There’s something about living in the concrete jungle of New York City that makes spotting some real jungle—a.k.a. greenery—really hit the sweet spot. You know those tiny bits of grass that sometimes peek from the cracks on the sidewalk? That feeling of seeing life make its way through one way or another is what Aaron Potts looked to bottle up with his spring 2024 lineup.
“In the city of the earth,” is Potts’s tagline for the season. “I wanted it to feel urban but also natural,” he said, so he cut his voluminous frocks and easy daywear in crisp but weightless cotton. The playful dresses gave this collection some welcome nuance and variation in silhouette, as did his sportier body-con pieces cut in color-blocked jerseys—the athleisure-fication of fashion has proved hard to escape.
But where Potts found his groove this season was in the way he pushed his workwear silhouettes into a space that felt as fresh as it did familiar. His signature hulking fit remained, as did his genderless perspective, but here he neatly balanced the utility details he likes to play with and the considered and minimal cutting he often offers. The boilersuit in the opening image is begging to be worn to the farmers’ market, and his ultra-oversized button-downs scream “summer Friday at the office.” Also fun: the way the designer draped and wrapped cross-bodies around the waists of some of his models. “I call it the urban bustle,” he said with a smirk. More of this pragmatic playfulness will serve Potts well.
