Loveshackfancy’s Rebecca Hessel Cohen had two separate moodboards for her resort 2025 collection.The first was filled with photos of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, ballerinas at the Palais Garnier, and Cohen’s own bow-covered Christmas tree. The second was covered with modern-yet mythical siren-esque women who wouldn’t look out of place in Li Galli.
It would be easy to say Cohen is capitalizing on trends: balletcore and mermaidcore are just two of the coquettish styles that have recently spread like wildfire on TikTok and Pinterest. But it’s just a marketable way to mask a keen business decision: this collection will be delivered during the holiday season. Loveshackfancy’s customer, Cohen explained, looks to the brand for event dressing. With around half of her 18 stores in cold-weather locations, and the other half in warm-weather spots, she needs to make New Year’s Eve dresses that’ll work everywhere from New York City to Palm Beach. Then add in the wide age of her clientele—Cohen has said she dresses “babies to eighties”—and you have a lot of boxes to check.
So let’s start with the pieces that were, as Cohen described them, “Nutcracker at the core.” Those included ruffle plaid dresses in red and greens, available in maxi and mini lengths. A winter white tweed set was adorned with faux pearls and sequins; a black velvet dress was accented with rectangular crystals. There were plenty of tulle skirts, and bows were put on everything from puffer jackets to gowns to cardigans. (“Bows, bows,” Cohen said while going through her rack. “We’re going heavy and strong with that as we typically do.”) Here, most of the selection felt like it skewed younger—for the Claras, if you will.
Meanwhile, mermaidcore is more for the woman who stays up past midnight on New Year’s Eve and then some. “She’s having a good time. She’s in St. Barts on New Year’s and she’s waking up on the beach,” Cohen said while showing off a midi dress covered in iridescent light purple paillettes. It also comes in pink: ditto an ombré mini-dress in sequins.
Loveshackfancy, which traditionally focuses on ultra-feminine and romantic designs and romance, is also veering slightly into more practical territory: pants. “This is new,” Cohen said while gesturing to a pair of white trousers. She admitted that she, for one, isn’t going to wear the item—at five foot two, she much prefers skirts and dresses. However, they’ve been selling really well.
But don’t expect there to be a dedicated rack at Loveshackfancy anytime soon: “We’re not over-offering the selection,” she added.
