Can a contemporary brand practice slow fashion? By Malene Birger’s Maja Dixdotter is actively working toward that goal; for resort she cut the number of new looks by about half and in so doing crafted a strong edit that continues to expand on the bohemian minimalism theme she’s set for the company. This is really a case when less is more: “We can work on the products for a longer time and you can really find your look; it’s everything except fast fashion,” Dixdotter said.

When designing this collection she imagined someone who has arrived at the style that works best for her, and is comfortable in it. Maggie Mauer was just the model to portray this woman, who approaches her wardrobe as she might the decoration of her home, with careful consideration and an expectation of longevity.

Dixdotter is attracted to soft and fluffy textures, which she used here for a shearling skirt suit and a camel cape with fringe. There is a chunky handknit sweater in winter white as well as easy to wear and travel with ribbed-knit sets, as well as coats in double-face fabrics. The one dissonant note was a striped pajama suit, which felt overtly rather than suggestively, boho. Waist defining suits, with a hint of New Look curviness added to the overall harmonic vibe.

Ulla Johnson is weeks away from opening a long-planned Los Angeles store. “I’ve gestated it longer than my three children—combined,” she laughed at her showroom. The pandemic slowed progress on construction, and so did the weather; winter’s endless atmospheric rivers and their accompanying rains made finishing the exteriors complicated. There’s a bright spot, though: They produced the super blooms that form the backdrop of these pictures.

Johnson’s new resort collection is as abloom with flowers as ever. One especially dazzling print features hand-painted blossoms over a trippy psychedelic ground. But as she looks toward the LA opening and other developments (one of which is a new Paris showroom that will help her brand grow internationally), she’s embracing other categories.

Denim, to start with. There’s a range of nontraditional shapes in a bright shade of pistachio, like a jacket with blouson volumes and a flared mini. Knitwear is an increasingly substantial part of her lineup too, and she showed an extended range of options, from a red minidress with a gently flared hem in a compact knit to multicolored hand-crocheted matching sets. She’s also signed her first-ever license. It’s with an Italian shoe manufacturer that she says will help her bring the embroideries and other embellishments her ready-to-wear is known for to well-constructed footwear.

As for embellishments, Johnson is expanding her vocabulary. The look book opens with a caftan in a discharge-printed burnout that conjures California’s sun-kissed hills (a green version looks more like ocean waves), and there’s an intricately patterned quilted jacket that features five separate fabrics. Probably the most striking piece is a coat in fuzzy brushed alpaca that has been treated with a rose gold foil to evoke the gilt sculptures of the Colombian textile artist Olga de Amaral.

Rebranding is just part of the roar of the revved-up engine that is Simkhai. Not only has the company opened four stores this year, but it’s also debuting menswear for resort 2024. Jonathan Simkhai has “lifestyle” on his mind, a total experience that speaks to all customers across categories. When people “love a brand,” he said on a walk-through, “they want to learn so much more. ‘What else can you show me?’ [When] men come into the store with their girlfriends or wives [and we say] we’re doing men’s—you should see their faces. They’re like, ‘Where is it? When is it?’ because they also want to be a part of the brand.”

Simkhai knows that feeling well, having longed to wear designs that bear his name. (He chose an S-logo denim set for our meeting.) “I’ve spent the last 13 years developing the women’s, designing selflessly and just making clothes for women and people that I love,” said the designer. “This collection was really easy to design because I thought if I wouldn’t wear it, I wouldn’t put it in the collection.”

Curiously, the lineup felt more broad than personal, likely because Simkhai was trying to please a wide customer base by carving out a path that’s not extreme. “I really feel there’s a void in the market for menswear that focuses on classics but still feels sexy and polished and sophisticated,” he noted. One way he filled that void was with printed viscose pajama-y/track sets, which felt very Cali, hanging close to preppier takes on shirting. There were sports fabrics too, but not a sort of critical mass that announced a Simkhai look.

