Pretty is back in style in Tory’s floral fantasy
In a week when the stock markets have slumped, and against the backdrop of ongoing revelations about sexual misconduct in the film and fashion industries, New York fashion week has opened facing the challenge of measuring the mood of consumers.
Tory Burch, one of America’s richest self-made women, was an early designer to show yesterday. She displayed a tactic which seems likely to be replicated: when the world gets tough, the fashion gets pretty.
The biggest concern at her airy midtown venue was for the carnation garden which she had installed across the catwalk; as guests trampled in to find their seats, conscientious gardeners filled in patches of turf and returned the pale pink stems to their uniform positions.
Backstage, Burch said that it was the “resilience and wit” of Lee Radziwill, the younger sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, that had made her an inspiration for the collection.
There was the classic Tory Burch combination of flattering tailoring – knife-pleated midi skirts and nip-waisted blazers with oversized lapels – with bountiful flowing chiffon or petticoat-style silk dresses, some layered over smart flared trousers to give a sophisticated, Seventies-tinged kick, or chinking with beads and sequin embellishments.
Ruffled blouses came in the delicate Happy Times floral print which had been named after Radziwill’s photographic memoirs and which was also seen on roomy tote bags.
Asked whether the post #metoo climate had had any effect on this season’s design process, Burch simply said: “I’ve always believed in the strength of women and women’s rights.”