New York Fashion Week 2024 kicked off with a bang, and Collina Strada’s show stood out not just for its sustainable designs, but for its powerful message of inclusivity and female empowerment. Creative director Hillary Taymour took runway diversity to a whole new level, showcasing strength and beauty in every form. The highlight of the show was a pregnant model, another one with their baby and a transgender, and physically disabled model gracing the ramp, showcasing creations from the brand.
Forget your typical gym attire – Taymour transformed Rockefeller Centre into ‘Collina's Gym,’ where models strutted their stuff in deadstock textiles and classic vivid graphics. Denim, flannel, and even formalwear got a Collina Strada twist, but the real showstoppers were the models themselves.
Maddie Moon, a pregnant beauty, proudly displayed her baby bump in a mint green open-shirt dress and lace mini skirt. Another model embraced motherhood by carrying their baby in their arms while rocking a printed floor-length gown. And then there was Aaron Rose Philip, a black, transgender, and physically disabled model, who owned the runway in a lemon green corset dress and printed skirt. Their message on social media said it all, “What a gift to share space with such incredible models and beings! Every brand should be like you. Your runway is my paradise.”
Taymour's message? Let's redefine ‘femininity’ by shattering outdated visions and celebrating the full spectrum of what it means to be a woman. “Women constantly passed over for power positions,” she wrote in her show notes, “the femme body and mind has long been shaped by the imagination of men. It's about time we re-sculpted that meat-headed vision into something closer to the reality of femininity.”
Beyond fashion trends, Collina Strada's Fall/Winter 2024 collection was a bold statement. It’s a call for inclusivity, a celebration of diverse beauty, and a reminder that strength comes in many forms.