Strada Strong
Review of Collina Strada Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
For Spring 2024, Collina Strada demonstrated with unstoppable vibrance that the eclecticism, color, and fluidity at the core of its brand DNA is, at its heart, an expression of strength.
Last season the brand celebrated its 15th anniversary by using a distinctly forward-looking concept: designer Hillary Taymour fed images from all of her past collections into a generative AI processor, fine-tuning the process until it spit out the basis for a collection that was then brought to life.
That sense of digital controlled chaos could be felt again today in the prints and in the runway set design’s use of polymorphic animations on LED screens, but the theme was one of what is vitally human: community, creativity, and bodily expression. The collection’s primary motif was the concept of strength, which found its most direct expression in the brilliant craft techniques used to muscularly build up the arms and shoulders of garments, or the twists on muscle tees and boxing shorts.
But that idea of strength wasn’t just about one kind of body traditionally thought of as strong, and instead tapped into the reality that strength looks different for each person, and it is this recognition and a willingness to work together that makes us strong. This idea was also reflected in the casting; not only were there muscular models, but also plus-sized models, differently-abled models, older models, pregnant models, models who are mothers.
Design-wise, the collection powered up but stayed firmly within Collina Strada’s signature aesthetic of boldly layered avant-pop eco-grunge, but this familiar and youthfully beloved aesthetic took on new utopian connotations in connection to the themes of strength and diversity.
THE BUZZWORDS
Strength. Sustainability. Community. Eclecticism.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #13
Softness and strength collide: crazy smoking techniques transform the delicacy of a sustainable silk alternative into a mass of muscle, while wrestling shoes get a “feminine” material spin.
THE DIRECTION
It’s understandable that the collection won’t be everyone’s cup of tea (and fashion shouldn’t try to be); there’s plenty of clashing and chaotic layering going on here that isn’t what you would call “chic.” But there is definitely elegance and intentionality to be found throughout every look, and fans of the brand will be thrilled yet again.
THE WRAP UP
It’s easy to use materials like silk chiffon and lace to create a piece of classic femininity; it’s harder to use these materials to transcend their cultural history and show that identity is something much more powerful, elusive, and meaningful than the boxes it has been put in. Collina Strada hulk smashes all these boxes, synthesizing a fluid and vibrant body of work that functions as an ode to humanity in all its shapes and colors.
