I like that BUCI starts with a place and not a trend. Mishka Ivanovic began building the label while studying at Parsons in 2019, making cutout dresses and mermaid skirts from deadstock Italian lace and silk. One of my favorite early details is a small white bow she added to vintage Levi's while raising money for a New York Fashion Week show (those jeans became a favorite almost immediately, which feels exactly right).

The name comes from Buci, the Serbian village where her grandmother grew up, and that family thread gives the clothes a point of view beyond party dressing. She has also designed around the idea that one garment can be worn more than one way, and most of her pieces are made by hand in New York. I went deeper on a related idea in Brown Heels: Pumps, Sandals and Mules With a More Personal Point of View.

I read BUCI as clothes for a woman who wants a little fantasy but also wants to decide for herself how a piece lives in her closet.

The dresses are my way into the brand's idea of dressing with intention. I would compare the Waterlily Dress and the Deverusa Dress first for a dinner where the dress is the whole plan, while the Chinchilla Mini Dress shortens the proportion and loosens things up. The Sundew Dress and the Addison Dress round out the group without pushing one occasion on you.

Ivanovic's Metis dress became known for being worn in different ways, which makes me curious how much of that spirit runs through these. My practical move would be to read the fabric and care notes before choosing an underlayer or packing one for an event with bright lights and a long evening.

The tops feel like the easiest place to test BUCI's mix of romance and city practicality. The Divinity Lace Top and the Sheer Lace Tank make the lace direction obvious, the Budva Blouse brings a proper blouse shape, and the Maeve Top adds herringbone. I would keep everything else quiet around the lace and let texture do the work.

Picture her leaving a studio late in the day in the Maeve Top and simple dark trousers, then changing into the Sheer Lace Tank with a neat camisole underneath for a dinner reservation. What I would skip is adding a busy print on top of lace, because the lace is already saying plenty.

This is where the edit loosens up into pieces you can recombine. I would start with the Ibis Poncho Set, the Ibis Poncho Top Set and the Pula Set, then look at the Tamarack Shorts and Bonbon Shorts as casual, warm-weather ways to break them up. The Oracle Mini Skirt and the St. Claire Skirt are two more bottoms to mix in, and the Honeycrisp Poncho is the layer I would save for a cooler night.

In my fashion dreams she is crossing the city after sunset in a poncho over a simple base, with the rest of the look free to change around her plans. My tip is to choose a set only if you can imagine wearing each half alone, since that gives it a much longer life.

I keep coming back to the idea behind BUCI: a garment that follows you through a change of mood instead of belonging to one night. Ivanovic's transformable designs say it best, and the New York workroom and the family story keep the label grounded. I would begin with one piece that earns repeat wear, then add a top or layer that changes the outfit instead of just adding to it. Although I suspect I would end up wearing the lace first.