Tory Burch and her chief executive officer and husband Pierre Yves Roussel haven’t booked their flights on Space X just yet, but the designer was thinking a lot about weightlessness when designing her retro-futuristic spring collection.
“I really wanted a palette cleanser,” she said of the icy- and spicy-hued translucent layers, convertible pieces, and sleek modernist accessories, including mules with toe rings and inverted gravity heels, a new silver T logo pump, and cosmic hoop ear cuffs.
“It was a light reference,” she said of how the cosmos influenced the show, held at sunset on Pier 76 under a planetary-looking mobile.
Sport, stretch and polished sexiness were the season’s watch words, as Burch continued her deep exploration of minimalist ease with techno satin, whisper-thin knits, sculpted tunics and metallic leather extras, all of which nodded to the ‘90s. That was when Burch first arrived in New York and fell in love with fashion in the days of Calvin Klein, Vera Wang and early Prada, stars were plucking their eyebrows and wearing slipdresses, and Gwyneth was dating Brad.
It was also before Burch created a billion-dollar preppy boho brand, which she’s been steering into a more sleek and sophisticated direction in recent seasons.
The younger generation obsessed with all things vintage, and the older generation looking for a special piece, will find a lot to like in the range of sporty utility pieces and romantic layers, as well as easy two-tone sateen tailored jackets, four-way stretch skirts and breezy techno satin coats.
For a more ladylike take on the naked summer trend, Burch showed lace bralettes under those whisper-thin knits, and rather than risking a flashing incident, layered jersey miniskirts and bandeaus over leggings.
She also revisited her signature tunic, the one made famous by Prince at Coachella, as a chic sleeveless sculpted hourglass top, all the better to see an upper arm snake bracelet.
In solid wool or dusted with sequins, the nouveau tunics were worn over a selection of beautiful long skirts. This collection had a wealth of statement skirts, in fact, in shimmering silver lamé, engineered star lace, or handcrafted mirror embroidery. Dresses were also ethereal-looking, including a long, lemon yellow silk dress with mirror embroidery and organza overlay that barely grazed the body. It had starlet written all over it.
As Burch said, “I want things that are beautiful in their own right but not so over-the-top as to be difficult.”
