A major category during New York Fashion Week, the contemporary market is also a large part of pre-collections as well.

Here, WWD rounds up a mix of brands with serious businesses and their proposals, trends and newness for the Resort 2024 season.

Tanya Taylor

With Tanya Taylor’s work there is always a personal touch. She styles her looks herself, full of her unexpected prints, colors and shapes, the sort of urban whimsy with a sharp point of view that her customers come to her for season after season. “I really wanted for us to feel really bold, but I wanted everything to feel like there’s this kind of new way of doing femininity,” she said of her resort collection during a preview in her showroom.

The lineup includes Italian shirting with dipped details and pops of color, interesting knits, feminine dresses and her top-selling jeans. “We’ve been doing denim a lot and it’s really working in a more feminine way,” she said, pointing to a denim dress, sure to be a key update for the season. The assortment offers some directional new ideas, including softer skirts in a new fabrication, with a bit of structure, or striped viscose knits.

She is gearing up for her first New York store on the Upper East Side, a chance to get even closer to her customers.

Mara Hoffman

Mara Hoffman married masculine and feminine aesthetics for her resort 2024 collection, taking inspiration from matadors and flamenco dancers to create romantic pieces. The designer continued her commitment to sustainability, creating several styles like oversize dresses and separates in deadstock material and hemp fabric. 

There was an emphasis on floral appliqué, such as an off-the-shoulder red dress made in Hoffman’s popular popcorn-like material that referenced flamenco dancers in a fashion-forward way. Other standout pieces included a black matador-inspired top and a black formfitting dress designed with handsewn white stitching.   

Hoffman explained her goal, like with her other collections, is to create timeless pieces that a customer can wear throughout her life and for pivotal life moments. 

“As a designer, it’s important for me to create things that mark ritual and ceremony in someone’s life,” she said. “So creating a core wardrobe and then creating the pieces that you remember for your whole life.” 

Danielle Guizio

Danielle Guizio took inspiration from a recent trip to St. Barts for her first resort collection, titled “Wish You Were Here,” which offers updated versions of her bestsellers and new styles that fit in with her trendy aesthetic.  

“I was inspired by really easy pieces that you can just put on and throw together,” Guizio said. “Like the idea of just being in the sun all day, showering and throwing on something simple and comfy, while still looking hot, sexy and put together.” 

The collection embodied a modern Y2K vibe, with corsets, cargo pants, frilly tops and other trendy styles. Guizio looked to some of her bestsellers, turning her popular paillette skirt into a strapless dress and offering a printed version of her popular faux-fur-trimmed bolero.  

PH5

PH5 designers Zoe Champion and Wei Lin delivered an innovative knitwear lineup for resort, leveraging their signature wavy dress and creating a full range of trendy pieces inspired by the balance between what’s real and what’s fake.

“We have been having a lot of conversations about what is our online world and what is our real world,” Champion said. “Who is our girl living in this world who is on social media? This world is so of the moment, just things that look good in a picture but something you can’t live in. We really wanted to play with that and give ourselves a bit of a challenge of what are the pieces that play almost with this idea of fake, but real.” 

This inspiration came through with knitwear pieces that are meant to resemble other styles, such as knitted trousers that are printed with the images of a pair of jeans or a crop top printed with the image of a corset.

The designers furthered this idea of fake and real through subtle design details, such as placing real and fake pockets on the knitted jeans and embellishing some knitwear dresses with actual sequins, while other dresses were designed in a sequined pattern.

Champion highlighted the collection’s “denim jacket” as one key piece; it has the look of a denim jacket, but the warmth and heaviness of a knitted style.

“Our goal has always been to be much more innovative and really push the idea of what knitwear can be,” Champion said. “So, knitwear can be a denim jacket. I think that really speaks to the ethos of the brand. It’s that we’re always trying to push knitwear where it’s not meant to be and where it hasn’t been.”

Lela Rose

Designers looking to exotic locales is nothing new, but Lela Rose this season looked to one that is so far out there, you’d need a magical wardrobe to reach it: Narnia, from C. S. Lewis’ children’s classic.

Based on the author’s birthplace in Northern Ireland, it led Rose to use resort as an exercise in cold-weather dressing. “I’ve been really drawn to rich textures and opulence,” she said. This meant jewel-tone velvet pieces with shimmering embroidery and outerwear in blanket-like double-faced wool that will align nicely with the collection’s October delivery (maybe Narnia’s not so crazy after all). 

Still, the designer likes to “gild the lily” with her themes. She crystalized and corded tulle ball dresses that would be great for the White Witch, but the storybook’s look was better played out through print, like a medieval tapestry motif with lions, dragons and snakes (oh my), which lent a whimsical touch to some straight-laced sheaths that cleverly were cut so each character lined up symmetrically at the seams. 

Rose also played to her signature wit by adding the flower that bears her name to an Irish tartan that decorated a few of her easier separates. The standout in this bunch was a cowl-neck top with ruched sleeves and a big bow at the back worn over matching trousers. Roses also bloomed on denim for a chic take on the Canadian tuxedo and fil coupé gowns, which are doing good business for the brand commercially. 

Kobi Halperin

Kobi Halperin took a trip to Florence for his 50th birthday. As a fan of Botticelli, the Galleria Uffizi was the first thing he ticked off his to-do list. Smitten with “The Birth of Venus,” he headed to the local flea markets where he picked up another muse for the season, the savvy Florentine shopper. “I just love and admire a woman that takes the effort to look chic even though she’s going to the market,” he said. 

Her street-chic mix gave form to what would otherwise be an abstract source of inspiration, given Venus is rarely depicted clothed. 

Recreating the scene at New York’s Union Square, Halperin’s modern goddess would wear pajama-style suits hinged on a lean ’70s line (his favorite decade) and bohemian cotton-voile peasant dresses. Elsewhere, the designer’s love of clashing high and low could be seen in a couple of knit and denim looks decked out entirely in crystals.

The Botticelli-isms came via print and this season’s color story. There were green and brown paisleys that had the same kind of patina-look of a painting from the 1400s, while aqua and teal florals recalled the ocean from which Venus emerged on her half-shell. Pieces with the most bite came in python, like palazzo trousers, sequin midi skirts and a vegan leather trenchcoat.   

Frederick Anderson

Natasha Bedingfield may have been crooning about her pocketful of sunshine at the beginning of Frederick Anderson’s resort show, but by the looks of it, this collection was headed straight to the moon. 

“I’m putting on my disco hood and I’m ready to go to my own inner galaxy,” he said backstage, fawning over the British songstress, who was dressed in the best look from the new collection — a crystal fringe top and slouchy cargos. The two met after Bedingfield sat front-row at the designer’s fall show. Letting her take to the runway was his way of bringing occasion back to New York’s appointment-heavy resort calendar. 

The look was club kid meets space cadet on holiday, proven by the show opener, a denim two-piece unbuttoned to the navel worn with a disco ball helmet and raver goggles. Later, Anderson’s signature crochets came woven in silver and blue lurex for shrunken sweaters, while tweeds mixed raffia and hemp, forming a psychedelic pattern on a few of his tailored pieces. Cutout gowns in the same intergalactic color palette referenced Geoffrey Beene’s ‘80s retro futurism, while the stiffer dresses in lace just felt retro.

After the show, Bedingfield returned for an encore in a black knit maxi skirt set that was much sexier. “He makes the best clothes for performers,” she said. With new music potentially dropping next year, Anderson may have to prove that with Bedingfield’s outfits for a tour.

PatBo

Designer Patricia Bonaldi took inspiration from Miami for resort, creating a range of dresses utilizing her signature embellishments that embodied a vacation spirit. 

The collection was full of the fringe, crochet, hand beading and bright colors that PatBo’s offerings have become known for. Bonaldi furthered design codes presented in prior collections, such as denim offerings embellished with hand beading or crocheted separates, that showed her ability to update her core styles to fit trends. 

