The Dawn Of A New Era: Ivy ModA SS26 Collection
- Justinian Mason
- Sep 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 19
If you aren't hip to the brand Ivy Moda, allow me to put you on. Coming out of Vietnam, Ivy Moda is a family owned designer brand with 20 years in the industry. While they're well established in Vietnam, this NYFW marks their debut in the states. This collection is the brain child of new creative director Vy Nguyen. At 24 Vy is the daughter of the owners of the brand, and has happily taken the reins to take Ivy Moda to the next level.
It only takes a quick brouse at the brand's earlier collections to understand the redirection Ivy is headed towards. Older outfits had more color, were more conservative, and had a passive quantness about them. The SS26 collection is the physical embodiment of attitude. Never begging to be seen by on lookers, it just comes with the real estate.
Judging by this collection, Vy's vision is clear. Creating sleek head turning clothing that's still true to her roots. While Ivy is historically known for their office-wear, she's making her mark by trading pastels for jet black maxi dresses and mini skirts. In fact almost the entire collection is in black. Without form and sihlouttes fashion is nothing, and by the looks of it, Vy understands that to be a fact. In the past, we’ve seen the Demnas of the world create jaw-dropping collections that rely heavily on the diversity of the canvas — all while returning to black as a central element at Balenciaga. I'm certainly not claiming to know Vy's influences, but she's no a doubt meeting the goal of establishing aesthetic through canvas
I had the pleasure of sitting next to Tom, someone I became well acquainted with that day. As a Vietnamese man, he clued me in on the beauty of traditional Vietnamese dresses and the subtle nods to them in the show. Being Liberian myself, seeing people embrace their heritage in the face of corporate fixtures is always inspiring. Luckily, we live in a time where fashion is celebrating diversity and relative inclusion.
The rise of young creative directors with unique vision isn't something we should overlook. Living in New York, it feels like every creatives' goal is to be a creative director at some point in their career and there's no shortage of quality people who're up to task. Even off one show, the brand has an entirely different identity than before. It isn't lost on me that Ivy Moda is family owned, but that may not be the worst thing, it's literally a heritage brand. What's worth noting is the absence of tradition in design and marketing in comparison to older collections. Often times we hear about family run businesses clashing to keep uniformety that existed from the inception of the company, but with Ivy Moda they did a 180 and waved goodbye to the days of old.
Ivy Moda might not be on the map yet, but they're making their mark with a successful debut for NYFW. The semi-distopian formal/office-wear look is an interesting direction that I'd love to see more of. Perhaps one day they'll make clothes for men??? I'd love to see the art direction for that collection. Until then, I'll keep my eyes on them, and hopefully I'll see them again next NYFW.
Favorite looks from the show:
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