We were back at a small SoHo events space for Maria McManus’s second show, with a collection inspired by Eileen Gray. “It was so incredible to see how considered she was about every single element she created,” McManus said to the audience gathered at the end of her runway. “And in today’s world, I don’t know that we’re creating luxurious products that are truly considered in the way that product was considered back in the 1920s.”
Everything McManus does is deeply considered. Each season, her fabrics will be the most sustainable she can find at the moment; she and her team are always engaged in deep and careful research to find better solutions for both her customer and the environment.
This season, she leaned into a sober color palette: concrete grays, a bit of burgundy and a splash of poppy red, chocolate browns, navy, black. There are classic pieces that she comes back to every season: the handsome double-breasted coat with a built-in scarf in a heathered charcoal wool that opened the show (which she also made in a jacket version); the chocolate suit with a two-button jacket worn with a matching overcoat; the slinky long-sleeve knit dresses with swishy skirts (of which four different versions appeared on the runway). McManus’s silhouettes remain uncomplicated and generally grounded in the real life of the successful, busy women who are likely her loyal customers. A few looks on the runway inspired by the no-pants trend that is sweeping the globe did feel a little out of place; ditto the black sheer-lace long-sleeve top worn with matching black sheer-lace leggings inspired by the patterns in Gray’s screens. Not because the pieces by themselves weren’t alluring—they were a little bit sexier and a little bit more about fantasy and fun—but the styling didn’t feel in step with the rest of the collection. This approach was successful, however, in a look made up of a knitted sweater with a slight peplum (and matching balaclava) worn over a sheer black knee-length skirt, and a short three-button jacket with a sort of elongated mandarin collar that was paired with a kicky little silver metallic balloon skirt made from Japanese recycled polyester.