Standout styles included a multicolored matching set embellished with black hand beading, a pearl and bead embellished nude dress paired with matching trousers and a blue cutout dress featuring a large floral design.

Trina Turk

Trina Turk’s resort 2024 collection was inspired by nautical elements, with much of the line created in classic colors of red, white and blue. Turk also leveraged nautical styles such as polos, sailor pants, caftans and other vacation-appropriate attire to further the inspiration.

The collection was given a modern feel through the use of prints. Turk utilized a rope motif in many of the prints that was seen in dresses and separates. The designer also gave the collection pops of orange and blue to further the modern feel. 

SIR

For the resort season, Australian design duo and founders of SIR, Nikki Campbell and Sophie Coote, wanted to exude the idea of “stepping into a mirage.”

“A main point is that we collaborated with L.A.-based artist Frankie Tobin. We took two artworks, the red and the green, then converted it into a print; a majority of the collection was then inspired by that and taking from the natural elements with a lot of color and a focus on a mirage, with L.A.’s desert vibes,” they said.

The idea came through nicely with color-blocked motifs across matching sets (fluid skirts with little tops) and swimwear with cover-ups, while monochromatic dressing (including leisure suiting and ruched or gathered flirty numbers) offered the idea in sandy hues with varying textures (as in silk chiffon with mesh; silk satin with lace paneling, etc.).

Known for their contemporary wardrobe essentials (crafted in ethically sourced fabrications) and minimalist meets playful bent, the designers also offered newness through crochet inserts and stacked resin beaded accents; new terry swimwear, and a touch of evening dressing, which extended beyond their signature silk frocks and into taffeta.

L’Agence

The L’Agence woman is getting into the holiday spirit for resort.

Although the brand’s Midtown Manhattan showroom was filled with racks and racks of wardrobing (spanning from travel and occasion wear to an expanded program of denim and shirting) for their multifaceted, global customer, the resort look book homed in on opulent takes on signature L’Agence dressing. For instance, the signature L’Agence slipdress comes in varying lengths, as seen in the form of a rhinestone mesh mini or printed gowns (with lace trim in a leopard motif, or with a vintage branded newspaper print with gold hardware) while suiting proved strong with sharp proportions, like a tuxedo jumpsuit or a pin-striped blazer and skirt set (worn with a plush knit). 

“What we focus on is making her feel really special, and that’s the greatest feeling,” L’Agence fashion director Tara Rudes Dann said, noting the brand’s emphasis on silhouette and fit in its full size range across categories. For resort, this could also be seen across velvet, lace and leather occasionwear, easy-to-wear statement layers, a strong selection of matching footwear (including denim pairs) and a handful of colorful, travel-minded wardrobing.

“This collection is just an epic collection. It not only just takes you through so many different types of motions — it’s not only every occasion; she’s feeling herself in her skin and when she puts the clothes on, it’s just superhuman, hero powers.”

Merlette

Although known for her continual studied evolution of fluid dresses, skirts and blouses, Brooklyn-based designer Marina Cortbawi’s biggest news of the resort season stemmed from the launch of her first denim and jersey T-shirt offerings. 

“This is a more everyday collection. Last time we had a lot of evening — we have a little bit of that, as always the hybrid styles. We wanted to shoot a woman in her home in her everyday life — capturing the beauty and simplicity of everyday moments,” she told WWD of the collection’s look book (photographed by Esther Theaker in a Brooklyn brownstone). “We’re really showing the versatility with layering; it’s definitely a very roundabout collection in terms of categories — bags, belts, knitwear, true denim, jacket, shorts.”

