Tory Burch is not afraid to make a statement. And so when the designer chose to stage her Autumn/Winter ‘25 collection show amidst one of the world’s greatest collections of modern art - the MoMa in New York - it made perfect sense. She is, after all, one of the greats of American fashion herself.
And the statements she makes are not limited to the city’s landmarks she overtakes each season (in previous years she’s shown in the New York library and the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History), nor the A-list guests that visit her show (Ciara, Martha Stewart and Amanda Seyfried to name but a few) but they leave a glittering trail in their wake on the runway, too. It’s all part of the Torynaissance the brand has been undergoing for the past few years, since the designer stepped down as CEO and began to focus solely on the design process.
‘I started with the concept of twisted American sportswear,’ she said backstage after the show. ‘But then I took ‘twisted’ in so many directions - literally, figuratively - and just ran with it. So there’s everything from twisted yarns to twisted seams to twisted heels, and seams up the boot,’ she continues. The result? A collection as a silent celebration of the personal forever wardrobe, perfectly imperfect and completely unique.
There were a myriad of tapered track pants - crafted from brushed wool and jersey - sometimes worn with draped cardigans and elsewhere with a shearling coat, the type you’d see the women of New York strut about the streets of Soho in. Knitwear was pinned with floral brooches, inspired by the former United States secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, and utilitarian jackets slashed through the ladylike elegance without feeling misplaced, in a way that only Burch could conceive of. ‘I think women are redefining classics for themselves today, and they also want things that will last. I wanted each piece to be coveted enough that you'll keep it forever and that you layer onto your wardrobe,’ she says.
And which pieces from the collection have made it onto the designer’s personal wish list? ‘The jacket from the opening look is probably my favourite jacket we've ever designed, it's just the most beautiful fabric, and it's something that I'll wear forever. And the textured track pants.’ It’s hard to believe, given her immaculate show day uniform (tailored slacks, a brown shirt and pointed heels), but given her penchant for giving anything she touches the million-dollar-appeal, even a pair of track pants gets the haute spin the world of Tory Burch. Other examples? A quarter zip jumper, a rugby-esque knit top, a jacquard dress complete with mouse print - inspired by a rodent called Weasel that lives in her office - there’s nothing Burch can't make look expensive if she just twists it her way. We want more Tory. Always.