Elizabeth Hilfiger is bringing back the Sperry Top-sider. For her label’s fall ’23 NYFW show on Monday in New York at the Edition Hotel, the designer tapped Sperry to accessorize all 30 runway looks.
Hilfiger presented her first New York Fashion Week show last September featuring modular pieces made in collaboration with Techniche — a company that develops technical fabrics to help those at risk of extreme heat exposure. This time around, however, she was looking to exude more of a mood.
“I wanted it to be less literal with the utilities of the concept and have the collection be more of a vibe and a feeling — just really make it, as all the girls are saying, ‘c—t,'” she said backstage after the show.
The fall ’23 line was filled with raw denim, logo tanks, plaid miniskirts, hoodies, tees with anchor embellishments and vests. While the collection gives off an edgy aesthetic, there were undertones of maritime influences, which is why Hilfiger tapped Sperry to complete the looks.
“When I was in school, all the cool girls, hot girls were wearing Top-siders. And I got them. So I was kind of thinking about when I was younger and thinking we should reach out to Sperry because there’s nothing more quintessentially American and nautical. And that was what I was trying to do in my own way,” Hilfiger said, adding that she’s more than ready to do her own shoe collab.
The styles sent down the runway included the Sperry Cloud Authentic Original 3-Eye Vibram Boat Shoe, which is a unisex, all-black look; the chunky, knee-high Kittery Boot; and the bright orange SeaCycled Duck Float Zip Up Boot. The shoes are all available to purchase now.
“Elizabeth is really bringing her new perspective and modernizing it,” explained Sperry CMO Elizabeth Drori. “We like it because it’s putting us in a new light. It’s extending our styling a little bit into different directions. We’re really focused on recruiting a younger consumer so we’re doing lots of different things, such as this, that create that appeal to the next generation and having people see Sperry in a different way.”
Front row guests at the show included Ella Emhoff, Yoon Ahn, Brittany Byrd, Alice Longyu Gao, Vashtie Kola, Fernando Casablancas, and dad Tommy Hilfiger.