Throughout the resort look book, Cortbawi featured denim styles (said to be made with a responsible ozone wash technique using Global Organic Textile Standard-certified cotton), new knits and layering Ts with her signature, feminine styles with intricate handwork and fabric manipulations in shades derived from blooming Brooklyn florals. For instance, there was a blue denim jacket and orchid-washed denim pant with pin-tucked pima cotton poplin button-down; a stamped floral-printed pima cotton lawn blouse and skirt with fitted jeans, or an eye-catching ultraviolet raw silk one-shoulder dress atop a smocked pima cotton lawn top. Overall, resort offered a nice amount of newness for daily wardrobing.

Veronica Beard

Add the Veronica Beard designers to the list of creatives who make clothes for themselves, urban women with packed lives who need tried-and-true staples that are easy to understand but continue to feel elevated with fit and fabrics. 

Resort sees the duo remix their classics, dialing down the prints, with a slight nod to the ’60s: big shoulders, short miniskirts, cable-knit sweater sets, A-line skirts, all imbued with a pulled-together and relaxed grace. Vegan leather, a fabrication that did well in fall, returns in a trench, and there also is easy pajama dressing, a mix of blazers with strong shoulders, foiled metallic denim, and a few logo-printed separates. The duo knows their customer and continues to deliver well-made classics with their trademark urban polish.

Derek Lam 10 Crosby

With a few months to go before debuting its latest collection, Kate Wallace was appointed to the creative director’s role at Derek Lam 10 Crosby, but she was able to put her stamp on the collection in that short time. “There is an amazing legacy here,” she said. “When it came in I was really delighted with how it was looking and there’s a refined kind of simplicity in line.” A key point she is keen to dive deeper into while centering the customer in her process.

It’s a smart move for a brand built on wardrobe updates and real-world fashion. Pieces like their denim has been booming the past few seasons, and Wallace continues to use the fabric with new washes and shapes. Knits (a category close to Wallace’s heart as she once head of Club Monaco); tweedy jackets with a slight bell-sleeve detail; vests; silk blouses with cargo pocket details, and even a few satin dresses, all had a real life but well-designed appeal.

“We’ve been working with the fabrications, thinking about them in a seasonal way, but also the way that they move on a woman’s body, [to make sure] it’s comfortable,” she explained. “I want to wear these pieces and live in them and love them.”

Vince

Vince’s creative director Caroline Belhumeur has been having a ’90s moment the past few seasons, a throwback to minimalism that has firm footing in a modem closet. An old book of photos of Paris in the morning by Dolorès Marat was Belhumeur was the jumping-off point. “She captured these crazy like gray-blue tones,” Belhumeur said, adding that there is a bit of mystery and play in light and shadow in the images that spoke to her.

The theme was realized with a mix of inky blue separates, layered knits, and subtle sheer accents, like panels on a skirt. “It’s our way to do sheer,” she said, pointing to a big trend but done in a subtle Vince way.

Minimalism is about slight detail twists — a higher V-neck on sweater vests, the addition of a hood on sleek outwear, crushed velvet fabrications, fringe trims on a slipdress. Suiting comes in pinstripes with new silhouettes, paired with a slender, ankle-grazing pencil skirt anchoring the mannish blazer shape.

Knits were a standout for the season. Outside of the minimal trend, they were chunky fisherman styles or Fair Isle styles in cream, zipped up or pullover styles that felt like a piece you’d pilfer from your grandfather’s closet and keep in heavy rotation.

A.L.C.

Andrea Lieberman sits at a special spot, elevating a woman’s wardrobe with details that feel polished but not too fussy. Being based in Los Angeles, she understands the kind of slick ease needed by her modern customer and resort sees her lean into this even deeper.

A cascade sequin on a compact knit fabrication, racer-back peplum tops, denim with a twisted seam, cropped blazers in a new tuxedo version and satin cargo pants were her ways to elevate an existing wardrobe and inject newness.

She showed touches of outerwear such as a classic peacoat, or a puffer in a Japanese technical twill fabrication, with detachable sleeves. Handbags got a pump up, too, with a large woven large tassel bag or Lieberman’s mini Paloma bags in satin or a rhinestone style.