“I feel like Resort is my thing, it’s my season,” said Cynthia Rowley at her new studio in the West Village, where racks upon racks of her Resort collection hung. Based on her diverse, lively, and on-trend offering, we can’t really argue with her. The 32 looks in Rowley’s lookbook—and the some-hundred more that hung in her showroom—marked one of her strongest outings in recent memory, a succinct synthesis of the eclectic, fun-loving spirit that’s been at the heart of the Cynthia Rowley brand since its birth.
It helps, of course, that fashion has swung back in Rowley’s favor. Other, larger design houses have adopted eccentricity as law of late, churning out ruffled maxi-dresses, mixed-print separates, and embroidered suiting en masse—all of which appear in Rowley’s collection. And even if it took the swinging of the fashion pendulum to get Rowley’s personality back at the fore, her lineup of punchy numbers is welcome in the market. At a contemporary price point, these are the quirky pieces you'll actually see real girls wearing.
The designer spoke about the new collection as a sort of “on the road” journey through the cultures and motifs she loves. Rowley recently returned from Australia, where she showed a preview of her Resort collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia. There, her scuba swimsuits and their new, matching surfboards were the heroes of the show. Today, a jade-hued chinoiserie miniskirt with pink embroideries worn with a charmeuse front sweatshirt was among the stars of the collection. Elsewhere, Western shirting was paired with whimsical, tiered miniskirts in garden-variety florals. Bohemian dresses came in New York City’s staple hue, black, while suiting was given a peppy update in electric blue with white, musical note embroideries. The best of the lot was a cropped black jacket with neon patterns, made from a custom fabric by iconic Parisian mill Malhia Kent. It tops off a phantasmagoria of floral prints in the lookbook, but a modern girl might just throw it over jeans and a tee. It looked easy and fun.
