The Refectory at Chelsea Square was filled with roses, arches in the shapes of bows and hearts that acted as photo backgrounds, and passed glasses of rosé. Everywhere you looked there were petals, tulle, and, of course, pink. It could only be a LoveShackFancy party.
It was immediately obvious that this is a brand with a massive age demographic. Sure, Rebecca Hessel Cohen has two young daughters—who were in attendance—but it was staggering to see in real time just how many generations the brand speaks to, from Gen-Alpha to Baby Boomers. And they all want to wear the same ruffle mini dresses or lacy slips. As Cohen put it, LoveShackFancy is there for “all the important moments in our girls’ lives, understanding the construction and fit from prom to the first day at the office to graduation to weddings to 50th birthdays.”
The 1930s, Edwardian, and Victorian eras are perennial inspirations for LoveShackFancy. The first manifests as bias-cut slip dresses whereas the last comes through in lace-trimmed blouses, high-necklines, and billowing sleeves. Cohen describes these as “easy silhouettes for every age, effortless and timeless.” One of her goals this season was to amp up the Victorian and Edwardian influence while honing in on the quality of fit and the luxuriousness of her fabrics. But the result is never a truly literal interpretation of the era—something like a bustle could easily get inaccessible. In fact, Cohen is broadening her reach with the introduction of printed stretch denim in bustiers, jumpsuits, and wide-leg trousers, and of course by entering the beauty category with three perfumes.
“You’ll never believe, our best-selling styles [from fall] are tops, jackets, and pants,” Cohen said a few days before the presentation in her studio. This defies expectations for a brand that launched with three dress styles over a decade ago. Cohen is learning from this. The spring collection offered some new polished blazers, and even her take on a cargo pant, which was embroidered with flowers. Still, this is LoveShackFancy, so the overall effect was one of abundance, via embellishment and print. There was still a mini dress whose giant tulle bow was much longer than the hemline of the skirt; the models wore stilettos with ribbons at the ankle.
Most of the clothes spoke to the whole span of the clients, such as a structured blue and white jacket or an orange bias-cut slip dress. Still, a few pieces felt jarringly more mature—like a structured tulip strapless dress in a pink floral print—or junior (a mini pink dress with a ribbon print and a bow in the back). A pink chiffon dress was available in a mini, targeted towards the younger client, and a maxi for the adult. As evidenced by the crowd, Cohen’s customers all want to wear unapologetically whimsical and feminine clothing. On that, she delivered.