On the other hand, the designer’s knit T-shirt was a smart iteration of a wardrobe essential, and maybe that’s how men will shop the collection, at least to start with. Certainly that makes sense in a retail setting. Also of interest was the blending of elements from Simkhai women’s (see the tailored green jacket with inverted darts and, one of his specialties, the trench coats). This is in keeping with what we saw during the fall 2023 menswear season. With a new round of shows coming up, we’ll soon see if that kind of exchange continues to trend.

If the Danes have the Saks Potts Foxy coat, then the New York and Los Angeles girls have their LaPointe Mongolian fur-lined trenches. The coat, first introduced last season, doesn’t yet have a catchy name, but it’s quickly on its way to becoming Instagram’s next must-have coat after Maeve Reilly styled Megan Fox in it during Paris Fashion Week back in October. Thanks to that buzz, LaPointe has decided to experiment with other styles of Mongolian-lined outerwear, introducing blazers and short jackets that offer new ways for her customers to incorporate the style into their wardrobes.

While a considerable part of LaPointe’s brand strategy is creating photogenic clothing for celebrities, influencers, and consumers alike, she’s shifting the focus to a more personal space for resort: LaPointe wants to make clothes for herself. “I’m starting to style more black into the collections. Color is a big thing for us; everybody knows us for our bright colors. But when I wear clothing, I naturally gravitate towards neutrals and black accessories, so mixing more black into the collection was really fun,” said LaPointe. “It felt like it was more me.” Monochromatic dressing has been the brand’s signature since its early days, but this season LaPointe decided to mix things up. A bold fuchsia chenille yarn knit dress embroidered with feathers was styled with futuristic black sunglasses, while sky-blue patent leather suits were worn with black pumps. Longtime LaPointe fans will find the influence from her own style playbook will suit them just as well.

Sandy Liang has become a purveyor of downtown cool, but for resort she cast her eyes above 14th Street to the Upper East Side and its “decadent, sparkly, a little bit iridescent” approach to getting dressed. “She’s a little more polished and a little more trying to be put together,” she said, adding that downtown is “just a state of mind.”

It’s an interesting observation that the lady uptown is consciously working to make her outfits look cohesive—think stereotypical skirt suits or matching handbags and shoes. But Liang is also fixated on this idea of “pre-styled” clothes that can take some of the mental load off. In her fall collection, she was attracted to items finished with bows and collars so the wearer didn’t need any more accessories. Those pieces did well with wholesale clients, according to Liang, and so she continued them here. Sailor tops with collars and tonal rosettes are one wearable example, as are the uniform-like knee-length dresses with pleated skirts, bows, and capelets.

That said, Liang’s spirited and more affordable accessories have become a hit (see: the massive popularity of her ballet flats). While the dresses themselves don’t need any embellishment, there’s nothing stopping you from, say, accessorizing with a floor-scraping bow or a fuzzy white bonnet or arm warmers.

As those extras show, there’s a ballet theme to this collection. The pink-and-cream tweed, printed tops showing a swan on a blue lake, and pleats and bows look like they’re headed to a holiday showing of The Nutcracker. But as always there’s a rebellious spirit elsewhere. See: the teensy pleated skirts with eyelet panels in the back, super-cropped knits, and cutouts that require the wearer to either free the nipple or wear a bra worth exposing.

“The greatest sense of luxury is freedom, both in your state of mind and your state of self.” So said designer Nellie Partow at the beginning of our appointment in her studio. It was a fitting introduction to a resort collection driven by a sense of ease and comfort.

Witness the custard yellow suit in a cotton twill: A double breasted jacket with a single button is worn with nothing underneath but a silver tubular belt/belly chain hybrid that lays slightly above a pair of roomy flat-front trousers. Or examine the languid bias-cut cornflower blue silk dress with a slight cap sleeve accessorized with black brogues and a simple necklace, consisting of two silver shapes asymmetrically hung from a black cord. (Partow quietly launched jewelry a couple of years ago, but it seems unlikely her pieces will remain a secret after this collection.) A zip-up short sleeve vest and a matching pieced A-line skirt in pink leather was in fact, undyed, the better to appreciate the intrinsic beauty of the material.

