The Hottest Collab of the Summer Is Here, and We Already Tried the Best Pieces

There was a time in fashion when a collaboration stirred the entire industry, leading to blocks-long lines and crashed websites. That being said, the last few years have been home to so many of them that the concept of two brands coming together has somewhat lost its It factor. You know what they say about having too much of a good thing? Think of it like that. As a result, we were just about ready to lose hope in collaborations altogether until last week, when a top-secret announcement landed in our inboxes, flipping our perspective on them in an instant.

Here's the news: On Tuesday, J.Crew dropped a 39-piece womenswear collection (there are also 10 dangerously cute Crewcuts arrivals for kids) with none other than Lower Manhattan's most beloved indie label, Maryam Nassir Zadeh. The 16-year-old brand has long reigned from the Lower East Side, dressing downtown New York's It crowd, including Paloma Elsesser, Mari Giudicelli, Аna Kraš, and Thistle Brown. As such, it's garnered a large following, particularly among Who What Wear's editors. You can imagine our surprise and delight when we heard that MNZ was teaming up with J.Crew, another brand that frequently has our editorial team excitedly pulling out their credit cards.

After a quick scroll through the campaign images released by J.Crew, you'll understand the draw. The collection promises to transport you to a hot Mediterranean summer, one where the sun dips low at 9 p.m., and the only thing on your to-do list is to sip a Campari spritz alfresco. Ruffled bikini tops are paired with drop-waist skirts and boleros. Mommy-and-me swimsuits are layered under white tanks and adorned with larger-than-life floral scrunchies. Hair is undone, shoulders are a bit sunburnt, and your stomach is full of olives—a culmination of the stylistically indulgent brand Maryam Nassir Zadeh has perfected. While J.Crew's summer aesthetic tends to be associated with crisp white button-downs and sprawling coastal vacation homes, Maryam Nassir Zadeh's take is much more undone and, in our eyes, even chicer. To have a hot MNZ summer, all you need is a wrinkled satin slip dress and some metallic sandals.

After letting the campaign sink in, we collectively knew that our chances of snagging this collection's best pieces would be gone forever if we didn't act fast. That's how good of a collab we're talking about. To make sure that our purchases were the right ones, we picked up a handful of can't-miss pieces from the just-dropped selection to try on and get a hands-on feel for. Below, find our honest reviews of the items we picked, including what we loved, what we're passing on, and so much more.

"There are few brands that get me as hot and bothered as MNZ does. In the dead heat of summer, MNZ's airy dresses, tie bikinis, and casually slung cardigans can make any gust of hot subway air bearable. Upon opening my package and diving into my goods, I already had an idea of what to expect quality-wise. As a plus-size editor and bona fide impulse shopper, I relish the chance to buy something designer that I know will fit me. After snatching up J.Crew's previous collection with Ukrainian designer and WWW favorite Anna October, I was prepared to throw my eyebrows into the ring to grab these pieces before they sold out in my size.

"The good news? It works for most people. The collection is available in up to a size 24, matching J.Crew's regular offering. After trying on tops, bottoms, dresses, and shoes, I can confidently say it runs quite true to size, if not slightly big. There's always room for improvement when it comes to size inclusivity, especially within the high-fashion space, but the stretchy, breathable nature of some of the most coveted pieces from the collection means there's a bit more flexibility."

"When seeing the campaign for the first time, my eyes immediately darted to this stunning black slip dress with stitched mirror paillettes. It's double lined, meaning that you can make it as sheer or as modest as you like. I'm between sizes, so I sized up nearly two sizes for a baggier, less formfitting look. Honestly, I have no notes on this one. It's comfortable, slightly stretchy, and incredibly lightweight, making it perfect for running around the city in 90-degree weather. As you'll see later on Eliza, the matching bolero jacket would be perfect with this dress, and it's already sitting in my Notes app of things titled 'TO BUY.'

