Since the dawn of the 20th century, New York City has been a fashion and garment manufacturing hub. By 1960, 75% of all women’s and children’s clothing worn in America was manufactured in New York. And today, just like 60 years ago, New Yorkers are still some of the most stylish and trend-forward people in the world. And as the popularity of New York Fashion Week grew in the later decades of the 20th century, New York was cemented as one of the four main fashion capitals of the world.

Trends On The Runway

New York’s Fall/Winter Fashion Week kicked off on February 11, as models strutted the runways wearing the latest fall and winter collections of the world’s biggest designers. The Week consists of approximately 300 shows in a 7-9 day period and is attended annually by over 230,000 visitors. Although most New Yorkers probably can’t wait for spring, Fashion Week allows a sneak peak in the trends that will be huge six months from now. The trends that first emerge from Fashion Week and the attention that is paid to them makes it clear that New York is still one of the top fashion capitals of the world.

Beauty Trendsetting

However, while NY Fashion Week has been the center of attention for upcoming fashion trends for decades, it’s only recently that its showcasing of beauty trends has begun to receive almost equal focus. New Yorkers care about beauty and skincare almost as much as they care about fashion, and in the Big Apple, fashion and beauty trends go hand in hand.

This February, the dark smokey eye appears to be making a comeback, while dewy skin and pops of deep red were also notable trends. When it comes to hair, statement styles like giant ponytails and towering up-dos vied for attention with grungy, slicked back styles, and shiny buns.

Cosmetic Procedures on the Rise

Another recent New York trend, once the domain of sunny shorelines like Los Angeles and Miami, appears to be plastic surgery. In recent months, the demand for plastic surgery in New York has more than doubled. After so much time spent indoors, New Yorkers are interested in showing a new and improved version of themselves as they begin to step outside. While some are opting for more serious surgical procedures, most are more interested in beauty treatments such as Botox, fillers, and “vampire facials” – where patients’ blood plasma is reinjected into their faces to tighten the skin.

New York has always been, and will continue to be, one of the top fashion capitals of the world. However, as more fashion capitals such as Tokyo and Shanghai begin to rise in the fashion world, beauty and hair has become a bigger focus of New York Fashion Week. As time goes on, perhaps beauty will overtake fashion as New York’s trendsetting niche. Either way, New York is sure to remain a place of experimentation, artistic expression, and diversity in the fashion and beauty world.