11 Things We Loved from FW25
A magical Monday night at MoMA. Tory's twisted American sportswear had it all, must-have pants, skirt suits we want to wear now, plus Martha in the front row!
It was a magical Monday night, with all the stars aligning for a fabulous runway show at the Museum of Modert Art. There was a lot to see in this collection, rich with textures, fabric experimentation and delightful blink-and-miss-it details. Here, our breakdown to help you process it all. Let us know if we missed any of your favorite looks or moments.
One sweet spot for a runway collection is a new proposal firmly rooted in something essential and beloved. These sporty soft pants, with a track-ish side-stripe and zipped vent, hit it head-on. In lush cotton velour or double-knit with brushed wool outside and joy-to-wear cotton jersey inside, they were cut to hang with the sophisticated yet substantive slouch of a well-tailored trouser. Truly a far cry from your run-of-the-mill cashmere jogger.
It’s always a thrill to get access to an iconic New York City location after-hours. The show was staged across two floors — the first floor lobby and airy second floor atrium, both with a view to the cloistered sculpture garden.
Or perhaps you prefer our alt headline: Brooch: The Subject. No matter, the collection’s crystal pavé lily and tulip pins were a tender touch of throwback elegance to modern looks: devil-may-care layered knitwear, spiral draped dresses and — perhaps our favorite — the strappy twisted-heel sandals.
The Eyewear: The Row Jordan sunglasses
The Jacket: A FW25 runway outtake: the multi-pocket leather jacket.
The Top: Vintage Hermès shirt.
The Pants: Custom Tory Burch trousers.
The Bag: The new softer FW25 Pierced bag.
The Shoes: The Row Shrimpton boots.
Fashion week can get very serious. Consider countering it with this reel as a refreshing sorbet of silliness, swearing and campy mugging, with many of your faves including Alex Consani, Adriana Lima, Paloma Elsesser and Selena Forrest.
If you’re wondering when you last heard that statement, we’ll stop you right there. It may have been a minute. What made these looks work was pushing the technical definition of the skirt suit while still capturing the polished, ladylike vibe. For instance, Look 4 (above, right) was a tunic-length sweater embroidered to look like tweed(!) with a swingy skirt in a tweed-like specked wool and slim belt to simply but exquisitely pull it all together. Meanwhile, Look 19 (above, left) consisted of a boxy blazer in windowpane wool with trompe l’oeil tweed embroidery that echoed but didn’t match the slim skirt, in the same knit as Look 4’s tunic; a cozy sweater vest threw it all off just so.
Soft, squishy and sumptuous — that was the general brief for the runway handbags. The direction was perhaps most surprising in the Eleanor, our signature box bag, which in non-runway form is gorgeously structured. The relaxed vibe, however, suited Eleanor, updated in embossed and smooth leather with sleeker, beveled hardware. We especially loved the larger size, which evoked a masculine messenger bag and paired nicely with the collection’s tailored trousers.
The riding boot is a Tory mainstay. (Remember the classic beauty with deconstructed hardware from FW23?) This season it was more elfin than equestrienne — attenuated and elongated with a super flat sole that created a clean, lean line under full pleated skirts. Even better are its details — a hidden wedge that gives a bit of secret lift and a zipper that twists around the calf.
Introduced last season on the SS25 runway, the Pierced Bag was triple-exposed at Monday’s show. Tory herself carried the new softer FW25 version, which was also on the runway. Meanwhile, the SS25 version — a perfectly structured oval (available to buy later this spring) — was the favorite of the VIP set in the front row.
You know that feeling when you see an outfit and it makes you want to be precisely the type of person who’d wear it? No? Okay, well, bear with us. Look 1 was a masterclass in subtlety, sophistication and styling — a symphony of textures in an almost jewel-like navy. A gently oversized, crafty-chic fringed wool blazer, velour track pants and a fine-knit cardigan draped nonchalantly around the shoulders, fixed with a smart gold stickpin. Who is this imaginary Look 1 lady? In our minds, she’s highly accomplished (think multiple degrees) but wears it lightly, says she doesn’t pay attention to fashion and is somehow flawlessly chic. She’s kind and gracious with a steely backbone when need be. She’s our idol and, as a figment of our imagination, she’ll never know it.
Deer is the unsung hero of animal prints. No disrespect to leopard – an ironclad icon in its own right – but we thrilled to the freshness of this dense, abstract Bambi-like pattern, scattered here and there throughout the collection. It was especially covetable in Looks 13 (far left) and 15 (far right), a coat and jacket in velvet woven with metal threads to create a sublime crumpled texture.
Since we were in an iconic art museum, we asked some of our VIPs…