"The metallic heels are incredible. If I'm being nitpicky, though, I'd put these in my 'car shoes' box at home—they're slightly too high for me, clocking in at over three inches. As a flat-shoe lover, I know my feet will hate me if I wear these to strut around the city for more than an hour or two. It comes down to personal preference, so if you're used to chic block heels, look no further than this braided pair." — Ana Escalante, assistant shopping editor

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"What I've always admired about MNZ's designs and styling is how the designer utilizes color in an effortless manner, something that's long stumped me. It's easy to wear shades of black, white, and brown. It's much harder to don red and yellow together or pink and blue, all the while appearing to have just thrown the colors together without a second thought. Naturally, that skill of Zadeh's can be seen throughout the J.Crew collaboration, which is why I set my sights on the colorful pieces in the collection first.

"This red linen skirt immediately caught my attention. It's such an easy shape and lightweight fabric, making it less daunting than a lot of the bright items I'm used to seeing on the market. It comes with a fantastic slip skirt underneath in the same bright poppy shade, so it's not at all see-through, which I loved given that I wore this for a day at the office. You'll see later in this story that this skirt also comes in white, and while I adore a white skirt, I loved the red significantly more, especially paired with the shade of the cropped camisole I'm also wearing. I've been obsessing over camisoles for a while now, preferring the spaghetti straps to thicker alts during the current heat wave. This is one of the best ones I've tried, and I've tried a lot. To add a touch more spark to the ensemble, I threw a white floral scrunchie from the collab around my wrist and later used it to tie my hair up in a low pony to give me some reprieve from the heat. Finally, the showstopper…"

"When I tell you that these are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn, I'm not exaggerating. Of course, I'm famous in the WWW office for wearing horribly uncomfortable shoes and complaining about it constantly, so maybe that doesn't say a lot, but I was genuinely shocked when I slipped these soft-leather, low-heeled loafers on and started walking around. They truly mold to your feet and don't tug, cut, or even touch anywhere on the foot in an irritating way. I simply have to have them, if only to give my toes a break from all the constant pain they're used to enduring. Plus, how cute are they?" — Eliza Huber, senior editor

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"I'm a child at heart, which means I relish in wearing anything that screams anti-corporate America. Take this ultra-sheer pink cropped cardigan and metallic drawstring miniskirt. What I love most about Maryam Nassir Zadeh's clothes is that they're fun, so naturally, I had to channel my inner Lower East Side princess despite being in one of the most frat boy–esque areas of Manhattan. Eliza and I decided that the tank tops are the most underrated items from the entire collaboration, and when paired with the cropped cardigan, there was nothing better in my eyes.

"Now, I must be the bearer of bad news: This skirt is sheer—like, 'HR violation' sheer. Just like the matching bikini top, the fine-woven knitting of the miniskirt left little to the imagination. While it's ideal for beach vacations or fashion statements, I'm not sure I would wear it to prance around in a 9-to-5 environment. If you're looking for a sexy, 'office siren meets Ibiza beach club' look, I'd instantly hit checkout."

"In my opinion, where the collaboration truly shines is in the fun, unexpected accessories. I'm a sucker for a great scrunchie and mesh anything (I may or may not have been the first on the WWW team to adopt the mesh-ballet-flats trend!), so those items were the first on my list to pick up. Plus, they're some of the most affordable in the collection when nearly everything else starts at over $100." — Escalante

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"Another thing I've long admired about MNZ is the way she manages to tone down really flashy items with elegant basics, making a piece that could easily feel over-the-top appear casual and easy to wear, no matter where you're going. Case in point: the silver knit bikini top from the collection. I saw it in the lookbook and was immediately intrigued. Normally, I'd let that be it with a piece like this, but seeing the way it was styled for the campaign made me desperate to try to make it work IRL.

"I ended up pairing it with this beautiful sheer bolero with tiny mirror details and ties up the front, which provided just enough coverage but still showed off a bit of what was underneath. Then, I took a cue from classic MNZ styling and wore them both with a timeless white linen skirt that added some modesty and old-world glamour to the ensemble. The loafers, which my mom said give a 1950s vibe, also tone down the loud nature of the top half of this outfit."

"This isn't the kind of look you can wear just anywhere. But take it from a fairly safe, understated dresser. You really can wear a silver bikini top with a sheer, embellished bolero (which you really need to see up close and personal to appreciate) with ease. If I can do it, you can too. Plus, in this heat, that's all you'll really want to wear." — Huber

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Shop the rest of the Maryam Nassir Zadeh x J.Crew collection before it sells out: