Tocca (Q9344)
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Tocca is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Tocca |
Tocca is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Tocca is scaling things back from here on out, but the Saint Lucia-founded label is still long on charm. Emma Fletcher has repositioned it as a more accessible, high-end contemporary brand (with a lower price point to match) and is zeroing in on easy-to-wear shapes and sweet prints. For Fall, she drew inspiration fromThe Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast,a trippy '70s children's book based on a 19th-century poem by William Roscoe. "It's this whimsical kids' book, but it's actually really psychedelic," Fletcher explained. She interpreted the colorful tale as dreamy silk florals and mushroom prints—we don't need to remind you the Summer of Love is trending—which spoke to her penchant for playful details. (Look closely enough, and the purple fronds resemble marijuana leaves.) Elsewhere, a '60s theme emerged by way of long-sleeve shifts, round-collar coats with oversize buttons, and pouf-shoulder dresses.Fletcher's mash-up of girlish silhouettes and eccentric prints was characteristically off-kilter, but in comparison to her last Tocca collection—Fall '14—these clothes were downright demure. Velvet bra tops and see-through dresses are clearly a thing of the past as Tocca moves in a more market-friendly direction, but Fletcher's instinct for dolly-bird silhouettes was on point. There were still flickers of sex appeal, too, like the trim black jumpsuit with an extra-deep V-neck.
11 February 2015
This was the season Emma Fletcher said, "To hell with it!" After two years at the helm of Tocca, Fletcher decided it was time to let it rip and give that demure Tocca girl a chance to go (relatively) wild. Bold floral and leaf prints. Fur clutches. Sheer blouses and bra tops. A recurring theme here, which expressed the psychology of this collection well, was of fabric collaged together in a way that felt improvisational; the technique made for some strong pieces, like a bias-cut dress in tonal blanks and red burnout velvet, or a blouse half lace, half Marimekko-esque floral. But the standout looks here made a more straightforward impact—the sexy velvet suits, or the silver lamé slipdress topped oh-so-insouciantly with a nubby cream-and-yellow cardigan.Thatgirl gets the whole "to hell with it" thing. So, too, the one wandering around town in a bra and tap short with a timelessly fantastic navy shearling coat. Very simple garment, that, but well executed and evincing a muscularity not normally associated with Tocca. Here's hoping Fletcher continues to pursue that dimension of the brand.
5 February 2014
Sometimes clothes can just be a little too pretty. It's a fine line, and Tocca designer Emma Fletcher earned a devoted following for her old label, Lyell, because she was so intuitively good at landing on the right side of it. This season, though, she over-sugared the mix. The collection was a riff on off-duty ballerinas, a rather sweet reference to start out with, but one that Fletcher spun in a streetwise, New York City-in-the-seventies direction. A few of the ensembles seemed to have wandered off the set of some never-made Scorsese film about a dancer—the fluttery crop top worn with a pair of golden yellow cigarette pants, or a pale blue and white pleated midi skirt and sheer knit tank. But that dancer character never really cohered: One minute she was a cutie-pie in a stars ’n’ clouds-print romper; next, the second coming of Jean Harlow in floor-length bias-cut dresses patchworked with lace. Those dresses were very appealing, and there were several other appealing looks, too—the pintucked blouses, for instance, or that pleated trapeze dress with a sexy dive in the back, or the lipstick red jumpsuit with a ruffled sleeve. Plenty of commercial viability here, then, but the point of view was wanting.
4 September 2013
After a murder-mystery-themed collection for Fall, Tocca's Emma Fletcher decided to lighten things up for Resort. The new lineup was inspired by candy of all sorts. Make no mistake, Fletcher didn't go all Willy Wonka on us, but she did name each piece after a different confection, saying, "I wanted it to be like a candy store, and you simply pick what you want." Delicate blouses with diagonal-striped lace insets reminded the designer of Liquorice Allsorts, which were a favorite of hers growing up. Other highlights included a short-sleeve Taffy jacket and its matching A-line skirt cut from watermelon-colored suede, as well as a black crepe Gobstopper jumpsuit with fluttery sleeves. At the end of the day, it was more about wearable clothes than a cutesy concept. Fletcher delivered on that with a practical waterproof mackintosh coat with a tentlike drape in back and a flirty burnout velvet frock that had a retro forties appeal. Sweet.
9 June 2013
"It's based on an 'If I murdered my husband, this is the suit I'd wear to court' kind of thing," said Tocca designer Emma Fletcher at the brand's presentation. It took no great leap to imagine the reformed Roxie Hart shimmying into Tocca's black silk dress with inset diamonds of burnout velvet. Or perhaps she'd prefer the "Who, me?" ensemble of a lingerie pink silk cami spliced with French lace, shown tucked into a blush pink, calf-length A-line skirt with matching blazer.On the more modern side was a lambskin leather dress with a fishnetlike panel over the chest that came from the Carlo Mollino photographs Fletcher's been looking at, and some silky spaghetti-strapped slips of dresses. But best of all were the cover-ups. Coats, including a double-breasted herringbone number with leather-trimmed chevron pockets and a more formal black princess-seamed option, looked substantial enough to weather the current and any future storms. The overall effect was consistently Tocca: more vintage than pioneering, but just the sort of reserved yet seductive clothes that many women love to wear.
7 February 2013
At the Tocca presentation, designer Emma Fletcher said that she likes it when things are a bit psychedelic; her presentation, with models posing between multiple mirrors in stationary carousels, was just that. You could see the girls and their clothes from all angles, but the multiple reflections made things quite trippy. Intrigued by kaleidoscopes and designs on old-school hot-air balloons, Fletcher came to Spring's silhouettes by cutting out chevrons and zigzags. The resulting geometries are more linear than what Fletcher is used to working with, but the use of delicate knits and lace insets kept things soft and feminine. A sweet day dress with a pleated skirt and sheer, paneled top might be too demure to wear on an acid trip, but it would be perfect for a spin in a fire-fueled balloon.
6 September 2012