If ribbons and frills were shyly complementing the runway in previous seasons, they are now the pillar of East Coast’s fashion microcosm.
Image by Alessandro Viero on behalf of GoRunway
Image by Charlie Engman
It would require a real effort to declare yourself foreign to last years’ enduring explosion of the Coquette archetype by now. Pervading all social media channels and spilling further into the very tangible world, for a moment we seemed to concertedly embrace our most Sophia Coppola-esque aesthetic fantasies – whether it was about tying braids with white lace, giving in to pink as a defining theme for our interiors, or using Sony Angels as totems of reverence, all while listening to the same sequence of Mazzy Star’s discography. Of course, at the higher-up level of the trend-dissemination chain, the fashion world is expected to thwart and pronounce itself above frivolous tendencies. However, last week’s New York’s A/W25 Fashion Week spoke cunningly about the status quo of the ribbon as a symbol. With brands such as Coach, perennially confident in their established tenor now abruptly steering into the girliness craze, while Sandy Liang, Collina Strada and more of their likes remaining unstirred in their dollhouse universe, it’s safe to assume we reached a consensus – cuteness is here to stay.
Image by Ryan Petrus
To address the elephant in the room, our biggest shock this season was Coach! In premiere, their austere use of silhouettes and fabrics of choice was interspersed with details of undiluted Gen-Z essence. Unmissed were baby tees with small animal prints and sketches out of a highschool notebook, drawn in moments of peak teen angst. The staple Coach bags were decorated with monkey, teddy bear and carrot? plushies, looking straight at their young target consumers with their googly eyes – a not-so-subtle take on the ongoing Jellycat incorporation into all-day fashion, obviously among the very same disciples. Frilly nightgown-y dresses with proportionally exaggerated (not a euphemism!) ribbons protruding at the front were the pinnacle of the show, and of our surprise, respectively. Last, but not least, a key detail to their office-gone-liberal-arts-course looks were the animal-shaped fluffy shoes with which models stepped onto the catwalk, raising a big middle finger to a previously imposed cohesiveness in the brand’s identity.
Next on the list, we have the mother of the emerging shift, nobody else but Sandy Liang. Truthfully, without Liang this entire conversation may not have had any momentum. The designer’s new collection vividly conveys the feeling of, as a kid, opening a new doll box and being struck by its untouched, plasticky splendour. If you don’t relate to that experience, simply peek at Liang’s garments, worn by real life dolls. Just like setting up her own game rules, glossy and tacky are codewords for desirable and novel on the girlhood maven’s playground. Especially in the light of the collection’s transparent friskiness, Liang’s visuals and textiles mix into an insatiable, praise-worthy gambol. Long live the legacy of Sandy Liang <3
Collina Strada is for sure the least likely brand to be allotted a defining identity. Known for her experimental, DIY, heavily political praxis, Hillary Taymour (founder and creative director of Collina Strada) interprets fashion herself rather than allowing for her work to be interpreted. Yet in all candor, this season we can only concede the facts – the designer’s pink, floral, fluffy (the list could go on) details may not (re)characterise the brand’s motifs, but they unmistakably keep in line with the homogeneity of pinks and florals and fluffies of her contemporaries. Her “Fempire” is undoubtedly more than sheer traditional femininity – it’s speculative futurism for a world where the femmes are rulers and monarchs, a valiant framework set in antithesis to our somber times. And for it to transcend speculation, we have to stay true to our instincts and indulge in some ruffles, tutu skirts, lace and flounced skirts (did we already mention the ruffles?) – anyway, we are yielding to all of it.
Last but not least, Lucila Safdie is the CSM graduate, internet launched girliest designer out of the girly girl crowd. Vague as that may seem, it is the most astute way of explaining the ethos of the designer, who knew her way around amassing a following by outsourcing her designs through the media all self-proclaimed girly girls so ardently consume. We are talking about Sylvia Plath, Criterion Collection movies, old Tumblr posts, our eternal obsession with feminine ennui and its cinematic transubstantiation. Speaking of, the collection she released in the timeline of NYFW kindles exactly that – with pictures taken on an iPhone camera as Instagram’s favorite models sleep dressed in full Lucila Safdie looks, we are served yet again on a silver tray with unrelentingly pale, soft garments out of a reverie world. Ribbons and frills on everything and everywhere go without mention. Earnest and palatable, Lucila’s “Sleeping girls” brings the eponymous brand higher in the ever-expanding hierarchy of cuteness.
Times may often seem grim or colourless, from a plethora of perspectives – but that’s definitely not the case for the ribbon-plated ready-to-wear, nor for its foreseeable future;) 🎀
Images courtesy of Collina Strada
Words by Luna Sferdianu
