Tory Burch Wants You to Get Dressed Up—And Have Fun Doing It

2 min read

The Tory Burch woman is not particularly interested in dressing just one way. She might double—or triple—up on mismatched necklaces, fasten a skinny scarf around her neck with a brooch, carry two delectably colorful handbags (why not?), or, yes, walk barefoot. Then, without changing that attitude, she’ll put on an excellent suit or a mauve car coat, its cuffs upturned. For spring/summer 2027, Burch made a virtue of that flexibility.

The designer’s starting point for tonight’s show, held at the Isamu Noguchi Sunken Garden, was American pragmatism—but the lineup was anything but restrained. As Burch put it in her show notes, the models, including Emily Ratajkowski and Alexa Chung, embodied a “collector’s eye,” combining eclectic pieces as if they had been gathered and curated over time.

Sportswear is in the brand’s DNA, as evidenced by Burch’s ability to make a sharp suit or a pair of tailored trousers feel effortless. But there were pieces, like an intarsia-knit cardigan with scalloped button closures, that suggested a newfound permission to get weird. One model paired her butter-yellow trapeze coat with a vintage-inspired beaded evening bag and a feather boa, skipping shoes altogether.

The delightfully off-kilter styling choices, courtesy of Brian Molloy, explored “the psychology of how women put things together,” as Burch put it. “They want beauty, utility, and humor—the joy of getting dressed.”

Burch has been honing this “wrong” approach to dressing for several seasons now—and judging by the devoted celebrity following she’s cultivated, she’s doing something very right. The star-studded front row, which included Amanda Seyfried, tennis player Alex Eala, Ravyn Lenae, and Lauryn Hill, proved that the “Toryissance” is alive and well.

Matthew Velasco is the Fashion News Editor at ELLE. Based in New York City, he previously worked as a News Writer at W magazine and an Assistant Editor at V magazine. Outside of fashion, he enjoys interior design, tennis (both watching and playing), and a jam-packed antique store.