Tory Burch sure knows her way about town. Always the pick for the best runway location during any given season—remember the Brooklyn Museum? And Pier 76?—for Fall/Winter 2024, Burch took over arguably the greatest building in the city: The New York Public Library. (A huge USD$12 million—or AUD$18 million—was spent restoring its Rose Main Reading Room in 2016 and if you haven’t visited this ornate spot to work or read, you must. It’s one of the most exquisite library rooms in the world.)
Lightyears away from the printed tunics and Reva flats that made her famous 20 years ago, for FW24, Burch presented a powerhouse collection. The well-read Emily Ratajkowski walked through the library hall in a glossy faux croc bodysuit—a new and unusual texture for the brand—and a sheer skirt dusted in hand-painted sequins which bore the influence and sensuality of Tom Ford’s Gucci era. But this was just the tip of Burch’s experimentation with new fabrications: There was paper leather, raw denim, calf hair, crushed nylon, sturdy cotton, tinsel raffia, sheer jersey mesh, the list went on.
Interestingly, Burch looked to constructing her ready-to-wear garments this season in the same fashion one would design a handbag: Seams were raw-cut, heat-sealed and bonded to add dimension but to, ultimately, preserve lightness. In fact, there was no complex interior padding or understructures in sight—pieces have been made to quite literally fold flat, a god-send for the travelling American woman of leisure.
“We were thinking about making the everyday sublime: an old jacket, a lampshade, even a shower cap,” Burch says, via the show notes. “Domed resin earrings are styled back-to-front, while trompe l’oeil spikes pierce straight through the lobe. Clusters of glass fruit nod to the concept of making the everyday sublime—even a trip to the grocery store.”
Elsewhere, there was jersey mesh dresses piled with asymmetrical ruffles and an angular dress and skirt which mirrored the geometry of a lampshade. Even the lace trim of a slip dress was debossed in paper leather and flowery nylon, a nod to a shower cap!
Yes, Burch may know her way about town. She also clearly knows her way around a living room. But just when you thought you had her pegged as one way, she’s switched it up. And we’re in love with her for it. See Burch’s incredible FW24 collection below.
This story first appeared on GRAZIA International.