In 1963, Elizabeth Taylor attended Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay)’s boxing match in an elegant button-down coat and a matching hat. More than 60 years later, Jonathan Cohen chose to transform a momentary encounter between the two legends — wherein Ali became distracted by Taylor’s cheering and got knocked out by his opponent — into his Fall 2025 collection titled “Knockout.”
“For us, it was that push and pull between the both of them, almost as if they had went home together and she took his boxing shorts with her couture top and just a mix of that feminine glam of Elizabeth Taylor with that sporty aspect of Muhammad Ali,” Cohen told Fashionista at his New York Fashion Week presentation on Sunday.
This juxtaposition between Taylor’s glamour and Ali’s championship-winning athleticism is woven throughout the collection, featuring boxing waistband detailing incorporated into floral shorts, pleated skirts and peplum tops. It simply wouldn’t be a Jonathan Cohen collection without the label’s signature vibrant colors, eye-catching prints and thoughtful details: For example, there’s a black-and-white cheetah-print jacket that, upon closer inspection, features Taylor’s eyes subtly interwoven within the garment. Cohen also referenced Taylor’s Gardenia fragrance bottle by shattering a ceramic gardenia and transforming the remains into a print resembling a flower that had been punched, or knocked out.
“This is for a very fearless woman or man who isn’t scared to express themselves,” Cohen said. “More than ever, that’s what I’m looking for, is really pushing forward and I think that’s what this collection does. Plus, we have a little boxing reference… you need a little inner fight.”
At Rockefeller Center, the presentation’s stark white walls were lined with snapshots of friends of the brand modeling the collection, including Dilone, Sally Singer, Batsheva Hay, Phyllis Kao, Jeauni Cassanova, Kimberly Drew, Marina Larroudé, Joanna Gong, Gigi Burris, Elena Kassner, Dede Kantorowitz-Leff, Mei Zou, Carola Righes, Sophie Conti, Brigitte Conti and Sarah Pidgeon.
Continuing their ongoing collaboration, Jonathan Cohen and Larroudé unveiled lace-up boxing boots and heels, which merge an athletic silhouette with stylish prints and patterns, as well as flats featuring Cohen’s signature knot design. The designer also ventured into eyewear for the first time, partnering with Selima Optique on a line of frames (with various lens colors that Cohen calls “eye shadows”) inspired by Siouxsie Sioux and her signature cat-eye makeup.
“For me, fashion has always been this way of escaping, and since I was little, whenever I was going through hard times or having issues in my life, fashion was always something that helped me to get through that,” Cohen said. “I think now more than ever, I’ve just really protected that and held onto that. For me, that’s a way to help my customer with that and to help the fans of the brand that really are looking for an escape and need that to keep fighting for what they believe in. That’s what I want this collection and what I always want our collections to do.”
See the Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025 collection below.
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Jonathan Cohen Fall 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Cohen
Source: Fashionista.com
