Diotima’s Rachel Scott had already begun working on her fall collection when she was named a finalist for the 2023 Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund in October of last year. “I think I felt a lot of pressure—I put a lot of pressure on myself in general—but I felt like I needed to expand,” she explained outside the Chelsea gallery where her presentation was taking place. She imagined a film which takes place over 24 hours in a woman’s life. But this was no classic “day-to-night” magazine story; this woman’s life begins at “4am at a party and you’re a little bit undone. Then you go through your day, slowly coming back together, going about your life, and ending at a party the next night.” Hence, the model doing the splits wearing one of her signature knitted tanks with a fringed macramé skirt that opens her lookbook. Welcome to Diotima’s world.
Scott designs with an eye for texture first, and it’s what adds to the allure of her clothes. For fall there was a lot of crochet “kind of cascading, like it’s coming undone,” like a mango yellow skirt paired with a white knitted tank, and a zip up jacket with hand stitched fabric tubes—the designer’s version of “fur;” and an easy marled dress in shades of pink and purple, with a turtleneck and short, draped sleeves. A three-button jacket in a vibrant shade of orange-pink featured circular cutouts at the waist, trimmed in fringe There were also crochet embellishments on more tailored pieces like a burgundy wool jean-style jacket and matching wide leg creased trousers; while a cropped button down shirt with tonal crochet-stripes was declared by the designer to be her favorite piece in the collection. Other showstoppers included macramé skirts and dresses in blue and red stripes, and a gorgeous little vest covered in golden flowers made from ribbons and finished with a crystal in the middle (worn by itself with a black macramé skirt).
Elsewhere, a burgundy, yellow, and black glen plaid suit had subtle beading and hand-stitching that nearly blended in with the pattern—almost like a secret. Her outerwear, tailoring, and shirting especially felt just as part of Scott’s world as the colorful miniskirts and barely there dresses for which she is known. Even lovers of minimalism and quiet luxury would be able to find something to add to their wardrobe. “It can be quiet,” Scott said, “but it’s not boring.”