After 20 years in the business, the fact that Tory Burch has a knack for accessories is anything but a secret. But does she rest on her laurels (aka her best-selling shoes and bags)? The answer - unsurprisingly - is no.
Instead, the designer’s theme curiously persits across her autumn/winter 2024 collection, offering a palette of accessories that are as intricate as they are sure to make tills ring. Set against the overarching mood of flats in fashion, Burch wasn’t afraid to open her show in the New York Public Library, surrounded by A-Listers like Natasha Lyonne and Uma Thurman, with an iteration of her pierced cult shoes - this time as a stiletto. It wasn’t until look 15 that a flat stomped the catwalk, but it was certainly worth the wait. They were a hybrid of monk-strap brogues and fisherman sandals with a level of Frankenstein cool that only Burch could conceive of.
Of course there were bags, too: the brand’s signature Radziwill purse was reimagined as a tote bag, clutched under arms, while other models donned elegant top-handle bags.
But accessories aside, backstage, throngs of change were in the air. ‘I feel like a new designer in many ways,’ Burch admits. ‘When I first started the company, it was all about the product. I was the CEO, but now, finally, I don’t do any operations at all.’ How does that translate into this season? ‘It’s more of a personal expression. I wish I had taken that step sooner,’ she continues.
Despite what you’d expect from a business celebrated for its wardrobe add-ons, the garments are far from just a blank backdrop for shoes and bags. Continuing her efforts from spring/summer 2024 to explore weightless structures - pragmatic, never prohibitive - volume and technical sport details, Burch delivered a feast for the eyes.
‘I wanted to create volume without weight,’ she says. ‘And I wanted strangeness to classic pieces.’ A sequinned fringed coat was paired with patterned tights. Elsewhere a sheer nylon mesh skirt was rendered in faded embroidery. Tinsel dresses and coats made for guaranteed phone-up moments and coated silk chiffon outerwear put a new spin on a wardrobe for the great outdoors.
Rapturous applause echoed through the halls of the New York landmark, drowning out the soundtrack featuring Johann Sebastian Bach and tracks by The Cure and Joy Division. And who is the Tory Burch customer in 2024, cheering the designer on? ‘We have a lot of younger customers. But the [existing] customers, we’re bringing her along, challenging her to think differently and to be more interested in individuality.’ A sentiment that has an autobiographical ring to it, for Tory Burch anyways.
