On a day of New York fashion week anchored by Carolina Herrera and Tory Burch, it would have been, at some point, reasonable to assume you’d be getting two versions of “uptown” collections: Carolina Herrera’s refined gala dresses and Burch’s tunics and Upper East Side mom-wear. Today the gulf between them seemed as wide as if they were coming from opposite ends of Manhattan. Of course, that’s only a matter of miles. Sometimes, to be sure, the distance can feel like there’s an ocean in the middle, but more often—and as evidenced by many of the collections shown today—everything works best when it’s all mashed up: uptown and downtown, preppy and punk, prim and gritty. That’s how New York is, after all.
Carolina Herrera RTW Spring/Summer 2025
Wes Gordon started the day with his elegant showing for Carolina Herrera in the lobby of an office building on Wall Street. That’s not as bleak as it seems; the runway circled a glass rotunda that encased a rock garden designed by Isamu Noguchi. Janet Jackson’s “All for You” set a cheery tone. The spring/summer 2025 collection was a parade of mostly black and white dresses and suiting and some less formal shirting over capris (apparently they will still be a thing); some looks were all white, some were all black, some were black and white polka dotted or floral printed or checked. The lack of color made it all the better to focus on the volume, structure, and embellishments like rococo embroidery and giant rosettes.
Capote’s Swans have been lingering in pop cultural consciousness since Ryan Murphy’s Feud aired earlier this year. Earlier this week J.Crew revived Swan-haunt La Cote Basque for their star-studded fashion week dinner. And you could feel them swanning about Gordon’s runway, too. At the end, everything gave way to color: Models strutted in Pepto pink and crimson cocktail dresses and the finale looks were injected with a shock of what the brand called “taxicab yellow.” The collection felt like a playful yet reverential ode to the brand’s founder, who was seated in the front row. When Gordon came out to take his bow, Herrera, in her signature crisp white shirt, smiled and gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.
Coach RTW Spring/Summer 2025
Coach creative director Stuart Vevers often references downtown youth and counterculture: the slouchy trousers and thread-bare tees borrowed from skate kids; skinny-hipped leather trousers from the hardcore scene; and, in this collection, oversized blue blazers and khakis that reminded me of prep school stoners. As with all Coach shows, which are big-budget affairs, this one—held on the High Line by the brand’s headquarters—was slick and expertly merchandised but it didn’t feel over-produced. The bucolic High Line setting helped to ground everything, as well as the casual vibe of the collection, which featured great denim repurposed from post-consumer garments paired with worn-in “I Heart New York” tees, as well as pajama pants and boxers that were intentionally faded and creased to look more lived in. A little of that uptown spirit came through in mod satin mini-dresses done in the colors of a box of candy hearts.
Many looks were paired with worn-in ‘80s-ish sneakers, a new category for the brand. The sneaker (it’s called the Soho) was adorned with stickers and retro charms; I clocked a taxi and a cassette tape stuck on the laces of a a few pairs as they walked by. It was a clever continuation of the bag charm trend, which Coach helped ignite, and which has caught on like wildfire. There were also sticker-covered and scribbled-over bags and backpacks.
Personal style reigns right now; it’s why kids are obsessed with jibbets for their Crocs and why ladies who lunch or ladies who yacht are stacking the handles of their Birkins and Kellys with baubles. Vevers knows this, and knows that New York is uniquely suited as a place to fly your style freak flag. “So many elements of this collection come down to personality,” said Vevers in his show notes. “We’ve taken very archetypal pieces and made them unique to the wearer…I think what’s more valuable today is something that’s personal.”
Tory Burch RTW Spring/Summer 2025
There has been a lot of talk about the so-called Toryssaince, a reference to the transformation of Tory Burch’s label over the past several years from something polished and preppy and Upper East Side-y to something sexier and more conceptual and slightly off-kilter. It’s struck a chord with both her existing customers and the fashion editors and stylists and creative types who set the tone for what looks cool. So there was hype to live up to at Burch’s spring/summer 2025 runway show, set in the Skylight at the top of the long-in-the-works restoration of the Domino Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg. The curved glass walls of the space made for an epic view of the Manhattan skyline, a proper showcase for a collection that more than lived up to the hype.
Backstage, Burch said the collection was about the “essence of sport.” She wanted to convey, she said, “how there's power in precision and movement; freedom." Not everything was so literal; there were fitted, cropped wool tops that looked a little like a yoga top if you blurred your eyes, worn with structured jacquard skirts (modeled by an A-list cast that included Vittoria Ceretti and Alexa Chung). Stretchy knit polos and sheer ruffled blouses looked sharp tucked into crisply tailored flat-front trousers—a slimmer cut with a slight flare, and a retreat from the super big wide-legs that have been dominant lately.
I thought the strongest looks (also the most fun ones) were the sporty swimsuits, some done up in sequins, worn with slouchy velour trousers with drawstring waists or printed jacquard pants. The floor and walls of the entire venue were covered in aqua tiles, so models looked like they’d just hopped out of a pool. A model wearing a red sequined swimsuit and black velour pants strutted by and I could see Ella Emhoff, seated in the front row next to Mindy Kaling and Michelle Williams, and Jodie Turner Smith, exclaim, “I love that.” You know it’s good when it evokes that kind of reaction.
