FASHION’S NOT DEAD, IT’S JUST COLORED BY TORY BURCH

Camz
Sep 18
3 min read

A sea of white, interrupted

This season, designers seem to have taken a collective vow of purity. White looks, sterile and serene, marched one after another, to the point where counting them became as tedious as trying to finish a detox juice cleanse. The idea is clear: in our self-proclaimed "trashland", simplicity is salvation.

But Tory Burch refused the vanilla prescription. Instead, she served color, quirk, and a faint sense of rebellion in a space heavy with history: a 1929 bank, finished just before the “Black Tuesday” crash. Coincidence? Perhaps. But the looming feeling of brinkmanship was there, and Burch did not shy away from it.

A palette that refuses to whisper

If much of fashion week has been drained of color, Tory Burch painted outside the lines. The palette stretched from warm citrus tones to jewel-box shades, with flashes of cobalt and emerald interrupting softer neutrals.

There was a sense of deliberate contrast, as if Burch wanted to remind us that optimism does not come in beige alone. The hues never screamed, but they hummed together, creating looks that felt both playful and precise, a refusal to bow to the season’s monochrome mood.

Joy in the details

Tory Burch made her stance clear: fashion does not have to be a sterile retreat. It can be joyous, optimistic, and yes, even a little eccentric. The collection was peppered with details that asked for a second, even third, glance.

Knit polos came alive with origami-like collars, jackets stood tall with lapels that opened into neat slits designed for a pendant necklace, while ribbed sweaters pretended to be “mended” with delicate seed beads, transforming flaws into embellishment.

And then there were the jackets with back vents: one discreet zip, and suddenly the silhouette shifted. Functional fashion with a wink: practical, yet playful.

Trousers with memory

If the balloon pants of the 1980s are parading across runways everywhere this season, Tory Burch politely declined the invitation to inflate. Instead, she slid back into the 1990s, reviving low-rise trousers that feel oddly nostalgic, if not mildly controversial.

For Burch, who cut her teeth in that decade, the revival feels less like trend-chasing and more like autobiography. The skirts followed the same logic: either pencil-slim or voluminous, but always slightly askew, cinched higher on one hip with a sturdy belt that made them look as though they had been caught mid-twist. Imperfection as intention,refreshing, isn’t it?

Embroidery with a wink

Among the standouts was a sweater that could very well become a cult piece: an embroidery sampler stitched with the initials of the studio team. A gesture of intimacy, almost homespun, that managed to feel both personal and marketable. One imagines fans trying their hand at DIY embroidery after seeing it, convinced that a few uneven stitches might replicate the charm.

And in a way, Burch would probably applaud the attempt. With her flair for embellishment and taste for detail, she has been moving steadily away from the preppy core of her brand toward something that actually makes you look twice.

Conclusion: a rebellion in technicolor

While many designers this season are polishing their halos of white serenity, Tory Burch seems more interested in throwing confetti into the air. Her clothes are not loud, but they hum with character. They carry tiny tricks, discreet zippers, beads, slits, embroidery, and twists that make them linger in memory. They resist the flatness of a “clean slate” and suggest that joy, optimism, and even a little oddity are worth wearing. Safe? No. Interesting? Absolutely. And in a fashion week drowning in white noise, that’s not just refreshing. It’s a relief.

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