From Paris and Nicky Hilton to fairy tales and synesthesia, unexpected inspirations of top New York fashion designers

Inspiration is a starting point for artists.

When creating their latest collections, fashion designers draw inspiration from all kinds of things: from people to places, art and music.

“Paris and Nicky (Hilton) were my muses,” Alice + Olivia designer Stacey Bendet told the Daily Mail.

‘They’ve been my best friends my entire career and they have this kind of feminine, feminine vibe.

“They are so sexy and sensual, but also so feminine and elegant. That’s what I wanted with the whole collection.”

Alice + Olivia’s spring/summer 2025 presentation took place at the Highline Stages in New York.

Guests were invited to visit Hotel Imagination, a fantasy world that spotlights the brand’s latest collection.

During the presentation, music was played by Isan Elba, who played hits from Paris Hilton’s new album Bad Bitch Academy.

Paris attended in an all-black lace outfit from Alice + Olivia, while Nicky wore a snakeskin print trench coat dress.

The showcase consisted of imaginative scenes, each with its own aesthetic that transported viewers to another place.

From the fashion to the set design, each scene represented a distinctive print or decoration.

Among other things, there was a lace library, a fantasy flower salon, a dining area with decoupage and a chambre de l’étoile.

The show notes read:

‘My mother once told me that I dream in dresses. The collection is an ode to both imagination and what I call wearable couture.

“I wanted romance again and I want women to see clothing as art,” says CEO and creative director Stacey Bendet.

The designer based his designs on the retro silhouettes of the 1950s and 1960s.

‘It’s all about nodding to the past and ushering in the future. Women want clothes that are wearable and expressive. I want to create clothes that always feel unique and make a woman feel her most beautiful.’

For the SIMKHAI SS25 collection, Jonathan was inspired by his mother’s wedding dress.

The dress is made of embroidered silk tulle, made by SIMKHAI’s late grandfather in their family’s lace factory in Iran.

The waterfall of silk tulle embroidery with small silk flowers formed the starting point for SIMKHAI’s spring collection, featuring three-dimensional floral appliqués, hand-crocheted metallics, laser-cut leather and fin pleating techniques on dresses, suits and knits.

The presentation took place at Edge at Hudson Yards, with front row guests including Taraji P. Henson, Molly Sims, Suni Lee, Alexandra Raisman and Charlotte Lawrence.

SS25 show notes read:

For SIMKHAI, his mother’s wedding dress has always been a permanent part of the family history. It is often mentioned in the same breath as stories about growing up and falling in love.

SIMKHAI hopes to celebrate this and with her approval revive the memory for her and his family, so that the essence of her dress and the time can blossom again.

“This season felt like I was in a nighttime fantasy dream that revolved around the idea of ​​dark, romantic glamour,” said Christian Siriano.

The spring/summer 25 showcase took place at The Pierre Hotel.

“I am always inspired by fairy tales, from old folk tales about a dark forest that comes alive at night, to the Grimm’s fairy tales of Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and The White Snake,” says the designer.

He adds: ‘These worlds offer an escape, an escape that I wanted to pursue with a collection that balances power and strength with a sense of whimsy and elegance.

‘The colour palette reflects a night sky that is atmospheric with a touch of muted pastels, with textures including intricate lace with floral tattoos, laser-cut vegan leather beaded to resemble tree bark, and an abstract sequin dress that feels like modern wings.’

Jonathan Cohen is always inspired by music.

For his spring/summer collection ‘Synesthesia’, the designer went one step further with the help of science and the five senses.

Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon in which sensory connections are created, such as tasting colors or feeling sounds.

Cohen delved into the world of synesthesia and its many variations, including Chromesthesia – a connection between sound and color in which sounds involuntarily enter into a relationship with colors.

Show notes:

‘At a lecture, a woman described her experiences with the orchestra.

As the music began, the woman was illuminated by beams of white light that slowly faded into pink, followed by dark red hues that faded into many shades of blue, until it reached its peak and a radiant supernova of color exploded before her eyes.

Finally, the concert ended and she sat surrounded by darkness. Inspired by this vivid story, Cohen began designing his spring/summer 2025 collection.

In this season’s floral prints, Cohen attempted to capture this color journey by creating three different prints that reflect her experiences with the orchestra.

The two complementary color stories in the collection approach the woman’s orchestral Synesthesia experience from a macro perspective.

Both the colorful tweed and the diagonal tie-dyes are designed with colors that fade into each other, in a way similar to how the woman described the colors before her eyes: they distorted and blended from one color to another as the musical notes changed.