Where other new minimalist designers tend to appear very serious, Partow embraces the playful. The knit on a cream scrunchy pleated crepe skirt suddenly changes gauge, becoming sheerer and giving the impression of being recently soaked in water; and a springy knit skirt with alternating black and sheer navy yarns has a sensual appeal, as its sheer panels become evident with movement. The trophy piece in the collection is the coated cotton trench which, depending on how the light catches it, looks like patent leather or like it’s slick with rain (it is waterproof). “It looks almost like a liquid, especially the way it photographs.” Partow said, adding, “Funny enough many things in the collection have a wet feel to them. They have that luminescent feel.” So will the women who wear her clothes.

Maria McManus’s whole ethos revolves around sustainability and the environment, but it was also the unexpected inspiration behind her very colorful and joyful resort collection. “A while back there was a conversation about the desert bloom in California; how there was so much rain over the winter in the deserts that masses of wildflowers bloomed,” the designer said during an appointment in her Manhattan showroom. She was “intrigued” and kept researching it, eventually coming across the Desert X installation by Diana Campbell. “She uses art as a way to look around the world and try to understand the world,” McManus added, clearly finding a common thread with her own practice. “So that was the genesis of the collection; the desert vibe influenced the color palette.” Shades of “tan and sand” laid the groundwork for pieces in bright turquoise and lilac.

Despite its lofty inspiration, McManus’s resort collection is grounded in supremely wearable pieces in her signature eco-conscious materials: the desert blooms manifested in a floral print on lilac cotton that she turned into an easy pair of pajama-esque trousers, a shirt dress, and a cool bandana. Other standouts included a white coat in a textured organic cotton that resembled fur but had the ease and comfort of a bathrobe, a long-sleeve maxi turtleneck knit dress (made from 80% FSC-certified viscose), and a double-breasted corduroy suit in ecru made from “partially organic cotton.”

She also had a terrific pair of flat-front leather trousers (yes, real leather), that are LWG-certified. “It just means the least amount of chemicals are used, and the ones used aren’t as invasive on the environment; and the people working in the tannery are paid a fair wage,” she explained. “I think there’s still so much more that can be done in leather, but for sure I’d rather use leather than polyester.”

Elsewhere, it’s her knits that continue to be highlights: Sweaters, cardigans, and dresses made from wool have a hand as soft as cashmere. A turquoise sweater comes with slits underneath the arms that allows it to also be worn “as a cape,” another turtleneck sweater and dress feature an interesting asymmetrical tie-detail at the waist, which elevates the every-day basic into something more formal and elegant. An aran knit vest in lilac wool was light as air, and had a youthful look when worn with pleated khaki wide-leg trousers. “The wool is Cradle to Cradle certified, so they can trace the source where it comes from and make sure that everybody is treated ethically and fair,” McManus explained. “It’s mulesing-free certified as well, which means the animals aren’t hurt. And the mill in Italy takes sustainability extremely seriously, so all their electricity is either hydro- or solar-powered.” Their appeal instantly doubled.

It’s no secret that consumers look to Cult Gaia designer Jasmin Larian Hekmat for her beachy vacationwear, so naturally her prefall assortment zeroed in on getaway style once again. This year Hekmat focused on what she called the “harmonious fusion of sea and land”—infusing natural, earthy elements into an assortment of cheery sundresses and suiting.

The color palette was airy with an emphasis on breezy pastels. A pink, puff-sleeve mélange suit—Barbie-core, anyone?—could be dressed up for dinner, while a blue knit dress featured asymmetrical cutouts at the hip and shoulder for a sexier slant. Her most ambitious design was the Arya gown, made of crystal cording that reveals the form underneath—a look that’s certainly not for wallflowers.

For evening she went for big statements. A ruched halter dress draped with strands of pearls looks as much like jewelry as ready-to-wear. A golden starfish-shaped bra top could be worn with a black evening trouser—or jeans and a heel. Even the take on a classic LBD had extra pizazz via the oversized copper-like buttons running along the front.

