Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell are redecorating. It’s been two years since the pair behind Tanner Fletcher last took to the runway with their ready-to-wear line, opting instead to release their collection digitally (lest we forget a buzzy show earlier this year for their dedicated wedding collection). They were back this season, with a show they promised at a preview was the one they’d been “trying to do since we started.”
“We’ve always said we wanted to be this kind of Ralph Lauren brand that hits every box,” the pair said a few days before the show. “We think this collection really illustrates that.” Who could blame them for wanting to be the next all-American lifestyle brand? Home is a natural, even obvious, next step for Tanner Fletcher; the pair have often borrowed from mid-century—and older and newer—interiors vernacular to inform their collections. They also have an eye for it, their studio downtown being the truest and purest realization of the Tanner Fletcher label with its antique furniture and funky, playful decor.
No surprise, then, that the show staff wore Tanner Fletcher construction overalls and hard helmets, which the designers themselves donned when they performed a quick skit to kick off the runway. The gist of it was that their families were on their way for a visit, and their apartment renovations were nowhere nearly done. A catastrophe! They then called their friends at Etsy—a smoothly executed thank you to our sponsors moment—and proceeded to open a moving truck sort of trailer from which models came out. Each carried something to furnish the “apartment”—be that paintings and candelabra or vases full of flowers and even a lamp, a set of plates, and curtains (which matched that model’s gown). Did I mention that the whole thing was soundtracked by a 10-piece jazz orchestra with a mashup of tunes, some from Broadway, imagined by Richie and Kasell? The whole happening was pretty cute, fun, and very Tanner Fletcher.
As for the clothes, they ran the full gamut of the potential of this label. There were ball gowns and fun day dresses and track suits and actual suits. “We had a really fun time making it cohesive because it’s such a wide range,” said the designers. Some of the evening frocks were pretty fabulous, as were the suits—their cut keeps getting better and more identifiable. As for the casual wear, the little knit sweaters and polos and jorts and gingham shirts were sweet and wearable and covetable. Here’s the thing about Tanner Fletcher—they’ve built a world so entirely their own in the context of New York fashion that there was not a single serious face in a room full of very serious fashion folk. “We feel like we put a lot of our soul into this,” the designers said. That’s what fashion can use a little more of these days—heart. These two have it in spades.
