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

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

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.

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.