Colleen Allen is showing on the second day of New York Fashion Week; Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen on the penultimate day.
It’s not their only moment of mirroring. Both Allen and Whalen are Brooklyn-based. They spent time in-house at brands (Allen at The Row; Whalen at Eckhaus Latta, Bless and Interior) before launching their own labels. The independent designers are self-funded. And both are building their brands in a slow, careful manner that enables them to stay true to their craft and practices. All together, it’s earned them spots high on the radars of New York’s fashion scene.
Allen, who founded her label just last year, is hosting appointments throughout the day on 7 February, encouraging a granular examination of the clothes, as well as a chance to connect directly with the designer. “It’s been a really nice way to show the collection because people can see things up close, they can touch them,” says Allen. “We have conversations about the pieces and they can try things on.”
Whalen, on the other hand, is staging a show. (Having founded her brand in 2022, it’s not her first, but it is her first time on the CFDA calendar.) The idea is to build outward; to tell the story of the Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen emotional world. “Runway shows have this ability to raise emotional awareness in the room,” the designer says. “There’s a palpable energy about them.” Allen gets the appeal, but isn’t there just yet. “I would love that opportunity to be able to fully express the vision through music, through sound, through location, casting, all of those elements coming together. I’m really excited for when that comes.”
Whalen and Allen are part of a cohort of young New York designers who are uncompromising in their approach — to design, to craft and to business. The two emanate the shift Vogue Runway’s José Criales-Unzueta called in January: that luxury fashion’s next wave heralds a prioritisation of craft, quality timelessness and — most significantly — individuality.
