The Reviews
Coach
Stuart Vevers may not have ostensibly used the runway to celebrate his 10-year anniversary as Coach's executive creative director, but the pieces in the spring collection were certainly a nod to his longstanding tenure with the brand.
“What was the starting point was reflecting on the last 10 years,” the designer said before his show at the New York
Public Library Thursday night. “I wanted this collection to be very personal and reflect my love of New York City and all the inspiration it's given me and Coach. And in that sense, I feel like I wanted to capture my archetypes of New York fashion.”
He said since first arriving in New
York in the '90s from his native England, he quickly discovered a few spots that would make an indelible imprint on him. But rather than offering up a vintage collection, he instead used his memories of his favorite spots as a “blueprint for the design of these archetypes rather than any literal references.”
So recollections from the Pyramid Club, one of his favorite dance clubs in the East Village, dictated the collection's myriad slipdresses — which looked excellent in red leather with tough biker boots. Ditto to sheer renditions with deadstock lace trim, worn over little leather underpinnings. And “young female execs coming out of their town cars on my way to the studio, who were kind of done with power dressing and reinventing the suit” served as inspiration for his expanded offering of easy tailoring in wool, upcycled denim and regenerative cotton. And his favorite diner, the Lexington Candy Shop, where he saw a “well-loved raincoat on the rack,” was the one he imagined when creating the cotton trench in the current line.
Vevers also stood by core ideas from last season, as seen through a cropped jacket with long, lean skirt pairings; playfully shaped, colorful minibags with oversize basket totes; striped and distressed knits, and consistently strong leather and suede outerwear, like a standout oversize upcycled leather biker jacket worn as a minidress. The ethos dove deeper with his ongoing sustainability initiatives — using more regenerative, repurposed and deadstock materials; creating jelly shoes (60 percent bio materials), and utilizing not only natural dyes, but also deadstock ones, to name a few.
That didn't stop PETA demonstrators from making a short appearance on the runway protesting the brand's use of leather before they were quickly escorted off site.
The menswear played into the “shared wardrobe” aesthetic and sported “a lot more tailoring” this season — something that showed up in the complementary womenswear as well. But it wasn't your grandfather's suit. Instead, Vevers presented a “real sense of ease” in pieces that were soft, washed and very deconstructed with a distressed patina.
Key menswear pieces included a long, lightweight leather coat, a suede jacket with fringe on the sleeves, overalls, a long cotton trench and a short-sleeve graphic sweatshirt with sweatpants that sported the logo of Donohue's Steak House on the Upper East Side of New York, another Vevers favorite.
Many of the pieces for both men and women were distressed or featured a unique “patina,” which Vevers said was intentional to create a mood. “We're not putting patina on these clothes to make them look vintage. We're putting a patina on these clothes to give an attitude and to create a sense of individuality.”
And nothing in the line was overly designed — also intentional. “We're stripping it down to the essentials so it'll be relevant for the next 80 years.”
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Lafayette 148
Nature is top of mind for New York luxury label Lafayette 148.
For the resort season, creative director Emily Smith debuted the idea through clothes designed for an upstate getaway. For spring, she looked out the window of the brand's Brooklyn Navy
Yard headquarters and directly into the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm and lush garden for inspiration.
“It's an urban oasis,” Smith said during the brand's New York Fashion Week presentation, fittingly set in Greenwich Village's outdoor Jefferson Market Garden (with look book imagery shot at Brooklyn Grange). “There's a lot of textures. We really wanted to celebrate the idea of the time it takes to plant the seeds and grow the garden — that natural connection and creativity that it inspires.”
Smith pointed out the collection's macramé fringed and crocheted details
(as seen on a strong two-piece white napa leather jacket and skirt, or full-length dress) as a nod to seed sacks and flowerfilled macramé baskets while nude-colored textural mesh styles (a tank and short sleeve dress) evoked the idea of blooming with allover, hand-stitched coxcomb floral embroideries.
“Then the leathers have these little imperfect crinkle textures because, again, it's just like when you're working, things get messy. I think that's a beautiful thing to celebrate,” she added.
Smith further brought forth the garden idea through the collection's natural eco-print — derived from the technique of applying and steaming flowers directly onto the fabric, which Smith's team collaged to create a modern camouflage effect. The motif was rendered as true prints (as seen on a sky blue organza button-down with
matching silk twill pant); as jacquards (a strong tonal khaki robe-meets-leisure suit), or whipped into knit layers.
Throughout the collection, Smith balanced the brand's well-known, luxe, artisanal details with a mostly neutral palette on an expanded assortment of signature meets uniform-focused silhouettes.
“We wanted to celebrate great white shirts, which is sort of who we are,” Smith said of spring's crisp poplin offering, elevated with pouffed tulip sleeves or thematic floral embroideries. “And beautiful tailoring, but done a little more relaxed and with a different palette.”
