HEADER IMAGE Gracie Gianoukos courtesy of Tyler McGillivary
What does your typical Friday date night look like? For New York fashion designer Tyler McGillivary, it involves city skyline views, the perfect shade of red lipstick, and boatloads of dirty martinis. Last Friday, the playful designer took us out for a night on the town at New York Fashion Week with her first runway-ready collection, Date Night.
“This collection, to me, is the New York that I imagined while watching Party Girl, Sex and the City, and Felicity – these classic ‘coming-of-age in New York’ television shows and movies,” says McGillivary from her sofa, where she’s taking shelter after a hectic schedule of non-stop fashion shows. “This collection is a direct homage to the women from those films and TV shows that are very much reflective of the women in New York.”
The Carrie Bradshaw-approved collection consisted of 30 looks, each telling its own tale of the women who embody New York’s eclectic glamour. McGillivary first moved to the Big Apple at 18, mesmerised by the city’s glittering opportunities. While the tourist-tinged sparkle may have worn off, it allowed the self-taught designer to delve deeper into the city’s history and uncover her future muses. “What makes the city so exciting is people’s relentless commitment to indulging in glamour and indulging in their identity,” she gushes. “These women are so full of life and full of creativity, even if they have a bit of messiness to them. They put together these designer pieces they’ve saved up for with jeans they bought for $3 at their hometown thrift store.”
McGillivary says when it came to casting the show, she was looking for attitude above all. Her team worked with Dreamland Agency and prioritised distinctive runway walks, embracing the swinging hips, bouncy rhythm and cheeky audience interactions of classic 90s supermodels. The runway show was opened by TikTok star Kitty Lever, who strutted out in a taxi yellow faux leather skirt suit, alongside musician Zuri Marley and model Soap Collins. “The clothes are designed by me, but they are heightened by the models,” she explains. “Our casting was so integral to the way that the clothes were being worn, and to the way that they were portrayed on the runway. That’s what New York is to me, this cast of characters who are so committed to constantly being creative and constantly reinventing themselves.”
That’s what New York is to me, this cast of characters who are so committed to constantly being creative and constantly reinventing themselves.
McGillivary points out that to these women, style doesn’t have to come with a startling price tag. She says one look in particular embodies this ethos – a pleated skirt and matching shirt covered in a new lipstick kiss print. “Chloe Felopulos, our stylist, had been searching for a pair of pink heels for Ella, our model who has this gorgeous hot pink hair,” she shares. On the runway, the model wore a pair of matching-hue thigh high boots that McGillivary found during a romp at her local flea market. “I had been sourcing brooches for another look when Chloe called me, and sitting alone on a table were these super high, hot pink leather vintage heels in Ella’s size, just calling to me.”
Since starting her namesake label from her bedroom floor in 2019, McGillivary has steadily grown from cutesy wardrobe essentials to innovative and idiosyncratic womenswear. The brand gained international attention for its recognisable large-scale photo prints featuring a slew of kitsch motifs including rainbows, horses and Venus flytraps. Similarly, a previous floral applique technique McGillivary first developed in 2020 could be found in the new collection atop a black wool coat and leather thigh highs, while two new prints featured on tights and mesh two-piece sets.
When developing her latest prints, McGillivary considered how she would distill the theme of ‘date night’ into images. During the pandemic, she delved through image archives in the public domain and stumbled across the historical images used in her newest print – dozens of black and white photographs of lovers in New York. “The prints I’m most excited about veer away from the large-scale graphic prints – even though I always love those – because it feels like more of a challenge to me,” she explains. “The photos are really touching to me. It’s emblematic of where I’d like to go with print design – these meaningful prints feel very human and are sourced from history which makes them feel nostalgic and very true to the history of New York, which I hope our brand is also a part of.”
These meaningful prints feel very human and are sourced from history which makes them feel nostalgic and very true to the history of New York, which I hope our brand is also a part of.”
McGillivary’s collection and runway presentation were a love letter to the creative community that has embraced her in New York, and inspired her to continue on the ruthless journey of growing an independent label. Some contributed to the collection – accessories designer Camille Albertine, who supplied silk bouquet bags and striped purses, Gianna Corvino at the New York Archive, who sourced countless pairs of vintage 90s heels, and jewellery designers Marland Backus and Pura Utz, whose glittering pieces adorned the collection’s final look: a sculptural black velvet dress styled with dozens of faux diamond brooches.
Meanwhile, for her debut show, McGillivary filled her front row with her past collaborators, including musicians, comedians and content creators who lovingly champion the brand on stage and on screen. The genuine camaraderie in the room is rarely felt among New York’s never-ending fashion schedule, which can oftentimes lead to drained and disillusioned crowds. From Lever’s entrance right up until the finale, the room was filled with whoops and gasps from her enthusiastic fans.
As a growing business, McGillivary says that knowing they were ready to grace the runway was two-fold – she knew they were financially prepared to do it, and her team were ready to create a collection that could stand on a runway alone. “We wanted it to be this big exciting event, and to do that, we needed to be in a place – as a business and as a team – where we felt like we could support it, we could put everything into it and we could deliver the quality we wanted,” she explains.
At present, McGillivary works with a team of six – a brand director, production coordinator, logistics manager, social media coordinator, studio assistant and a graphic designer. Moving forward, she’s motivated to continue growing, but tentative not to have the business overexert itself. Thankfully, her close-knit creative community are there to lend their advice when the path ahead looks unclear. “When I talk to other creators and artists who run small businesses, I’m always fascinated to see where they are investing their funds and where they are growing, and I’m so lucky to have this community of people that are really open and not cagey about sharing the way they structure their businesses,” she shares.
Looking to her peers, McGillivary is relieved to see that joy made a decided return to New York’s runways this season. “I felt like people were hungry for having fun, and so it was interesting to see that echo across other collections, like Christopher John Rogers, Sandy Liang and Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen. It makes you think, why are we taking this so seriously? I take getting dressed seriously, but at the same time, it is fun, and fashion should be fun and exciting,” she says. “My hope is that designers continue moving in that direction, because making people excited to get up and get dressed in the morning, that’s the point of what we do.”
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