Taoray Wang Spring 2020: Clothes for the clothing-optional

Spring Studios, New York, Sep. 7, 2019 – Yesterday in Alphabet City, I saw a woman step out of a taxi. She was wearing a knit dress with a neckline that slouched to her left elbow, and an asymmetrical hem hitched up to her right hipbone. It was two in the afternoon. She strode past, heading west on East 3rd, blissful and barely clad.

This must be the customer Taoray Wang had in mind with her New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 collection. Her asymmetrical lace miniskirt may provide the coverage of a neckerchief, but paired with a sheer jacket in mint-green chiffon open to the navel, it makes getting dressed a whimsical – and optional – affair.

(photo of the Taoray Wang Spring/Summer 2020 runway show in New York by Getty Images)

And why not? Consider for a moment the diminishing relevance of clothing. The planet is heating up. More of us live alone, work and shop from home, and engage with the world through screens. Dress codes are dovetailing into rompers and athleisure. Shame is out and acceptance is in; the body is no longer to be hidden, but comforted, embraced, adorned.

Taoray Wang has fun with this new latitude. Freed from the imperative to conceal, she revels in the details: subtly peaked shoulders, crystal-encrusted elbow cuffs over puff sleeves, charming boater hats floating atop loose curls.

Not all of it works. A white overskirt bulks up a chiffon ensemble, and biker shorts under sheer pants are an unflattering substitute for lining.

The effect is at once undressed and overdressed. It’s an intriguing juxtaposition, yet possibly shy of its mark. The Taoray Wang woman might be happy to flash pedestrians along East 3rd in a barely-there jacket. But she’d probably ditch the crystal cuffs.

Photos: Taoray Wang Spring/Summer 2020 – New York Fashion Week
all photos courtesy of Getty Images