New York Fashion Week: Soundtrack from the Runways

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last updated 22 July 2021

Many people would argue that these days, in the age of the Internet, fashion shows should be obsolete. Now that the most influential designers in the business — including Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, and Proenza Schouler — are live-streaming their exclusive shows, and you can view complete collections online within minutes of them coming down the runway, it's a valid wonder why brands still put forth so much manpower and money to produce them.

The main focus of a fashion show is — and will always be — the clothing, but that is only one facet of the complete Fashion Week experience. To help tell each season's story, designers take great care in choosing lighting, styling, staging, and perhaps most importantly, a soundtrack, to enhance their collections and to create a specific mood around them. This is where the true spirit of a fashion show lies, and when they're successful, what you get is an all-encompassing feast for the senses — something you could never replicate by clicking through a slideshow or watching a live stream.

From powerful, classic rock anthems and bass-heavy bangers that proclaim "bad girls do it well," to the synth-pop sounds of a Ryan Gosling flick and the theme song of a certain cult television show, here are the best songs from the runways of Fall 2012 Fashion Week in New York — and you can listen to them all below!

Show: Jill Stuart

Song: Weezer - Say it Ain't So

Show: SUNO and Theyskens' Theory

Song: M.I.A. - Bad Girls

Show: Richard Chai LOVE

Song: The Smiths - How Soon Is Now?

Show: 3.1 Phillip Lim

Song: College feat. Electric Youth - A Real Hero

Show: rag & bone

Song: House of Pain - Jump Around

Show: BCBG Max Azria

Song: Justice - On'n'On