Dispatches from NYFW
Tory Burch goes bicoastal with preppy-yet-cool spring 2017 collection
Tory Burch has always had a bit of a split personality. She's built a billion dollar business with styles that are the epitome of East Coast preppiedom. But behind the perfect veneer, there's always an edge. Her "good girl who's ready to have a good time" vibe strikes just the right balance.
The duality was in evidence during New York Fashion Week, where she showed her spring/summer 2017 collection in the pristine surroundings of the Whitney Museum of American Art while models moved to music that included the Bee Gees' "Massachusettes" and Young Thug's "Pick Up the Phone," with the "F" word repeated several times, waking up the sleepy-eyed crowd for the 9 am show.
It all seemed to make perfect sense because the collection, which Burch called "relaxed and effortless," is bicoastal, mixing preppy East Coast looks with California boho styles.
The first half was a salute to New England, where prep reigns supreme. A pink and green cardigan was matched with a garden print skirt, while a navy blue jacket trimmed in white piping was paired with sailboat print pants. One nautical sweater had the word "Ahoy" emblazoned all over it, and some necklaces contained pearls the size of golf balls. (They made former first lady Barbara Bush's trademark pearls look like tiny dots.)
The second half of the collection was California cool with Coachella-ready clothes — loose and colorful prairie dresses, a fringe macramé skirt worn with a suede top, and a crop top and ankle-length pants in an orange-and-blue batik print.
It all came together in the last look, as Burch paired a batik print tie-blouse and skirt with a white cotton cardigan emblazoned with patches of the state of Maine, a lobster, a sailboat, and a lighthouse.
At last, East meets West.