After inviting everyone to prom last season, Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell kicked off their dancing shoes to cozy things up for fall.
The third New York Fashion Week collection for their genderless brand riffed on another childhood right of passage — the slumber party — with a video release imagining what looks a gaggle of Gen Zers would don if left alone at granny’s house for a night.
Tanner Fletcher launched during the pandemic, gaining traction by serving up retro silhouettes with all the sass befitting a queer couple living in Bushwick. Think lace-y, high-necked dresses, exaggerated spread collar shirts and trouser suits are decked out in trimmings one might find at a homeware store.
Richie’s background is in interiors, while Kasell hails from the world of luxury merchandising, though the pair have struggled to sell their vision of gender-free dressing to buyers who, in the past, have advised they go toward a “femmier” look. Refusing to compromise, fall saw them lean further into how they and their young fan base choose to style themselves. This meant putting a less stuffy twist on their Victorian signatures, which skewed more 1990s Victorian-revival than 1890s.
“Everything is very much meant to be a mix and match,” said Richie. “We wanted it to be almost like thrift shopping, you go through and you layer.”
Pieces to play with include woolen grandpa cardigans, a velvet dinner jacket with ruffle trim and hand-embellished rivet jeans, which they likened to a DIY after-school project. There were also ultrashort miniskirts — one in candy-cane leather stripes came with a matching coat, while another in velvet had bows, something Richie and Kasell are making into a brand signature and brought to a new line of basic pajama separates.
For those who like to lounge more glamorously, the pair offered a sparkly pink set and a simple slip featuring a rose motif lifted from a midcentury breakfast tray. Waking up in either one would be a great way to jump-start the morning after a wild night of dress-up.