Magda Butrym’s Vintage Rebellion and Other New York Fashion Week Standouts

Glamorous and a little bit smudged, the kind of woman who looks perfectly at ease with a cigarette. There are no Magda Butrym clean girls, even after her move to showing for a new market in New York City this season, her New York debut after presenting in Paris. The runway presentation took place within the same week that Butrym opened a flagship store in SoHo . A veritable connoisseur of leather and lace and bold shoulders, this season Butrym paired her signature wide-frame outerwear with sheer silk nighties and stockings. Her classic 1980s-does-1920s silhouettes were balanced by some sixties sweetness. Exemplary pieces include the leather jacket in Look 26, the double-layered slip in Look 29, the collarless blazer in Look 21, and the feathered party dress in nude (Look 8), shown later in black (Look 23). Every model was wearing a variation of a simple patent peep-toe heel, not a bare leg in sight. The nylons were matched to the shoe for elongation. All of the tights ended in a little pair of hot pants with a lace peekaboo on each hip — not enough to add width, but enough to add playful intrigue. The masculinity of the shoulder pad present on nearly every model is balanced by a tiny waist and slender skirt. Shoulder pads were a popular silhouette in the 1980s, for women in the Eastern Bloc and the West alike, as they found ways to adapt the men’s suit for their own needs in a new, corporate environment. What results is a sophisticated sex appeal of restraint and juxtaposition, where the tension is palpable in the outfit itself. What is particularly confounding about this collection is that Butrym cited the inspiration of Polish artist Natalia LL , most famous for her series of self-portraits while eating a banana. Her pop art, decidedly sexual and kitsch, was a strange attempt at strategic transgression aimed against consumerism. Try as I can, I cannot find clues for this inspiration anywhere in the collection, beyond the 1960s doll eyes on the models. Perhaps if we placed ourselves in the sixties, we would find the clothing to be in step with the sexual revolution. Maybe the collection is taking us to a time when rebellion could still use attractive and conservative aesthetics, when the prevailing cultural norms upon which a coherent rebellion is dependent still remained. The collection does succeed in this particular sense — by instilling the feeling that it’s not yet too late to reimagine modern femininity. A femininity of steel and structure, of the commanding presence of the shoulders and the heart, of the slender, stockinged legs down into a peep-toe heel. This sensibility is undoubtedly inspired by the women who surrounded Butrym when she was young, women who found personal style within the constraints of communist Poland. There is a little bit of the office-girl siren, of the day-to-night transition, of the mother who can do it all. Picking up on this thread, the Vogue review is careful to note that Nara Smith was sitting front row, citing her “performance of domestic labor ad absurdum” as the reason she has earned any public standing. While Smith is undoubtedly performing, this seems to be an unnecessary dig. Is the reviewer telling on herself? It seems she is insinuating that domestic tasks — including the art of food preparation — are better suited for an underclass. Only Martha Stewart gets a pass. As for me, the Magda Butrym woman is a close match to my ideal wardrobe, one that creates a sleek, commanding presence but avoids total androgyny in its well-placed references to archetypal femininity. Another brand that consistently peddles in the vintage and feminine is Anna Sui. A longtime New York fashion icon — her first show was in 1991 — Sui is known for her more eccentric patterns and unexpected styling that appeals to a more playful woman. This time, Sui was inspired by American Art Nouveau artist Howard Gardiner Cushing , in particular his use of color and line, and his depictions of ethereal women. The inspiration comes through strongly, though I also see the women of Marie Laurencin in her love for lavender and lilac haze. Anna Sui always inspires me to try new combinations in my wardrobe and new ways to layer. Her signature layering is impeccable in Looks 1, 12, and 32 in particular. Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen and Colleen Allen complete the list of standouts for this New York Fashion Week. Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen is unique in that her women are undeniably fecund. Her clothing is always subversively domestic, with little bloomers and low-waisted aprons made of homey fabrics. There were several examples of her signature hook-and-eye closures. Her models were also wearing nylons instead of a bare exposed leg. A particularly stunning piece was the delicate wire corset in Look 10 and another in Look 21. None of these pieces would look particularly out of place on the set of Hamnet but would work on the streets of Brooklyn just the same as on the farm. Colleen Allen is set to become this decade’s The Row , and that is not to diminish her work at her eponymous label; it is clear that she is a superior and more creative pattern maker, as well as having an impeccable slow-fashion business model. The clothes are simple and yet reward your gaze with the discovery of textures and shapes not immediately apprehended. The silhouette of the coat with balaclava in Look 2, the back of the cropped jacket in Look 3, the way the structured bolero in Look 10 suddenly drapes in down to draw the eye to the small of the back. Her two white dresses in Look 23 and Look 28 would be incredible bridal looks. I have my secondhand searches saved to someday score a Colleen Allen piece, because it is the kind of clothing that becomes an heirloom. The common thread running through all of these collections is a simultaneous rejection of the quiet luxury that has been considered peak fashion for the last few years and also of the overly sexualized woman of the 2000s and 2010s. The woman of this decade looks to be decidedly intellectual, unwilling to overbuy and allergic to pastiche, and yet invested in the curation of a well-made, well-sourced wardrobe. We are watching the emergence of a new aesthetic, where the careful choices made between various historical references signal self-awareness and a cultured understanding. We no longer want to deconstruct or abandon the past; rather, it serves as our richest inspiration. To be able to accomplish this without relying on nostalgia requires an almost esoteric conception of femininity and fashion history.