A twisted Tory Burch in the MOMA

The reigning queen of American sportswear Tory Burch was back in action Monday evening with a quirky take on her oeuvre inside a true temple of modernism.
 

La Tory chose the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) on 53rd street, for the first show ever inside the actual building, even if colleagues have staged runway displays in the museum’s garden.
 
Career-gal cool from Burch, who has built an empire on providing clothes that make women feel like they have a lead part in a new Manhattan-based drama series on Netflix.

Like Burch herself, the Tory gal is an overachiever, who manages to combine a certain je ne sais quoi chic with appealingly functional style. Burch’s initial choice of garments was typical this season – working trackpants, casual sweaters or wool cardigans – but the fresh surfaces and detailing she gave them all was very impressive.

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She broke new ground with a great series of handbag jackets in calfskin or felt – covered in multiple different sized pockets, like a monochrome de Stijl composition. While her excellently cut embroidered wool coats recalled a cubist image by George Braque.

“Twisted American sportswear. A second chance at classics… Women are defining classic for themselves,” argued Tory in her program notes. Staying true to that dictum in this collection.
 
Guests were divided into two floors, with most of the paparazzi action upstairs in Marron Family Atrium. The house had to install a large white wall to cover several works of art, for which MOMA could not provide visual rights in a show. Another wall was a humongous LED screen showing panning shots of guests arriving, where one could wave at oneself occasionally. 

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Given the crisp production, the cackling track “Haha” by Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul jarred irritatingly to both begin and end the show. 
 
Apart from that small lapse, this was an impressive display from the 58-year-old Tory Burch, who took a languid bow looking remarkably unchanged from when she first appeared on the fashion scene with a small presentation in Little Italy back in 2024.  Today, Tory Burch is sold in over 3,000 stores. Like we said, overachiever chic.