NYFW: Tory Burch Has “It” As Alexa Chung And Her Reva Ballet Flat Make Their Splashy Return

In a glass penthouse in Brooklyn, Tory Burch takes us back to 2006 for Spring/Summer 2025

Despite the 2000s beginning only a quarter of a century ago, there are certain years within that period that have faded into obscurity in favour of a collective recollection of the decade—lurid, blinged out and coated with a slick bubblegum pop sheen. Take 2006 for instance. A stretch sequestered between the launch of Facebook and the Global Financial Crisis, The Devil Wears Prada had just debuted in theatres and Manhattanites had only one name on their lips: Reva.

We’re, of course, referring to Tory Burch, the American PR powerhouse turned designer who launched her eponymous brand two years earlier, and the flats that helped launched an empire. Named after her mother, the ballet slipper shape was made from soft leather, featured a gilded double ‘T’ medallion accent and sold 300,000 pairs within the first two years of its release. Now, almost twenty years later, Burch has brought the beloved Y2K style back to the forefront of fashion’s consciousness for her Spring/Summer 2025 collection.

Presented on a balmy night during New York Fashion Week, one of the most stylish front rows of the season gathered in the glasshouse rooftop of the former Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn for a 38-piece parade that could only be described as ‘It’ girl-approved. This procession began on the front row as original adherents of Burch’s creations, Michelle Williams and Elizabeth Olsen, mingled with new-gen starlets like Ella Emhoff, Maude Apatow and Lola Tung. (Paloma Elsesser and Alex Cosani also walked the show.)

But it was Alexa Chung’s surprising appearance on the runway that certainly proved Burch’s perceptual ability to render modern uptown classics with fresh, flirty and playful twists. Following the show’s opener, Vittoria Ceretti, you almost wouldn’t recognise the 40-year-old with her brunette hair pushed back, decorative octopus earrings, brown quilted cotton vest, white feathered midi skirt and glossy peep-toe pumps. But despite these icons evoking a past nostalgia, the new season pieces weren’t overly sentimental at all.

As Burch herself said, the “collection began with the essence of sport: power and grace, precision and freedom.” Yes, designers must have had the Paris Olympics on their mood boards this season, with the 58-year-old fusing technicality with function and flair. Underpinning the show was a sense of escape, which leant perfectly into the body-conscious uniform-esque jersey polos and crystal-beaded swimsuit tops.

Permeating with a feeling of leisure, pants began in a tapered paperboy style with a rope drawstring and ended in an elongated length that grazed the pool-like tiled setting to enhance the impression of fun summertime practicality.

Elsewhere, a sequin aubergine-coloured midi dress was accented with raglan sleeves and gridiron-like shoulder pads to give the effect of a track and field finish. Irina Shayk wore a similar piece, however the entire midsection was sheer to reveal a swimmer-cut bodysuit layered underneath.

If we were to draw a conclusion about what trends the SS25 runways were signalling already, it would be that style has become increasingly adjacent to activewear. Whether it be the ponte split leggings we pair with oversized blazers and sunglasses à la Phoebe Philo-era Old Céline or the countless jerseys that dominated street style last year, fashion has never smelled more like team spirit. Just be sure to balance your more performance-oriented pieces with Burch’s new crescent-shaped pierced leather bag, whimsical chandelier earrings and her Reva redux, of course.