BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY: “It’s my love letter to the women, and to the city of New York,” said Emilia Wickstead of her Resort 2024 campaign shoot, which channeled the power of the sisterhood.
In an interview, Wickstead said she was eager to return to the city where she’d worked briefly in magazines and fashion when she was 21 years old.
Over three days, she and photographer Edd Horder hopped around town, shooting professional women, some with their children, in neighborhoods such as Brooklyn, on the Staten Island Ferry or in Times Square. Others were photographed in their homes.
“We shot it documentary style and I love the background of every single image,” said the designer, who was born in New Zealand, grew up in Milan, and is now based in London. “I was really interested in the interplay between workwear, off-duty clothing, glamour and casual expression.”
The collection is see now, buy now, and Wickstead said she “wanted it shot on the customer. It’s all part of our ongoing narrative about real women.” Models included Rickie De Sole, Ivy Getty, Hannah Traore, Lynette Nylander, Jessica Willis, Isabella Massenet and Chai Vasarhelyi.
The collection was filled with sartorial fabrics and ’90s flair, and mixed tailoring with the designer’s lavish evening — and day — wear. There were party dresses and architectural gowns in gold metallic jacquard, some with hand-painted florals.
Other minidresses and skirts had hand-sewn embroidery. There was also tailoring done with Prince of Wales checked tartan, tweeds and bouclé.
Resort was decidedly more lavish than spring 2024, a collection that was also inspired by strong women — albeit from another century.
For spring, Wickstead looked to the freewheeling socialites who summered in the South of France in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Her clothes were coquettish and comfortable with a masculine edge. Linen evening dresses had low backs and little matching wraps knotted at the front — no bras required — while a short, sweet platinum dress held together with just a few ties at the side.
