In a time where secondhand clothes and vintage-inspired outfits are flooding social media feeds, the runways of New York Fashion Week have transformed into time machines, transporting consumers to iconic moments of fashion history. With swirling paisleys and classic headscarves, American fashion house St. John reflects on its brand legacy by updating styles from eras past in its Spring 2025 collection.

St. John previewed its collection at Home Studios on Sept. 11, paying homage to its past, present and future through an amalgamation of knits, sequins and tweeds. Tall windows in the studio allowed beams of sunlight to hit the pastel dresses and enamel buttons.

“They are not copies of the archive,” Chiarparin said. “They are just inspired because they’re coming from the ‘60s, ‘70s and are not necessarily the exact same yarn. That yarn doesn’t exist anymore. We try to work with what will work in 2025, when the yarn will be delivered. These [pieces] use yarn with more stretch, more recovery and better performance.” 

The archive revival, which Chiarparin refers to as an “vignette” within the collection, features incredibly intricate vintage details. Scalloped knit stitches decorate the hems and shoulder seams, and the inside tag shows off a former St. John logo reminiscent of early 1970s typography. 

St. John, founded in Southern California, is constantly paying tribute to its brand heritage through the usage of knit and tweed fabrics. The West Coast roots of the brand call for breathable construction and silhouettes made for warmer weather. Bermuda and boy shorts pair with long-sleeve tweed jackets, allowing for a variety of styling choices. 

“When I started off, the goal was to go lightweight,” Chiarparin said. “The weights were very heavy. We visualized spring, and then we resolved to go ultra light. We avoid wool, as it is itchy, and try to focus more on a cotton base.” 

Even while prioritizing lightweight, versatile fabrics, the collection still offers leather and denim basics to contrast the more flowy bohemian pieces. Classic St. John hardware is present on nearly every item, including the accessories. Striped, colorful enamel is a repeated theme and can be found on clasps and cinching details on other garments in the collection. Zippers on jackets and bags are designed to look like a large loop representing a knit stitch, honoring the prominence of knitwear in St. John’s designs.

But the crown jewels of St. John’s Spring 2025 collection are the buttons. Every jacket has buttons that perfectly match both the color and the texture of the fabric. It is the simplicity of the construction where the essence of St. John’s design philosophy shines — and very few designs in the showroom strayed from the brand’s classiness. Only a few overly gaudy bejeweled buttons seemed a stroke too far into maximalism in comparison to the more minimalist garments they were paired with. 

“For most of the buttons every season, we try to pull from our amazing archive with jewelry from different decades,” Chiarparin said. “We usually take an earring, remove the construction from the earring and create a button from the earring.”

The collection’s dynamism and unconventional pairings are conveyed through the styling. Celebrity stylist Karla Welch is in her second year as creative consultant for St. John, and Chiarparin accredited her as the brand’s primary stylist. With clients like Olivia Wilde and Hailey Bieber, Welch created a lookbook that establishes the connection between St. John’s vintage inspiration and current trends in street style by mixing contrasting fabrics and textures for the collection. 

By layering long slip dresses over raw denim reminiscent of classic 2000s styling, and pairing high-cut boy shorts — a more current favorite — with oversized tweed jackets, St. John’s creative team shows consciousness for present trends — while still never forgetting the brand’s vintage Americana roots. 

“It keeps evolving season after season, day after day,” Chiarparin said. “It’s constantly challenging because we are trying to go very [editorial], very pointed and do different collaborations from what we see in business.”

Contact Karina Rower at [email protected].