There was a massive boom of knitwear over the pandemic. Call it a “knit-pocolypse.” With every Instagram scroll, we spotted another independent designer or small label churning out something nubby and woven. There was just…so much of it. Conley Averett of the label Judy Turner began creating his knitwear far earlier than his Covid-time competitors. To keep afloat, he sought to develop and push the boundaries of his design ethos while staying true to his incredibly detailed techniques.
“I had to stay grounded in my own perspective, which is strength in experimenting with the elements,” he said at a presentation at the midtown restaurant Michael’s. In the past, he’s made looks that are quite romantic, like long clingy knit dresses that artfully slide off the shoulder. This time, he sought to explore more complex techniques and set himself apart from the yarn-loving pack.
Averett’s seven new pieces were far more outré than his past works. Among them were chunky checkerboard knit cardigans. This is a fairly common motif in knitwear, but Averett made it his own by warping the checkerboard pattern and combining colors. He repeated the same motif in the shorts, a tight silhouette that clung to the body.
While Averett is great at patterns, the most eye-catching looks were his crochets. A red tank top, as simple as it was, looked cool, as did a clingy red skirt that descended into fringe at the shins. If you recognized some of these sexy knits, you weren’t wrong: He reused the black mesh dresses from his past collection. Why not? They’re great basics.
Averett also stressed that he isn’t solely a knitwear maker, which is refreshing considering there is a lot going on in this category. That’s not to say that Averett shouldn’t continue his knitwear ventures, but it was nice to see him flex his muscles to create a nicely tailored plaid kilt-meets-shorts garment. Let’s see where he takes his cut-and-sew offerings next.
