Collina Strada RTW Spring 2024
The New York City rain certainly didn’t rain on Hillary Taymour’s parade Friday night in Brooklyn for either of her back-to-back Collina Strada shows. Instead, Uglyworldwide’s ribbon-twirling entrance instantly set an upbeat tone for her spring show.
Models emerged down the runway with exaggerated smiles, clad in a colorful array of Taymour’s sustainable, signature mash-up of prints and playful layered-up looks before pivoting at the end of the runway, and turning those smiles upside down. The expressions were a nod to Taymour’s message of the season.
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Titled “Soft Is Hard,” show notes read, “The Earth’s on fire; why are we here?” and, “As we grin and bear the excruciating present, in which the world burns and reproductive, trans and general human rights are under threat, we summon the strength of radical softness to defend ourselves.”
Her proposition? Reconnecting with that feminine, Mother Earth energy; her spring collection was not only her most elevated to date, but also the most girly.
“I just finished a book of 10 years of work, so it felt like a time to start fresh and have a clean slate; what is the new chapter of Collina? I think sometimes people who don’t know think, ‘Oh, she’s just doing this for a gag or a viral sensation,’ and it’s not about that. I honestly tried to create a vibe because fashion shows are dull as f–k, and no one wants to sit through them just to look at some stupid dress. It’s not even about that, it’s about creating a safe space for a community to join together and celebrate a beautiful craft,’ Taymour said postshow. “I really wanted to do that in a way that felt honest, and I also wanted to elevate everything and be like ‘f—k you, I can make anything.’”
It was great to see Taymour flex her craft, as seen through the collection’s myriad slipdresses and airy tops, often layered with girly tulle accouterments or grounded with chunky cargos, boxers and distressed T-shirts. She noted that a lot of the techniques used came from developing imagery and ideas in AI and experimenting with a mix of fabrications in tonal colors to create the results IRL.
See also: the finale and occasion dresses, like a black velvet corset number with drapey white hem, a pastel pink mini, or a sheer black ruffled lace slip, sported by King Princess, who took the runway for a post-finale performance as the inclusive cast of models made their way back to the runway for a dance party.
Throughout the collection, Taymour didn’t lose her sense of more-is-more, happy whimsy that the brand has become known for, but rather built upon it for her next chapter.
Launch Gallery: Collina Strada RTW Spring 2024
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