Luar Brought The Fashion Freaks – and Madonna! – To Rockefeller Center

Shortly before Luar’s spring/summer 2025 presentation began during New York Fashion Week, well-clad guests bottlenecked at the base of 30 Rockefeller Center, where designer Raul Lopez’s show was being held on the plaza that is famously the site of the world’s best known Christmas tree. Steps away from the touristy Fifth Avenue shops and hot dog vendors, fashion freaks of all kinds – donning latex trench coats, giant furry boots, and Luar’s signature Ana bags (duh) – waited to be let into the outdoor runway space, located just steps off the Rockefeller rink. (A few of the sea of flags around the rink were even changed to Luar logo flags – a clever touch.) “I’m on the list,” one impatient show-goer told the head security guard, who continued, unmoved, to herd guests like cattle at the entry point, all while eating his peanut M&Ms.

Once the fashion set was let through, the celebrities began to arrive. First, there were the dolls: Honey Balenciaga, Hari Nef and Amanda Lepore, who mingled and took selfies with one another. Then came singers like Doechii and Tinashe, and then the models, like Paloma Elsesser, who slinked in wearing an Old Hollywood-style shrug – and not much underneath. “I’m being demure,” she mused, “otherwise, my nipples are out!” Finally, the last two notable names arrived, strolling in right before showtime. Madonna was the penultimate arrival, causing an instant scene in her giant shades and a cool double-breasted blazer dress. The iPhones went up; a flurry of snaps and flashes followed. Last to arrive was Ice Spice, in her branded Luar mini dress and fur shrug – you know you’re late when even Madonna arrives before you.

With the starry crowd in their seats, Lopez’s show finally began with an ear-piercing beat that caused many guests to wince in pain. The permanent hearing damage was worth it: the designer showed a cool, forward-thinking line-up of coats, suits, dresses and, of course, bags. Stars like Offset and Julez Smith (Solange’s son and the one who drew Beyonce to last season’s Luar show) made cameos on the runway. The juxtaposition of Lopez’s avant-garde clothes with the rubbernecking tourists in tees and shorts just outside the barricades, was genius. A few lucky showgoers at the F.A.O. Schwartz store even got a front-row window view of the action.