It's that time of the year again when fashion weeks around the world start, kicking off with New York Fashion Week, for more than a week of runway shows, presentations and beyond. 

New York Fashion Week is a tempestuous place to be: it is at the mercy of tyrannical celebrity egos, as evidenced by Kanye West's debacle which saw a model faint in the heat. And it has undergone a rapid shift from being an insider’s world into being a consumer-facing Disneyworld of clothes which are on sale as well as on show, in full-sized funfairs (Tommy Hilfiger). 

Here’s a review of the Spring/Summer '17 collections, from iconic designers to those making their NYFW debuts. 

Lois London by Radhika Perera Hernandez 

A rising star and one to watch on the New York fashion stage, Lois London who has shown at Colombo Fashion Week is a brand with a focus on Grecian-style dresses that travel well, drape generously and show strategic slices of skin. Mustards, ethereal pale blue’s, fringed tasselled earrings and beautiful draping were shown. 

Victoria Beckham 

The status of the Beckham show is one of the established must-sees on the fashion week schedule. With her collection for spring, Beckham once again showed a clever touch in putting a fabulous, individual spin on styles which have been hovering at the more fringe edges of fashion. 

Right now, fashion’s cutting edge is all about big, oversized, comfortably loose clothes, and this collection was a prettily hued take on the unstructured, casual silhouette. Loose, low-slung trousers were balanced by pretty botanical prints and flashes of unexpected skin. Asymmetrically panelled skirts and an oh so pretty crushed-velvet dress in peppermint green which was an instant standout. Flat wellies underlined the cool, fuss-free tone. 

Tadashi Shoji 

Tadashi Shoji's show opened with a short animated film depicting animals of Noah's Ark floating upwards, which in the given show notes suggested "a spiritual declaration. The playful imagery captures your dreamlike desires to rise." 

What did rise were some billowing lengthy parachute skirts that went airborne when the models strode down the runway. One of these, white, featured a plunging neckline and a jewel embroidered tulle back, was quite dramatic. 

Much of the collection was lingerie-inspired. There were loads of slip dresses, corsets, bustiers and quite a bit of very sheer lace fabric. Cool ostrich-trimmed mini dresses, smart wide-leg jumpsuits that boasted harness straps hanging loose and some lovely cocktail dresses. 

Tommy Hilfiger 

The concept here was #tommynow, Tommy Hilfiger's take on the "see now, buy now" phenomenon that fashion houses are introducing. Tommy Hifiger didn't just mount a runway show -- he created a full carnival, complete with fried food, a Ferris wheel and other rides on a pier at South Street Seaport, which in the pictures looked mind- blowingly cool, so for those lucky enough to be there would have been incredible. 

There was fashion, too of course, with models storming down the runway in his fall 2016 gear -- and debuting the new Tommy x Gigi capsule collection created with model of the moment Gigi Hadid. 

The looks were classic Hilfiger, fisherman's knit sweater dresses, midriff sailor shirts, denim cutoffs, oversize satin bombers, all very nautical and uuber Americana, which he is known for. 

Consumers were able to shop the looks online and elsewhere as soon as they hit the runway. Check out the Tommy store at the Arcade Independence Square for his looks! 

Cushnie et Ochs 

For all you sexy sirens be inspired and take heart as it can be incredibly hard to find clothes that show off just how fabulous you really are! Skirts that are never slit high enough, necklines never low enough and bathing suits that make you feel like a nun. Well Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs are the designing duo that's got you covered -- and uncovered, in all the right places. 

Their spring line is drenched in sex appeal, from the bold, black-and-white silk jumpsuit to the flamingo pink dress with a shawl collar plunging down the back, to the metallic champagne halter jumpsuit, #discodeluxe. As for bathing suits, you'll need to carefully apply the SPF when wearing that one-piece with major circular cutouts. 

Yeezy Season 4 

Kanye West the musician/impresario/mad tweeter/Adidas collaborator  showed his Yeezy Season 4 for Adidas fashion show. Actually it wasn’t a show at all but piece of performance art and it caused quite a storm at NYFW. More than 100 models stood, roasting in the unforgiving sun for close to an hour. Some couldn't take the heat and required water, as they seemed to collapse. It featured a group of models of different sizes and shapes stood in formation in a variety of undergarments, forming a Spanx-like sea in shades of cream and chocolate, beige and black. The show, when it finally began showed oversize sweatshirts and off-the-shoulder sweater dresses. Thigh-high clear plastic stiletto boots and enormous backpacks. Ribbed body-con minis and camouflage print. That’s it. It’s not that they were terrible. They weren’t original or risky enough to be terrible. They were just boring. Not ambitious or eclectic or even surprising. Boring! 

It seems it’s not enough for any designer just to offer clothes anymore. Now it’s all about the experience and celebrities like the Jenner/Kardashian clan and La La Anthony etc.  But here’s the thing about experiences: Some of them are good, and some of them are bad. And while they can create an exciting aura around clothes, making the garments seem even more relevant and desirable, they can also make them look ghastly! 

Tom Ford 

At least Mr. Ford, who this season likewise kept his lucky guests captive for a few hours, distracted them with champagne and martinis, and then fed them smoked salmon with caviar and halibut in a mushroom cream sauce, in a room covered with white orchids and famous faces, setting a beautiful tone for his showing. 

The silhouette - a blouson shirt or peplum jacket wrapped by leather buckles at the waist over a below-the-knee stretch cashmere-tweed pencil skirt and high leather boots - was vintage Ford: a little ’70s, a little cinematic, with hints of bondage and overindulgence. Ditto the sweeping leopard trench, the men’s tux-and-turtleneck combo, and the evening looks of glinting sequined tops over long, feathered skirts; backless velvet columns traced in gold chains. 

This is Mr. Ford’s comfort zone, as he defined it years ago: familiar, but nevertheless hard to resist.