Staud Spring 2022 Ready-to-Wear Collection

Sarah Staudinger knows how to throw a party. Here was the scene: Her semi-eponymous label hosted its spring 2022 show on the terrace of Spring Studios, overlooking the Tribeca skyline at sunset. It was a perfect late-summer evening, complete with a perfect crescent moon that became more visible over the course of the show and a giant lemon-cum-disco-ball in the center of the venue. Larry David was in the front row—causing a semi-constant refrain among the pre-show chatter: “Did you see Larry David?”—along with Jared Leto. Irina Shayk, Stella Maxwell, Sasha Pivovarova, Paloma Elsesser, and Precious Lee were in the cast. A seatmate asked me, “Is this the show of the season?”

It certainly was an experience, and that was by design. “We’re the type of brand that doesn’t want to tell you what the trend is down to low-waist or high-waist. What’s more important is the type of mood that we’re in,” Staudinger said over Zoom earlier in the day. “The last two years, since our last show, so much has happened. We’ve all fought different battles. It’s been a lot. It was important for me to create a collection and a moment in time to remind us that we can still fight the battles and celebrate our victories.”

Staudinger wanted it to be an Italian disco, replete with summery prints, revealing clothing, and citrus as far as the eye could see, while also nodding to the challenges of the past two years via warrior-inspired details like gladiator sandals. Staudinger likes to start her shows with a white look as a “palette cleanser,” and this time Shayk took to the runway in a white spaghetti-strap dress. The rest of the collection was resolutely colorful. It ran the gamut from disco clothes (a navy, yellow, and sea blue dress with side cutouts that Staudinger said the model asked to have made shorter) to something you’d wear to nurse your hangover the next day (a linen tunic and pants set in a cheery, ’60s citrus print).

Overall, the waists were low and the crop tops were high, sometimes together—a silhouette that’s sure to be polarizing. Staud’s prices tend to be more accessible than many of the New York Fashion Week’s brands—many guests wore the label’s argyle-knit pants, which retail for $275—and perhaps that’s why the offering felt ready to be posted on social media. That lemon yellow skirt set with a scalloped white trim was just made for Instagram. The standout piece was one made specially for the show: a leather-and-crochet midi-dress worn by Taylor Hill. The leather patches were different fruits and flowers held together by the darker knitting. For the finale: a strapless, semi-transparent gown in the same citrus print as the tunic set. If anyone has a gala in Lake Como coming up, I think you just found your outfit.