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“Being soft when things are hard.” Lauren Manoogian’s approach to her dreamy new collection is a fitting description for the overall vibe of the spring 2025 season in New York, where flou prevailed and air was the predominant element. The designer said she was “really focusing on having lightness,” with knits and wovens both. That quality was present in the twisted “I-wandered-lonely-as-a-cloud” Cupro skirts and dresses, which were an evolution from her resort season’s bubbles. Among the most weighless of the knits were the pointelles, a few of which patchworked all the different stitches together. Manoogian referred to a group of tiered pieces made of a fine, almost translucent Mercerized cotton as “the veil group.” These wafted around the body. “The motion element of the collection is more and more important,” noted her partner Chris Fireoved.
More gestural were draped pieces made using a partial knitting technique. Complementing these were compact ruched knits that puckered a bit like seersucker, Manoogian noted. Most romantic, with a Pre-Raphaelite prettiness, and perhaps most representative of what the designer called her “delicate mindset,” were cotton linen Modal dresses and separates whose texture was created with elastic.
Drawstrings, which can be used to customize fit, were applied to a group of pima cotton and linen pieces, including a long vest and wide-cropped pants, with simple ’80s-ish geometric silhouettes. Adding weight to the offering were knits made using cut strips of cotton. Denim is a newish category; she showed a pair of jeans with a generous draped leg, a neat little chore outfit, and a smart car coat.
This Manoogian collection was defined by a certain delicacy. It just so happens that the designer’s inner state is a mirror of what’s happening on the outside. “Somehow,” she said, “there’s a little bit of fragility happening, and tenderness and nostalgia.”
