{"id":346820,"date":"2026-09-14T23:26:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T23:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346820\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T23:26:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T23:26:40","slug":"cathy-horyn-new-york-fashion-review-conner-ives-khaite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346820\/","title":{"rendered":"Cathy Horyn New York Fashion Review: Conner Ives, Khaite"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Courtesy of Magda Butrym, Shutterstock, Courtesy of Altuzarra\n <\/p>\n

Connor Ives, a young New Yorker who set up his fashion house in London, and who had a great show there last season, brought his act to Manhattan, taking over the famous Pool Room of the former Four Seasons. The last time I was there was for Marc Jacobs\u2019s wedding in 2019. Magda Butrym, a Polish designer with a celebrity following, also joined the weekend mix. Demi Moore turned up for her show at a loft in Chelsea that cooked like a greenhouse.<\/p>\n

For some reason, Butrym\u2019s clothes reminded me of Donna Karan\u2019s original \u201cfive easy pieces.\u201d She had the glamorous belted coat, a bodysuit (hers with a delicate blouse attached to the jersey bottoms), a pencil skirt, and various fitted jackets or suits. Is that five pieces? The style was overtly feminine, but unlike Karan\u2019s visionary collections, I couldn\u2019t see a real concept or an urgent expression of how a woman might want to look.<\/p>\n

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\n Magda Butrym From left: Photo: Courtesy of Magda ButrymPhoto: Courtesy of Magda Butrym\n <\/p>\n

\n Magda Butrym From top: Photo: Courtesy of Magda ButrymPhoto: Courtesy of Magda Butrym\n <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not news that a lot of young women want some mixture of sex and romance in their clothes, and they don\u2019t necessarily want what the more prestigious luxury brands are selling. An executive of Moda Operandi told me that Ives\u2019s fall collection has been one of the retailer\u2019s best sellers. I wasn\u2019t blown away by his show on the wall-to-wall of the Pool Room. It was obvious that Ives was going for a lighthearted parody of the hungry party girl, starved to near perfection (in Tom Wolfe\u2019s words) in her tiny, pretty clothes with makeup and a hairdo that transforms her into a doll or perhaps a pet fox.<\/p>\n

Still, I can see the instant appeal of a sleek dress in red silk embellished with flowers, the silliness of a minidress that is essentially a bustier, and his hot take on a matador\u2019s costume. Ives\u2019s looseness, and his ability to connect with a fresh wave of socialites and \u201cIt\u201d girls, gives him an edge in the marketplace, as the Moda Operandi executive knows. But I did miss the throwaway \u2014 British? \u2014 humor of his previous show. On Saturday, he gave us a taste, I suppose, with a polo shirt worn over an embellished wrap-around micro-mini.<\/p>\n

\"Conner <\/p>\n

\"Conner <\/p>\n

\n Conner Ives From left: Photo: ShutterstockPhoto: Shutterstock\n <\/p>\n

\n Conner Ives From top: Photo: ShutterstockPhoto: Shutterstock\n <\/p>\n

\"Conner <\/p>\n

Photo: Conner Ives\n <\/p>\n

Khaite\u2019s Catherine Holstein also went sexy-romantic with full skirts, flouncy tops with bits of fabric stuck to them, and lingerie elements. Holstein may have been sailing with the fashion wind or just following her own fancy \u2014 fair enough \u2014 but I don\u2019t believe the results. We\u2019ve seen\u00a0romance from lots of designers over the years, and the best have a sense of irony, wit, or daring that saves them (and the audience) from the shallows. Not Holstein.<\/p>\n

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\n From left: Photo: Courtesy of KhaitePhoto: Courtesy of Khaite\n <\/p>\n

\n From top: Photo: Courtesy of KhaitePhoto: Courtesy of Khaite\n <\/p>\n

By contrast, Joseph Altuzarra had a great idea and explored it in some depth. His inspiration was Casa Susanna, a retreat in the Catskills in the 1960s for men who wanted to cross-dress (as it was called then) and the wives who often accompanied them. Casa Susanna has been the subject of a book, a documentary film, and a recent exhibition at the Met based on photographs taken over the years of the camp\u2019s guests.<\/p>\n

What I liked about the collection was Altuzarra managed to find a lot to say about gender roles, the constant to and fro between feminine and masculine styles, nostalgia, and a sense of hidden lives. That last notion came across in a black wool dress that peeled back to reveal a lingerie-inspired layer. There was a nice tension between, say, a sleek, 1960s-style pencil skirt and a cropped cardigan that looked almost louche. Men\u2019s collars were lopped off shirts and added to women\u2019s jackets but left undone \u2014 for texture, probably, but also to convey the sense that the process of assuming the identity or style of another gender is awkward or never fully completed.<\/p>\n

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\n From left: Photo: Daniele Schiavello \/ Gorunway.com \/ Courtesy of AltuzarraPhoto: Daniele Schiavello \/ Gorunway.com \/ Courtesy of Altuzarra\n <\/p>\n

\n From top: Photo: Daniele Schiavello \/ Gorunway.com \/ Courtesy of AltuzarraPhoto: Daniele Schiavello \/ Gorunway.com \/ Courtesy of Altuzarra\n <\/p>\n

And if you didn\u2019t know the story behind the clothes, it wouldn\u2019t matter. They made sense on their own. I particularly loved Altuzarra\u2019s clever use of madras \u2014 for sleeveless silk dresses. I always think of madras as such a Wasp fabric out of a Cheever novel. Also strong were pleated silk shifts with embedded lingerie elements. My only gripe with the collection was some of the trapeze-shaped jackets didn\u2019t quite work. They were meant to suggest men\u2019s trousers that had been inverted with the belt loops at the hem of the jacket. But the effect just looked forced and heavy.<\/p>\n

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\n From left: Photo: Daniele Schiavello \/ Gorunway.com \/ Courtesy of AltuzarraPhoto: Daniele Schiavello \/ Gorunway.com \/ Courtesy of Altuzarra\n <\/p>\n

\n From top: Photo: Daniele Schiavello \/ Gorunway.com \/ Courtesy of AltuzarraPhoto: Daniele Schiavello \/ Gorunway.com \/ Courtesy of Altuzarra\n <\/p>\n

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Photo: Daniele Schiavello \/ Gorunway.com \/ Courtesy of Altuzarra\n <\/p>\n


\n See All<\/p>\n

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