Tory Burch – Pre Spring Summer 2016 Ready-To-Wear

Tory Burch will happily admit that she hasn’t spent much time in the American Southwest. “Except in my head,” Burch said today, as she showed off her new Southwestern-inspired collection. “I’m drawing on an imaginary landscape, I guess.” Thus her take on the region was very much a gloss on its recognizable motifs, with nods to Native American basket weaving, desert sunsets, cacti, and desert flowers. There was even a hot pepper or two featured in her punchy silk print. But what the collection lacked in reportorial rigor it more than made up for in aplomb: The designer’s silhouettes boasted an appealing sense of ease—which was balanced against her clothes’ richness of texture. Silk skirts and maxi dresses were fully ruched; raffia trim was incorporated into knits; and apron-style dresses came with multicolored allover embroidery or in a luxe—but not weighty—desert flower jacquard. Burch also added to the line’s atmosphere of tactility by incorporating hand-painted effects, as in her graphic painted leaf print “sunset” dresses, whose watercolor-y look was achieved, it turned out, via weave.

Aside from the Southwest, Burch claimed another key reference this season: the 19th-century Viennese designer Carl Auböck, whose workshop continues to produce goods for the home. Auböck’s presence in the collection was felt in its utilitarian touches—to wit, the slouchy carpenter pants—and in the wood-and-brass hardware Burch applied to her bags. This was a particularly solid outing for Burch as far as bags were concerned: Their muscular minimalism will appeal to women outside the (large) circle of loyal Tory fans.