New York Fashion Week: Tory Burch went for 90s glamour over its usual colourful prints, while Gabriela Hearst, also creative director of Chloé, brought an activist-forward show for spring/summer 2023

Sep 16 , 2022

Fashion from the Tory Burch collection is modelled during Fashion Week on September 13, in New York. Photo: AP Photo

Glamour on the one hand, activism on the other: designers Tory Burch and Gabriela Hearst showcased two different approaches to New York Fashion Week on September 13.

Models walk the runway for the Tory Burch spring/summer 2023 fashion show during New York Fashion Week in New York, on September 13. Photo: AFP

American designer Burch offered New York a vintage-inspired collection that veered away from her well-known prints and bright colours. “The collections have been for me much more personal now that I’m not running the business,” she said after the show. Since 2019, Burch has entrusted her husband, Pierre-Yves Roussel, with managing the company, while moving into the roles of chief creative officer and executive chair.

For the spring/summer 2023 edit, Burch said she thought back to when she moved to New York in the 1990s and wanted to highlight “the concept of richness and minimalism” at the same time.

Who is Jay Sammons? Meet Kim Kardashian’s new business partner

A model walks the runway in a sheer top under a jacket for the Tory Burch spring/summer 2023 fashion show during New York Fashion Week in New York, on September 13. Photo: AFP

With sheer cotton tops, lace bras and silver shoes, Burch evoked the sleek sophistication and eroticism in vogue in the early 90s.

“I do think it’s a bit sexier than what we have done in the past,” she said. “And I think that women are feeling that right now. I see that that’s how women want to dress, but I also love a certain elegance to it.”

A hint of shimmer is spotted at Tory Burch’s catwalk at New York Fashion Week at Pier 76, in New York, US, on September 13. Photo: EPA-EFE

She said she also experimented with layering, using a jersey bandeau skirt as a recurring motif, sometimes worn over pants.

“I wanted to challenge us to push it a little further and also to have a more focused point of view,” she explained.

A gospel choir was in full swing as models walked the runway during the Gabriela Hearst ready-to-wear spring/summer fashion show as part of the New York Fashion Week on September 13, in New York. Photo: Getty Images

Uruguayan designer Gabriela Hearst’s show was imbued with ambience. In an enormous warehouse with opaque windows, her models paraded down a runway lined with a gospel choir.

Models shone in yellow and black shades as they walked the runway during the Gabriela Hearst’s ready-to-wear spring/summer 2023 fashion show as part of the New York Fashion Week on September 13, in New York. Photo: Getty Images

15 best dressed celebrities at the Venice Film Festival 2022

Gold dominated, shimmering across a cape, on a breastplate and popping against white and black accompaniments. Long yellow and orange ponchos handsewn in Uruguay and red pantsuits also brought to mind the colours of fire.

Gold ensembles lit up the runway during the Gabriela Hearst ready-to-wear spring/summer 2023 fashion show as part of the New York Fashion Week, on September 13, in New York. Photo: Getty Images

Some pieces appeared to have been directly moulded onto the models with the collection notes describing how leather had been soaked in water and then draped over a form to create unique pieces.

The theme of women’s empowerment was also woven into the show.

Hearst, who is also the creative director at Chloé, said her 2023 ready-to-wear collection was inspired by the ancient Greek poet Sappho and how she had shed light on the hardships women had to endure.

“This Joy” written by Grammy winner Shirley Caesar was sung by the gospel choir as models walked the runway during the Gabriela Hearst ready-to-wear spring/summer 2023 fashion show as part of the New York Fashion Week, on September 13. Photo: Getty Images

The catwalk cast included women’s rights activist Cecile Richards, Mexican Chilean climate activist Xiye Ba and anti toxic shock syndrome campaigner Lauren Wasser.

“This Joy”, a gospel song written by Grammy winner Shirley Caesar, was performed by the Resistance Revival Chorus, billed as a collective of women and non-binary singers that addresses how “historically marginalised women have been in the music industry”.

Hearst also said she had aimed to offset the climate footprint of her show by working with Swiss company Climeworks, which uses technology to capture carbon dioxide directly from the air.

Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

New York Fashion Week

Tory Burch is known for its colourful prints, but this time, the American designer took inspiration from the 90s with sheer tops, lace bras and silver shoes
Meanwhile, Gabriela Hearst focused on women empowerment with activists for models like Cecile Richards, climate promoter Xiye Ba and campaigner Lauren Wasser