Quick: Name this generation’s Mary McFadden. Tory Burch doesn’t leap to mind? Read Burch’s show notes and think again. Like McFadden, Burch spins fanciful yarns about her seasonal inspirations (though never as Byzantine as McFadden’s) and funnels them through very specific, carefully considered aesthetic parameters.
Thus, spring’s muse may have been Françoise Gilot basking in the glow of Provence and Picasso in the Fifties, but on Burch’s watch, Frannie got with the program. Which is not a bad program to join, having made its creator a person of fascination for the fashion and financial worlds — not to mention rich-soon-to-be-richer.
Burch’s impermeable focus: Upbeat, appealing clothes that appropriately harness the fashion moment. Right now, that means playing into the intricate-fabric obsession sweeping fashion, particularly at its most luxurious levels. Burch has taken that movement to her customer, via sensible delivery. “I just love easy elegance,” she said during a preview.
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This centerpiece of the collection was Burch’s savvy interpretation of la parisienne bohème. That meant pulled-together casual with abundant surface interest. Every look had something going on — jacquards, engineered prints, basket weaves, often in combination. At her feistiest, Burch went vibrant — multicolor, fringed crochet top over marigold jacquard skirt; red-and-purple mélange sweater over silk skirt boasting the same knit pattern, but as a print. Subtler renderings subtracted color — a canvas dress with gray bar print. And when she really took a breather, it was with crisp whites — shirts and tunics — worn with fancy pants.
And speaking of fancy, Burch embroidered a single huge splash of crystals onto a coat and skirt in humble natural linen for a smart take on razzle-dazzle — and on the high-low dichotomy she loves.