity on the runway was echoed by the linearity of the office buildings all around, and together it made a lot of sense (well, apart from some weird dangly bits at the waist of dresses that floated with movement but flopped when still). Meanwhile, at And But what it did not have was a party. Does it matter? It’s a real debate. On the one hand, in this white-noise-filled-short-attention-span world, you need to create as much hubbub as possible in as short a time as possible to catch anyone’s eye. On the other, said hubbub detracts from and overshadows the clothes, and being forced to look a little closer, spend a little time, is part of playing the long game. They are both valid positions. Which may be frustrating and inconclusive, but then, so is our current reality. And that means designers are actually doing their jobs.