Instead of leaning fully into full workwear, Smith peppered in the ideas of a gardener's uniform through apron-inspired drapes and ties, reversible outerwear (a double-faced cotton and silk blend workwear coat) and an updated signature tote bag with extra utility pockets. — Emily Mercer
Trina Turk
Trina Turk is Florida bound.
“We've been looking to expand and open new store locations, so we have been scouting a few cities, taking it all in, and getting inspired by the colors and neighborhoods,” said the L.A. designer, who closed two stores in the Sunshine
State during COVID-19.
The spirit of Florida seeped into her spring collection, which was full of citrus orange, paradise pink and bold new prints Wynwood Waves and Boca Blooms. Key pieces in the well-rounded offering included palazzo pants, crop tops, miniskirts and tunic dresses, with something for younger and more seasoned customers.
“There's definitely a Palm Beach CZ Guest part of it,” she said of the society icon who is proving to be a major muse among designers for spring, pointing out the expanded cocktail options, including a new version of the brand's perennially sold-out feather trimmed print caftan, and a knockout rainbow ombré plissé dress.
Turk is also offering a new capsule collection, testing the waters with five limited-edition pieces in elevated fabrications. There's a gorgeous white 3D lace caftan, made from an embroidered lace developed by sixth generation lace making family the Klauber Brothers, and a sweeping strapless gown in a pink alohaembossed pattern, which also has a rich look. Prices are $475 to $998.
“We definitely have demand, especially on the wholesale side for wedding, event and guest-of dressing. Neiman Marcus and Saks are our biggest customers and can handle a higher price point. And our direct-to-consumer business has not been affected by price, either. It's logical to see what the limits are in how high we can go in price point, and it's easy to elevate and do on-brand,” Turk said.
The designer just opened a new Dallas store location, twice the size of her original Highland Park Village space, in West Village. “It allows us to have Mr. Turk in Dallas, which we didn't have room for before. And we know there is Mr. Turk customer there.” Next up? Somewhere in Florida. “We know from our e-commerce it's a big market for us, I think we could have several locations there,” she said.
Rachel Comey
Rachel Comey made a welcome return to New York Fashion Week Wednesday afternoon, choosing as her runway the curiously named Shinbone Alley in
NoHo with historic 19th-century town houses turned multimillion-dollar lofts on either side.
The collection celebrated Joan Jonas, the 87-year-old multimedia artist who began living and working in the neighborhood 50 years ago, long before it gentrified, and sat front row looking a bit baffled by the fashion sampling of her career, from her line drawings to her use of mirrors as props for performance.
“She's got this incredible catalogue of work and ephemera around her expression and practice that we have been playing with making textiles,” Comey said of designing the pieces, some incorporating Jonas' video and performance stills.
A major focus of the artist's work has been exploring portrayals of female identity, and Comey did that on the runway, with dresses trimmed in fairy tale-like red flowers or constructed from gorgeous fraying pieces of metallic lace, in glossy black (Latex maybe?) cut skin tight, or in billowing white cotton shirting gathered and tucked just so to highlight the curve of the thighs.
A peplum jacket was worn over a mirrored silver miniskirt and knee-high boots Taylor Swift style, while a boxy knit polo and cardigan over pleated pants and square-toed loafers played to a different sort.
The sum total was a collection true to Comey's unwavering vision to see every woman.
It was commercial, yes, (she designs some of the coolest denim out there, including this season's pale yellow waistcinched top and jeans, and is expanding her business with a new company president and San Francisco store opening soon). But it was also subversive in its determination to connect fashion to New York's artistic legacy and reflect that back for the creatives who love her clothes. Comey did that literally when the last model came out carrying a full-length mirror under her arm, letting guests see themselves as she walked by.
The collection and show were “tributes to Jonas, but moreover to all those like her who experience and communicate their worlds with sensitive body-mind awareness,” the notes read. Comey is surely one of them.
St. John
The new St. John suit is a pair of fluid white viscose trousers and a white scoop tank top. And let's face it, that's what you need when it's 95 degrees in the shade in Manhattan…in September.
It was the hero piece in the spring collection, which marked a further melding of the sensibilities of St. John designer Enrico Chiarparin, a veteran of Calvin Klein and Miu Miu, among other places, and the brand's creative director, Hollywood stylist and tomboy icon Karla Welch.
They continued to explore the 1960s Palm Spring glamour they started for fall, but mixed in more '90s ease and subtle nods to Western Americana, from the origami-folded mules mounted on western heels, to the crystal edge on the pointed collar of a black button up shirt paired with cigarette pants, for the “Woman in Black.”
The silhouette was long and lean for the most part, with body-hugging crochet tank dresses, cardigan jackets and minis contrasted with more tailored sculpted shifts and trouser skirts, lightweight unlined blazers and trenchcoats.
“We are trying to be lighter and seasonless,” said Chiaparin of innovating with fabrics and yarns.
On the pared-down evening front, a white shimmering sheer sequin tank dress was a winner, with a leotard incorporated into the lining, as was a sleeveless black Watteau back gown with crystal embellishments.
Added Welch, “And if we didn't have a strike right now I would be placing all these dresses.”