- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
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- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
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- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
Play and glitter: New York Fashion Week kicks off amid Covid
Experimentation, play, and glitter: a coronavirus-impacted New York Fashion Week got under way Friday with Fall/Winter 2022 shows by Proenza Schouler and Christian Cowan.
In its collection, presented in an art gallery in Manhattan's trendy East Village, New York brand Proenza Schouler played with shape, contrasting fitted waists with loose or slightly rounded skirts.
Designer Lazaro Hernandez said the idea was to exaggerate and juxtapose different forms to respond to "this whole body obsession these days with social media and everyone showing the body."
Model Bella Hadid wore an outfit featuring buttoned sleeves, accentuated shoulders, and a black velvet hooded top -- giving off a Catwoman vibe.
"Experimentation and play are key, perhaps now more than ever," Proenza said of its collection.
- Glamor and glitter -
Christian Cowan -- who has dressed Lady Gaga and rappers Cardi B and Lil Nas X -- presented his collection in the observatory atop the One World Trade Center skyscraper that replaced the Twin Towers felled on 9/11.
The show had the atmosphere of a nightclub, highlighting the British designer's taste for glitter and glamor.
Ahead of the runway, the label teased fans with what might be in store by posting an image of the "Freedom Tower" all in pink on its Instagram page.
Despite pandemic restrictions and the Omicron variant upsetting preparations, several other brands have opted for in-person shows, including Michael Kors, Altuzarra, Tory Burch, Brandon Maxwell and Telfar.
A notable absence was Tom Ford, chair of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) that organizes the event.
He was due to close the week next Wednesday but canceled at the end of January due to a surge of Covid-19 cases among his team.
"We have tried everything possible to avoid canceling our New York show but ultimately are faced with the sad fact that we will simply not have a completed collection in time," he said.
For several years now, New York has had to deal with big names deciding to skip the event in favor of displaying their latest collections elsewhere.
Some designers are also choosing to eschew the classic runway calendar, with growing criticism that the frantic pace of fashion is out of step with sustainability.
The absence of top creators like Christopher John Rogers -- the CFDA's women's designer of the year 2021 -- and Kerby Jean-Raymond's Pyer Moss brand, also provided an opportunity for emerging talents to grab the headlines.
Or at least that is the hope of labels such as Melke and Dauphinette, which promote sustainable and ethical fashion.
"It is really rewarding realizing that people can see the work that I've been doing and they think that it deserves a place amongst a bunch of other very successful brands," 26-year-old Emma Gage, who founded Melke during the pandemic, told AFP.
"It kind of really solidifies you as someone that people know is going to be around for a long time," she said inside her small studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
O.M.Souza--AMWN