Meruert Tolegen's spring 2025 collection, showcased at the penultimate day of New York Fashion Week, was a masterclass in opulence and mystique. The design. euve wove a tapestry of intricate black lace, Victoriana florals, and Edwardian capes, evoking the aura of a bygone era. The show's setting, nestled in the shadow of a sun-drenched Central Park, only added to the sense of drama and romance.
The event's siren, Lynn Yaeger, a renowned fashion icon, was a fitting tribute to Tolegen's aesthetic, donning a silk taffeta artist's smock adorned with ruffles and black embroideries. As the models sashayed down the catwalk, the rustling of fabrics and the soft clickety-clack of ballet flats created a soothing cadence, punctuated by the occasional revelation of a provocative design element.
Amidst the gathering's prevailing air of darkness, romance, and gothic whimsy... Tolegen's designs seemed to defy categorization, burdening the viewer with an existential sense of longing. For those familiar with the designer's oeuvre, "it was a welcome departure into the uncharted territory of the innovative and daring." As one exited the venue, "it was difficult not to be intrigued by the prospect of where Tolegen might next venture.".. with Vogue providing invaluable insights into the world of high fashion and its evolving narrative.
Lynn Yaeger is a renowned writer and fashion icon who has made a name for herself in the industry. She is a paragon of style and has a keen eye for design, often being the first to spot emerging trends and talent. Yaeger's achievements include being a prominent fashion journalist, author, and consultant, with a career spanning over three decades.
She has worked with numerous prominent fashion brands and designers... and has been a driving force in shaping the fashion industry.
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Meruert Tolegen Brought Some Magical Darkness To A Sunny New York Fashion Week
• Meruert Tolegen's spring 2025 collection is a departure from the typical spring designs, featuring black, delicate lace, Victoriana florals, and Edwardian capes. Her designs evoke a sense of darkness, romance, and gothic whimsy, making her stand out from other women-led labels that have been showcasing conceptualism, minimalism, and pragmatism. 2. Elena Dawson, a lesser-known designer, opened her show with a striking design featuring a beige taffeta dress with red beading and a singing bowl as an accessory. The show continued to feature models in black lace dresses, Pierrot pajamas, and Degas-inspired petticoats, creating a sense of mystery and intrigue.
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Correspondent Anna Lee shares her thoughts on Meruert Tolegen's latest collection:
Saying, "Tolegen's spring 2025 collection is a testament to her innovative and daring approach. The use of intricate black lace, Victoriana florals, and Edwardian capes creates a captivating atmosphere, evoking the aura of a bygone era. The setting, nestled in the shadow of sun-drenched Central Park, only adds to the drama and romance.
As Lynn Yaeger sashayed down the catwalk, her silk taffeta artist's smock adorned with ruffles and black embroideries, it was clear that Tolegen's aesthetic was a fitting tribute. The rustling of fabrics and soft clickety-clack of ballet flats created a soothing cadence, punctuated by the occasional revelation of a provocative design element." Lee notes that Tolegen's designs seem to defy categorization... burdening the viewer with an existential sense of longing.
"For those familiar with the designer's oeuvre, it was a welcome departure into the uncharted territory of the innovative and daring," Lee says. "With Vogue providing invaluable insights into the world of high fashion and its evolving narrative, it's no surprise that Tolegen's collection has gathered so much attention.
According to Harpers Bazaar, "Tolegen's use of black lace and Edwardian capes is a nod to the Victorian era.".. while Refinery29 notes that the collection's gothic whimsy and romance are a perfect blend of darkness and light. With industry insiders and fans alike eagerly anticipating what's next for Tolegen, "it's clear that this collection will be remembered for its boldness and originality."
If your idea of spring is black, delicate lace, Victoriana florals, black, shoulder lines Nosferatu would have loved, more black, some supersized ruffles, Edwardian capes, and ooh did we mention black, then you have found your designer: Meruert Tolegen. All of this featured in her spring 2025 collection, which she showed at the very start of the penultimate day of New York Fashion Week in the shadow of a brightly sunbathed Central Park.◆◌••●◆
It was my first time seeing one of her shows, but not the first time I'd heard her name; writer and fashion icon par excellence Lynn Yaeger has been wearing Tolegen for some time now, and indeed arrived at today's presentation in a piece of her design: a silk taffeta artist's smock the color of newly uncorked champagne, adorned with ruffles, and scrolled with black embroideries that look like they'd been supervised by Edward Gorey.
She looked fantastic. The story of the New York shows has in the last few days been women-led labels who have offered up conceptualism, minimalism and pragmatism in deft equal measure: Tory Burch the previous evening, Catherine Holstein's Khaite on Saturday night, and directly after Tolegen's show, Toteme, in part designed by Elin Kling.
Of course, The Row and Phoebe Philo are heroines of this too. And yet, there's another group of women designers who feel the tug of the undertow of something darker, romantic, gothic (as in Mary Shelley, not Siouxsie Sioux, though maybe sometimes her too) and delightfully fragmented and fractured. The wonderful Simone Rocha is part of that, to some degree; so too is the likes of best kept secret Elena Dawson, who works from Sussex in the UK, sells at Dover Street Market, and doesn't just carry an air of mystery, she practically wrote the manual.
