NEW YORK FASHION WEEK SPRING/SUMMER 2027: DAY 7

COLLINA STRADA
review by DONA TODOROVSKA

all images courtesy of COLLINA STRADA

Located about 1.5 hours outside of Lower Manhattan, Collina Strada’s Hillary Taymour was invited by Stormy King to stage the first ever fashion show at the 500-acre outdoor sculpture museum. The decision was a risk, but risk-taking has long been part of Taymour’s design language. The gamble began to make sense almost immediately. Guests arrived into the park welcomed by coffee and ice cream beneath a cloudless blue sky, seemingly transported from the frenzy of fashion week into the vastness of nature and art. 

Butterflies and dragonflies moved through the field as guests found their seats on an open field surrounded by a few of Storm King’s monumental structures. There was an undeniable sense of calm and excitement in the air, being temporarily removed from the craze of the city and into a green oasis. What was to follow felt like the convergence of romance and punk, as Carly Rae Jepsen appeared and the first models emerged onto the grass.

Titled Detour, Taymour’s collection felt beautiful but simultaneously unruly. The garments were romantic, but never quite proper. Ruffles, corsetry, sheer fabrics and exaggerated sleeves were interrupted by distressed textures, exposed skin, and towering, almost creature-like hair. There was an angst running through the collection, but it never overpowered its sense of fantasy. Softness pushed against aggression; historical romance pushed against punk irreverence. There was something that almost felt distinctly Vivienne Westwood in that process. Not because Taymour was replicating the designer's looks, but because of the seamless way she collides the tensions between historical romanticism and unapologetic punk. Like Westwood, Taymour treats historical dress less as something to preserve than something to distort. Corsetry, draping, romantic silhouettes and exaggerated proportions became raw material for something rebellions, strange, and distinctly contemporary.

Detour continued to raise the same question Taymour presents us with collection after collection: just how maximalist can sustainable fashion become? Using deadstock material, recycled sequin, organic cotton / lower-impact materials, the designer continued to remind us that the sky is the limit. Her ability to design around material efficiency and transformation continues to show us that sustainability isn’t synonymous with minimalism.

As the show concluded, and Taymour took her final bow, Jepsen broke out into a song about Marie Aittoniette. The models ran back toward Taymour in joyful glee, dancing and celebrating, turning the runway into something closer to a party. Attendees began to make their way into the celebration, blurring the lines between audience and participant. The celebration then moved up the hill, where the next part of Collina Strada’s world was waiting.

The after party became an extension of that world rather than a separate event. Guests were led to an outdoor garden party where Taymour revealed Collina Strada’s first home collection in collaboration with Swedish interiors LAYERED. The debut included a low-slung modular sofa and four customizable rugs where guests enjoyed vegan bites by Joon Eats, the soundtrack by Dj Oscar Nñ, and most memorably a margarita fountain. Taymour described the mood as reminiscent of a ‘70s swingers’ cabin, an appropriately eccentric setting for a brand interested in fashion as a broader way of living.

What could have quickly turned into a stormy detour instead became a sun-filled celebration of fashion, nature, and the freedom to stray from the unexpected path. Detour wasn’t simply about taking fashion somewhere unexpected; it was about questions why fashion has to follow the expected route in the first place.

6397
review by DONA TODOROVSKA

all images courtesy of 6397

For their first debut runway show, 6397 turned the runway and the city into their beachtown. With increasingly warmer temperatures engulfing New York City, founder Stella Ishi and designer Lizzie Ownens brought us a collection that gave the feminine silhouette a winsome look made for comfort, adaptability and freedom to breathe.

Their first runway collection felt like a structured culmination of what the brand has been working on for over a decade: perfecting their takes on a “basic”. Their early design languages followed through to the runway, as we saw signature tomboy inspired looks, alongside denim, loose knits and overall looks with the “offness” Ishii often refers to as the brand's recurring principle. Ishii created something for the New Yorker who needs to be prepared for overt heat, getting trapped in sudden rainstorms, or last minute trips to Long Island to cool off. Moving carefully through plaid, stripes, florals, and ombre, Ishii successfully created a minimalist cohesion amongst patterns that would typically feel loud when paired together. 

The intentionality and commitment to the brands visual language in the collection is clear and can be felt through the images. What is harder and yet even more important that can’t be felt is the intentionality and love coming from the team themselves. The thoughtfulness and care was evident as we made our way through the venue, catching glimpses into this special moment for the brand. 

What originally began as a multi-brand showroom called The News, dialed its way into the label 6397 and created a world for a New Yorker that’s practical, versatile, and effortlessly subversive.

THOM BROWNE
review by ANOUK WOUDT

all images courtesy of THOM BROWNE

Beneath massive drooping leaves and the low buzz of bees, Thom Browne invites you to live amongst the bugs with the unveiling of his latest Spring/Summer collection. Taking inspiration from the classic children’s film A Bug’s Life, insects and cartoonish fantasy inhabit nearly every look, whether subtly accented or glaringly obvious.

Just like its cinematic influence, this show tells a story.

Slow, patient buzzing suddenly becomes incessant, giving way to a horde of caterpillar-printed models joining at the foot of a life-size cocoon at the centre of the forestial scene. A dance laden with ceremony ensues, twirling in tulle, before sending one lucky caterpillar – none other than Kai Schrieber – to be enclosed inside the chrysalis. Beelining back to their burrow, the figures disappear, and the runway soon illuminates as the first official look of the collection makes its way down.

Keeping his trademark pleats and suits, the collection uses the Thom Browne uniform as a base for buggish details. Bright nets create a swarm that lingers on each head, while flowers adorn butterfly purses and antennaed caterpillars become shoes – the spitting image of a modern-day bug businesswoman. Spring tones dominate the palette, with pastel yellow and baby blues coexisting amid steely greys and plaid. Silhouettes maintain a tailored, elegant persona, before being interrupted by large bug-eyed bodices, perched atop crisp collared ties. A particular showstopper was the ladybug dress, whose striking red polka dots appeared in perfect contrasting harmony with the leafy, daisy-ridden environment.

As the show nears its close, a darker palette muddles the childlike fantasy. Metallica's Moth Into Flame blasts into the ether, inviting a black widow of sorts to saunter in, veiled and encrusted with blood-spattered crystals. From then on, black dominates the last looks, leaving colour to return only in butterfly spots and shoes. Wrapped in butterfly wings, steps of metamorphosis awkwardly drape over figures before giving way to its final step: a stunning pearly-white butterfly. Gliding to a softened composition of Björk’s All Neon Like, she’s rejoined by the original caterpillars, now each transformed into a butterfly.

The chrysalis sits still as they resume in dance, finally reopening to unveil its rightful monarch. With the transformation complete, Browne’s bug-filled fantasy comes full circle. A bug’s life has reached its conclusion, and with that, we are dropped back into our own world.