To complete all of these looks, Hekmat of course had fun with the bags—one of the signatures of the brand. One style featured a pearlescent clutch set inside a bigger clear box clutch. A sleek crossbody bag also had a strap adorned with hefty wooden beads. Sure beats a beat-up raffia beach tote.

Tight-knit-family dynamics are apparently a fascinating reference for Ferragamo’s creative director Maximilian Davis. Coming from a Trinidadian-Jamaican clan and working now for the extended Ferragamo tribe, it’s a concept that resonates. “I was looking at Italian families, the pieces a family would wear that can be passed down generations,” he said at a showroom appointment.

The Milanese way of dressing has also made an impression on him. “When I moved here I was amazed at the sophistication of how people present themselves even in the street, at work, or at home.” A friend once said that Milanese women dress like men by day and like sirens by night. Davis certainly picked up on the sense of restrained elegance, but he was also perceptive of that subtly seductive side. What he brings to today’s version of Ferragamo is a sort of rigorous sensualism, pivoting on exact, modern tailoring inflected with a luxe indulgence.

Davis has an affinity for the label’s timeless codes, to which he’s adding clarity and edge, leaning on the craftsmanship and resources the house can provide for high-end execution. That fashion temperatures now are lowered to minimalism’s cool weather also seems to work in favor of his Ferragamo treatment.

For resort, his tailoring was slim and straight-cut or nip-waisted and sculpted, sustained by compact fabrications. A standout in the outerwear offer was a strong-shouldered yet hourglass-y black city coat with Davis’s signature askew buttoning; smooth and velvety to the touch, it was actually made in flocked denim. Like other staple pieces in the collection, it was offered for both genders.

Part of the designer’s game is to upgrade the sporty to a chicer status. Case in point was a classic flight jacket, elevated via a round, mid-century couture-ish volume that was proposed with a midi A-line skirt for a sort of new skirt suit template. Shape-holding yet smooth nubuck leather in a soft shade of caramel highlighted the sensuous touch Davis often adds to clean, linear constructions.

Making the case for a Ferragamo wardrobe for the cool younger people of the family, Davis offered cocoon-shaped hoodies and batwing-sleeve cropped blousons; the ultra-short shorts they were worn with hinted at provocation, even if they were cut in natté wool with a luxurious texture.

What makes Davis’s approach individual are the subtly “perverse undertones,” as he calls them, that he adds to his collections. Here some of the looks were teamed with shiny black patent leather stretch boots with a curved high heel, giving off a fetishistic edge. “In every family there are taboos,” he said. No doubt about that.

Phillip Lim has plans to return to the runway in September. Though he’s gotten used to low-key fashion weeks in the four years that he’s been showing informally, he’s itching to be part of the action again. In preparation, he called this resort collection a “palate cleanser,” but one that’s based on a concept that’s foundational to the 3.1 brand—uniforms.

Not school uniforms or sport uniforms, but art gallerist uniforms. Real-life clothes with high fashion vibes are Lim’s specialty. Shopping his Great Jones Street store is satisfying because his pieces have the look of now, but without the extra zero on the price tags that you find at higher-end brands.

He actually dresses art gallerists, and he’s picked up on a few things: the way they might modify a thrifted jean jacket a couple of sizes too large, how they layer a midi skirt over a pair of trousers that pool at the ankle, their preference for a vintage t-shirt. All of those ideas played out here. His oversize jean jacket is cinched at the back, creating a voluminous blouson shape, and he added a band of lace to a tee declaring “There is only one New York.” For exhibition openings, maybe, there’s a new take on his go-to pouf-sleeved, midi-length dress—a silhouette his fit model has declared the PMA, for “pretty, modern, and appropriate—and, yes, he styled it with long flared pants.

But more so than uniforms, New York was Lim’s subject, as it has been for the last few seasons. One sweet example of his affection for the place was a series of pieces in washed black silk appliqued here and there with photo cut-outs of the waxy anthurium flowers sold all over the city at bodegas.