Erik Barshai is determined to revitalize American couture. As it says in the New York-based designer’s Instagram bio, “It’s a feeling.” But it’s also expert craftsmanship and atelier-level attention to detail, at least when it comes to the Spring 2025 collection, “Pennies from Heaven.”
“This season, we imagined the penny as both a literal and figurative device for embellishing,” Barshai tells PAPER. Inspired by the 1930s song made popular by Billie Holiday, the presentation was a statement in fine-tuned storytelling through design and centered around the life of Consuelo Vanderbilt, an American socialite during the 1920s and the era’s most famous "Dollar Princess." Barshai aimed to tell this story by going through different phases of Vanderbilt’s life.
“The first grouping of looks are meant to symbolize her life under the controlling thumb of her mother. Playing off the concept of a debutante season, these looks in white play directly to the organdy, almost Edwardian day dresses [that] upper crust daughters of the Robber Baron class were forced to wear.” Through exploring the life and legacy of Vanderbilt, the collection became about “the new woman,” a 1920s term used to describe the shift in social conventions around female behavior from domestic to independent.
Held within the storied walls of St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, the presentation featured 12 looks that were at once Victorian and modern, fresh yet vintage. Art deco motifs complimented the Gilded Age aura as models served looks that were elegant and sensual. “I could see Bella Hadid wearing a lot of these pieces,” says casting director Fish Fiorucci.
In terms of the designer’s fascination with this early 20th century time period, it’s all interlinked, he says. “Just like today’s digital revolution, this period saw an unprecedented divide between the have and have-nots.” This season, the collection explored many Gilded Age techniques like lace cut-work, corsetry and the use of household objects in dressmaking. But it also brought these age-old motifs into the future, using the story of a demure debutante as the jumping off point for explosive eccentricity.
“I hope Consuelo’s spirit is proud of the way we documented her childhood struggles into womanly triumph.”
Photography: AANA
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