For many, Tory Burch has become synonymous with logo-emblazoned ballet flats. But to an entirely new audience, the American designer has made a timely mark with a pair of pierced mules which have gone viral on social media over summer. The new bestseller has made a tweaked return to the spring summer 2024 runway but the designer isn’t creating with different target audiences in mind. ‘It’s not about age. I actually [just] think about women and it’s women from all different places that inspire me,’ she said backstage after the show. ‘I think women are investing in pieces that they want to keep and that’s one thing I really thought about in this collection - and hopefully every collection - how do you [create] things that last?’
The opening look of the show, held in the Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation of the American Museum of Natural History, was a navy jersey jacket worn over a nylon taffeta dress. The looks that followed were spherical viscose knit dresses, tech duchesse dresses with mesh overlays, more nylon taffeta pieces and cotton and silk outerwear.
While, startlingly, many spring collections feature heavy wool fabrications, Burch’s took a pragmatic approach. It was all about weights, layering and a blend of materials and textures. ‘The jersey is super featherweight,’ she says. A lot of work went into the actual textile design, but ultimately it was about developing garments that were ‘complex but not tricky, flattering, easy and interesting.’
Some pieces, like a crochet midi dress came bell-embellished - ‘I just thought it would be interesting when you walk into a room and you’re being heard,' explained Burch - while others came in shorter than ever before.
It’s hard to picture hemlines this mini in a Tory Burch collection from a few years ago, but even an American fashion titan like her has become more experimental. ‘That’s new for me. I’ve not been a fan of short dresses in the past but I wanted to challenge myself to design beautiful short dresses. So, I thought we might as well do it in a big way. In a chaotic world, I wanted a bit of calm but I didn’t want minimal so it’s all about experimentation.’
Elsewhere, the designer allowed glimpses at traditionally restrictive garments for women, like hairnets, crinolines and boning and how to ‘reclaim them.’ The answer? As beaded hair accessories worn by the models.
The cornerstone of the Tory Burch business - accessories - was expectedly delectable: transparent bags featured the infamous logo, which she plans to treat like a design element rather than a logo going forward, while the T-bar flats are ‘the new ballet flats,’ according to the designer.
Overall, Burch delivered what her peer Michael Kors presented earlier that day: ultimately wearable clothes, or, put differently, clothes women want to buy. Her star-studded front row featuring Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts and Tiffany Haddish would most likely agree, ‘I feel like women have never been more into having their rules and also wearing what they want to wear. I didn’t want to deliver the collection and say this looks like the ‘60s and the ‘90s. I wanted it to be present.’ Mission accomplished.