Raf Simons message could not have been clearer or more pointed. His debut collection for Calvin Klein opened and closed with the David Bowie song This Is Not America.

"When you have a voice, you should use it," the designer said backstage last week at his own label's menswear show.

Now, for his much-awaited bow with new employer Calvin Klein - for which he has moved to New York - the Belgian designer was using his.

A day earlier, Calvin Klein had sent guests patterned bandanas, with a note saying: "Unity, inclusion, hope and acceptance: Join us at Calvin Klein in wearing the white bandanna. #tiedtogether."

The clothes, too - designed along with the label's Pieter Mulier - were meant to display an inclusive message, sort of a melting pot of styles.

"It reflects the environment," Mr Simons wrote in the show notes. "It is the coming together of different characters and different individuals - just like America itself."

There were nods to the American West for both women and men, along with sporty America, crisp business-like suits and coats in colourful quilt patterns.

For some flash, there were a number of garments - dresses, coats, skirts - encased in a layer of plastic, looking like cellophane wrapping on a gift.

Another common embellishment was a silver metallic flower, appearing on black leather jackets or sheer mesh tops that left little to the imagination.

Among the celebrity attendees were Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianne Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Naomie Harris, Kate Bosworth, Greta Gerwig, Brooke Shields, director Sofia Coppola and supermodel Lauren Hutton.

Ms Hutton praised both the show's contents and its messaging. "He's a new miracle," she said of Mr Simon's arrival at the label.

Asked whether politics should have an expression in fashion, she said: "I think that's what all art is for. Fashion, if it's good, always has something to say about society."

Designer Diane von Furstenberg was also among the front-row guests. She wore a large badge that said: "Fashion starts with Planned Parenthood."

"It's not about politics," she explained. "It's about women's rights, about the body, and about human rights."

Elsewhere, the Jeremy Scott show also involved politics as he put Jesus portraits on velvet, Cleopatra-style headdresses and a babydoll nightie saying "love stinks" on the runway.

Backstage before the show in a packed West Village venue, Mr Scott said he had been thinking about iconography and politics.

"I was thinking about how Elvis and Marilyn and Michael Jackson and Jesus are all kind of worshipped on the same altar," he said.

"And that's kind of how we've gotten ourselves into a situation of having an entertainer [Donald Trump] for president. ... And then of course, at the same time (I was) trying to make fun clothes that I love and that I think my friends and fans will love."

He said was going for an effect of "60s boudoirs mixed with streetwear elements like hoodies and T-shirts and sweatshirts ... collaged in a way like they've been sawed in half and smashed into one".

Mr Scott also felt inspired, he said, to take a political stand with his designs.

"How can there not be a political statement today? ... You know, I think everyone needs to kind of speak out. Everyone needs to do their due diligence as a citizen to make their voice heard because that's the only thing that will protect us."

To underscore that point, he wore a shirt saying "our voices are the only thing that will protect us" - with what he said were phone numbers of members of Congress on the back.

He urged others to make their political views known to their representatives, and not to feel "too cool for school" to do that.

"Yes, I can still make fun clothes and have a good time, and there's no wrong in that," he said. "But you still need to have a moment to really do your due diligence as a citizen now more than ever."

Celebrity attendees included Debbie Harry and Kylie Jenner.