Collina Strada Brings the Biggest Smiles to Fashion Week
Fashion

Collina Strada Brings the Biggest Smiles to Fashion Week

You can always count on Collina Strada's Hillary Taymour to shake up the standard runway show format for her nature-oriented collections. Yesterday's outing was no exception, with beaming models stomping, skipping and hopping down the rooftop farm of the Brooklyn Grange.

Taymour is one of the few designers whose inclusive casting choices actually feels genuine, rather than something tokenizing or one-off. It's long been a cornerstone of her sustainable-leaning brand, but her Spring 2022 show felt like a pivotal moment for fashion.

Old, young, child, differently abled, skinny, large, short, tall — it had it all, but what made this successful was the joy and personality the cast brought to the clothes, which were signature Collina Strada with their trippy prints and off-kilter shapes. You could easily see them on Tommy Dorfman, Aly & AJ and Kim Petras, who all looked on in delight from the crowd.

Many show-goers I spoke with afterwards agreed that the energy and joy of the show was a much welcome departure from Fashion Week's usual stuffy affairs. A fashion show bringing a big smile to your face? What a concept! There's something to be said for having family and community so intertwined on a runway, and Collina Strada proved why we shouldn't take the whole thing so seriously.

Photos via Getty