For SS25, Wade takes Corporate America head-on.
On the fashion side of TikTok, you’ll come across various “What I Wore to Work” videos of people who have surely never worked in an office, let alone any corporate environment. This is what’s known as the “office siren” or the corp-core aesthetic. The office siren is sexy, seductive, and probably working a glamorous job somewhere on the Lower East Side. And while Jane Wade’s office worker is a little sexy, too, she’s also humbly aware of her role in the grand capitalist scheme. In that, Jane Wade’s Spring 2025 “The Audit” collection picks apart the carrion of corporate America.
Wade tells a story of a company audit and corporate greed. Models walked into a sterile white warehouse, initials “JW” tattooed to their bodies, a clever mark of company property. A modern take on office wear — Wade’s collection features a refreshing spin on the dress shirt, work slack, and modest dress. Tops, skirts, and dresses were made of shreds of paper. (“These are my shredded tax returns and my actual contracts from this season,” Wade joked with Vogue.)
Jane Wade’s eponymously named label has always been about exploring themes of work, from white to blue-collar. For Wade, workwear is not just about adhering to professionalism, it’s about telling a story that’s adaptable through whomever wears it. The utility is avant-garde but still serves a purpose. The highlight of this show, for me, was the incorporation of tech. Headphones and hanging earbuds as accessories, chrome briefcases, and futuristic knee pads are reminders of the omnipresent emerging technology that can both advance and threaten all of our jobs.
This is the sort of storytelling that I’ve always admired Wade for. In her young career, her collections have managed to balance the line between spirited, fresh, and impactful. As someone who has worked in various office settings, I pray for the day it is socially acceptable to wear crop tops and cargo pants to the office. This is the sort of workwear I want to see: full of personality and playfulness.
Standouts of this collection are reworked button-ups and denims; a chainmail’d-and-crocheted-metal minidress; and playful pinstripes. This collection reinforced house fundamentals most brilliantly. Each look had its unique role, as if in a fully-produced play in a theater, throughout the show.
Despite these abstract concepts, Wade has always had wearability in mind. And, in my dream office, Wade’s spring collection would be the uniform. 🌀 8.0
Niya Doyle is a forever East Coast-based writer, beauty buff, and cat lover.
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