There was palpable excitement in the air at the Sergio Hudson show tonight, held inside the New York Public Library in midtown. Friends and fans of the designer gathered in their finest evening attire—a real sense of community overtaking the room—and there was indeed something to celebrate. This year, Hudson marks his 10 years in business, which is no small feat for an independent designer who has navigated a global pandemic and challenging economic climate. “It feels crazy—like it’s been 10 days and 10 long years at the same time,” he said.
A decade in, Hudson has built a brand with a clear, strong focus. He does American sportswear well, and polished tailoring even better, having already dressed everyone from Beyoncé to Michelle Obama. For his milestone show tonight, the designer wanted to continue playing into strengths, while also allowing himself some freedom to experiment—like a little bonus treat after a decade of hard work. “I wanted to make my dream collection, and one that I felt was needed for my customer at this time,” he said.
You could certainly see Hudson pushing his usual assortment a little more this season. His opening look was a white belted suit jacket with a swishy skirt—cut to perfection—finished off with an oversized fabric flower on the shoulder. He followed this up with more suits of this nature (cut closer to the body this season), whether skirted or double-breasted, and in delicious wools or sleek pinstripes. Then he showed bolder two-pieces in high-shine snakeskins, or in shocking hues like magenta or electric green. “I know I did something good if she feels like a boss,” he said. His coats, as usual, were covetable: They came sharp-shouldered, either in discreet cream bouclés, or in black with a beaded trim and waistline for nighttime.
For a surprise finale act, Hudson revived a category he has not done in a while: Gowns. As in, gown-gowns. It’s how he started his career, after all, creating custom dresses for clients. Since then, he has moved onto more polished separates and suits, but it was nice to see Hudson explore the realm of ball gown dressing again. “I wanted to address every era of my career in this show,” he said. Extravagance was the key word here. One design had a silky-teal corseted bodice, with a purple floor-length skirt, and was finished with black beading along the trim. One of his draped black column dresses also had an explosion of white tulle along the back—a dress that makes an exit, not an entrance. For someone so clean and minimal, his more voluminous and theatrical pieces felt like an energizing proposal.
Some of these high-octane glamorous looks might be fitting for the life of a showgirl, and that was the point: Hudson was greatly inspired by the world of opera singers in this collection. “I’m a huge opera fan—I was listening to a lot of it while designing,” he said. Fittingly, at the end of the show, Aretha Franklin’s triumphant version of “Nessun Dorma” played on the speakers. And the future for Hudson’s next 10 years feels just as optimistic as that classic song. “Fashion has been through so many cycles, now it feels like we’re entering a new era,” he said. “It’s exciting to me to figure out where we’re heading next.”
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