September 10, 2023 |
Everything sucks, we’re all doomed. The Earth is burning, but fashion? Well she just keeps on kicking. That’s just what she knows how to do. It’s what Collina Strada knows how to do; and with its enchanting SS24 show at Brooklyn Grange, creative director Hillary Taymour puzzled over a particular, arcane concern: “The Earth’s on fire; why are we here?” (which Oyinda also sang on the show’s soundtrack).
After last season’s furry frenzy, marked by humanoid dolphins or dogs with SFX snouts, beaks and buck teeth who clawed and hissed their way past enraptured guests, this was a lot less feral and more… well, sweet. Entitled Soft is Hard, models stalked the runway with their arms clenched at their sides with forced smiles stretched across their faces. The grins were uncanny – disturbing even – but mimicked the way we simply grin and bear it through the excruciating grievances of the zeitgeist. It was less bleak than that though, with those unsettling expressions summoning the strength of “radical softness” in defense of America’s ongoing attack on reproductive, trans and general human rights. Upon reaching the end of the runway, the tenor shifted; models let loose, dancing, frollicking and revealing their true faces.
Weaving a nature laced thread through every garment in an effort to reconnect to the universal feminine energy, ensembles were not only diaphanous and fabulously femme but sustainable as ever. Hari Nef was second out, sporting a delicate white silk blouse decorated with lace trimmings over slouchy trousers with a floral-plaid print. Around her neck was a spiky, twin-star choker – variations of which were worn by the rest of the lineup. Aaron Rose Philip wore a top softly pleated cups and layers of rough-cut tulle cascading over her white lace appliqué ripped jeans, and was closely followed by Tommy Dorfman who was sheathed in fearlessly fluid drapes of floral tye-dye silk with – of course – flourishes of white lace along the hem. Held insouciantly in her hand was a Caterpillar bag – other Collina Strada muses had the Mist bag by their sides. A few muses carried a copy (or a stack) of Taymour’s new tome, I Care a Lotta, I Wear Collina Strada, which is set to release October 3.
There were ballet pink satin suits and corsetry constructed with comfort in mind; apple blossom jeans and boots with the plaid; many of the looks were actually paired with spiked Mary Jane and lace sandals from a forthcoming collaboration with Ugg. Interestingly, this collection was designed with the assistance of AI – a creative tool the physical fashion world has hardly yet tapped.
Where there was delicacy, there was the nerve to dare; where there was prettiness, there was power; in even the girliest of looks, there was grit. At Collina Strada, it was all smiles.
Photography courtesy of Collina Strada.
