Gabriela Hearst went back to school to prep her fall collection — literally.
Driven by an intellectual curiosity around gender, which was influenced in part by the enlightened attitudes of her own 14-year-old daughters, Hearst tapped a Stanford professor of art history who specializes in gender and politics to design two teaching sessions for herself and her staff.
“What’s remarkable is androgyny reappears in moments of history where new thinking starts to emerge, and it gives me hope that the new generation is starting to think about things in a different way,” she said.
During a preview of the collection, Hearst shared enough background material to write a dissertation, with photos of ancient terra-cotta figurines and classical sculptures, sketch books stuffed with newspaper clippings about climate change, and a 16th-century alchemical treatise.
The Cliff Notes version is that androgyny has always been with us; divinities fluidly moved above categorizations, and once fashion is freed from categorizations, too, it can become more disruptive and well, divine.
All of those threads came together in a collection, which, for all that, wasn’t so androgynous aside from the fact that it incorporated a couple of men’s looks and used the interplay between black and white.
It was enlightened, however, in the way that Hearst is dedicated to proving that fashion can coexist with sustainability. Enlightened, too, were the jolts of color — citrine, watermelon and aventurine green achieved from botanical dyes — in lush cashmere knit sweaters, swishy skirts and fringed shawls, recycled cashmere wide wale corduroy pantsuits, and incredible hand crocheted patchwork peacock dresses that were works of art really.
Speaking of — Hearst collaborated with artist Ana Martinez Orizondo, using imagery from her pastel “Tree Stories” on collectible blankets and sweaters.
She also revisited her crystal obsession with a black coat with precious stones for closures that will probably cost the equivalent of a small car — not a bad trade-off actually, carbon emissions wise. Give up your car for a Gabriela Hearst coat.
There was myriad gorgeous outerwear, including a black napa trench worked with panels of white floral embroidery reminiscent of the coat and dress Hearst made for First Lady Jill Biden to wear inauguration night, and a cashew-colored trench with black-and-white woven blanket-like silk shoulder detail. The interplay between black and white came out again in structured wool dresses with contrasting ivory wool sleeves that looked relaxed and easy to wear.
Hearst’s nod to classicism was a pair of stunning artisanal pleated goddess dresses that gave off Madame Grès vibes. “Made right here in the Garment District,” the designer said. “Don’t let anyone tell you that kind of work cannot be done in New York.”
It all made for a strong collection from Hearst, reaffirming her brand tenets — cerebral, responsible, handcrafted.
