Lionne RTW Spring 2023
“I was inspired by who I am — I felt I need to mix my two worlds,” Lionne designer Latoia Fitzgerald said prior to her sophomore runway show and New York Fashion Week debut, adding her Philadelphia roots and current Los Angeles lifestyle were key points of these worlds. “I also wanted to bring back that late ‘90s era but intertwine it with who I am today: that was the core of the collection.”
The designer upped her ante of signature sexy tailoring, like sharp-shouldered, body-hugging blazer dresses or a side-baring, signature v-shaped pin-striped vest and topcoat. Innovative shirting with patent layers added to the looks, blending sex appeal and power suiting for the modern day. They key to Fitzgerald’s design ethos is revealing and concealing in “all the right places” — strategic cutouts, up-to-there slits and skin-baring silhouettes. Check, check, check.
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“She’s serious but is sexy and likes to have fun,” the designer said of the lineup, which offered plenty of versatility with cropped bombers, a midriff-baring miniskirt and crop-top sets, and a handful of Y2K-esque little party dresses. Oversize gilded bamboo and Lionne-branded hoops, Manolo Blahnik-inspired strappy sandals and Timberland-inspired booties were noted as accessories plucked from her worlds while an expanded assortment of denim tapped into ‘90s nostalgia with strategic, sharp constructions. Case in point, a convertible denim halter top and miniskirt, which could be buttoned together at the waist to give the minidress effect. The spring line — like her fall collection — will be available direct-to-consumer and will be opened up to the wholesale market for the first time.
Fitzgerald’s New York Fashion Week debut ended with a big surprise. Following her finale walk, the designer’s boyfriend — NBA player Rajon Rondo — got down on one knee and proposed, to which Fitzgerald accepted as the celebrity and fashion-filled crowd excitedly rushed to congratulate the duo.
Launch Gallery: Lionne RTW Spring 2023
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