Models at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) paraded down the runway to the sounds of The Cure and Joy Division in lampshade-inspired skirts - American designer Tory Burch celebrated her idea to make "everyday sublime".
The brightly coloured and sometimes glittery skirts seemed to stand alone at the waist and were designed to fold "almost like origami", the designer told AFP.
"I wanted sharp angles, but... the skirt actually comes off and folds into nothing, it's almost like origami," she said, celebrating her brand's 20th anniversary.
Among the most distinctive pieces in her fall-winter 2024 collection, during the runway show under the arcades of the Great Library in Manhattan, the skirts were worn with lightweight long-sleeved tops and hoodies.
"I tried to think about how to make everyday sublime," she says.
Burch's brand has long been lauded for its classic look, but now it seems to be evolving toward becoming more contemporary.
She uses very light materials but gives them character with raw-cut seams, adds multi-colored fringes to a long sequined coat, or makes a delicate ruffled dress protrude from a pleated jacket.
"It's for a woman who has confidence and is looking for optimism in the world," she says.
True to the image of Carolina Herrera, founded in 1981, the brand's new autumn/winter collection is characterised by precise, streamlined silhouettes enhanced by flounces on sleeves and skirts, as well as embroideries.
It features all the fashion house's classics, including pencil or flounce skirts and black and white checked suits.
However, Wes Gordon, the fashion house's artistic director, has left a real mark on the colours.
He forgoes basic colours like black, white and brown to combine red or navy blocks with black, pink, yellow and even florals.
It's all designed to dress a woman "who is not shy, who is strong, who is confident and who loves clothes," he says.Gordon said he sought a balance between the "drama" of color and color blocking and the "precision and discipline of the cut." / BGNES