A City In Full Bloom: The Best Of New York Fashion Week 2026

New York Fashion Week has never been just a calendar fixture – it’s where the season’s mood first comes into view. For Fall/Winter 2026, that mood felt more focused and intentional than it has in years. Heritage houses held the room while risk-taking labels stretched the definition of what style can look like now, and the energy made one thing clear: New York wasn’t simply opening Fashion Month. It was reminding everyone why it still sets the pace. So settle in – here’s everything that mattered.

Image courtesy of Calvin Klein
Image courtesy of Calvin Klein
Image courtesy of Calvin Klein
Image courtesy of Calvin Klein
Image courtesy of Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein

In her sophomore outing at Calvin Klein, Veronica Leoni is bringing her vision into sharper focus with a calm assuredness – returning to the brand’s roots to shape a collection anchored in clean structure and controlled sensuality. Pulling from late-’70s and early-’80s cues with a disciplined hand, Leoni sent out clean suiting, elongated blazers, and coats cut with a firm line – calling back to the minimalism that once set the tone for American fashion’s cool authority. Her years at The Row and Phoebe Philo’s Céline register in every exact cut – a reminder that ornament was never the point. With Brooke Shields and JENNIE front row, and fresh attention gathering around the brand via Ryan Murphy’s ‘Love Story,’ Leoni’s arrival feels well-timed: a designer and a house finding their stride together, with plenty still to unfold.

Image courtesy of Coach
Image courtesy of Coach
Image courtesy of Coach
Image courtesy of Coach
Image courtesy of Coach

Coach

Stuart Vevers continued his exploration of American iconography at Coach with a collection staged in Manhattan’s Cunard Building, offering a love letter to the cultural friction that has shaped his tenure at the house. Over his time at Coach, Vevers has built a recognisable language around the meeting of opposites – Old Hollywood suiting loosened with undone finishes, varsity jackets set against grunge-inflected fabrics, vintage-leaning prints nodding to youth countercultures across decades. His knack for balancing nostalgia with bite has kept Coach anchored in its American identity while nudging it forward. Amid the eclectic mix, one accessory stole the focus: the Kisslock Frame Bag 30, a revived classic already tipped to be 2026’s next It bag.

Image courtesy of Michael Kors
Image courtesy of Michael Kors
Image courtesy of Michael Kors
Image courtesy of Michael Kors
Image courtesy of Michael Kors

Michael Kors

Michael Kors marked his eponymous brand’s 45th anniversary with a grand takeover of the Metropolitan Opera House, turning Lincoln Center into a love letter to New York chic. Over four and a half decades, Kors has built a label synonymous with the city’s signature poise – slip-leaning eveningwear, clean monochrome suiting, and draped metallics made for after-dark Manhattan. Some of his most recognisable codes were on full display: a pared-back palette jolted by flashes of red and plum, and a kind of glamour that never has to announce itself. In a fitting finale, Christy Turlington – a lasting emblem of New York elegance – closed the show with effortless command, sealing a celebration not just of longevity, but of a designer and a city forever in step.

Image courtesy of AWGE
Image courtesy of AWGE
Image courtesy of AWGE
Image courtesy of AWGE
Image courtesy of AWGE

AWGE

A$AP Rocky turned New York Fashion Week into a full-bodied production with an AWGE show that quite literally broke the fourth wall. Models paused mid-runway for live hair and makeup touch-ups while real-time backstage footage – stylists, cameras, chatter – played out on a screen above the catwalk, blurring the line between presentation and process. Threaded through the noise was a more intimate note on fatherhood, with custom strollers and baby carriers appearing alongside reworked streetwear staples that suggested a shifting point of view. Continued work with PUMA brought new pieces onto the AWGE runway, and with Rihanna front row in full AWGE – the city’s creative scene buzzing around him – Rocky made one thing clear: AWGE was never just a label. It’s a living extension of the city that made him.

Image courtesy of Tory Burch
Image courtesy of Tory Burch
Image courtesy of Tory Burch
Image courtesy of Tory Burch
Image courtesy of Tory Burch

Tory Burch

Tory Burch’s latest collection kept the brand’s 2020s momentum going, taking cues from Bunny Mellon – the horticulturist and philanthropist whose understated style helped define American sophistication. Bringing that sensibility into the present, Burch sent out razor-cut shirting, shaped skirts, and trench coats with an easy sweep, all finished with a clean, contemporary clarity. Accessories did the scene-stealing: raffia bags, shell accents, and a run of gleaming sardine brooches added a wink of the unexpected, keeping things from feeling too proper. The result felt unmistakably Tory – familiar shapes, refreshed with humour, and a femininity that’s confident on its own terms.

Image courtesy of Proenza Schouler
Image courtesy of Proenza Schouler
Image courtesy of Proenza Schouler
Image courtesy of Proenza Schouler
Image courtesy of Proenza Schouler

Proenza Schouler

Rachel Scott has made her debut at Proenza Schouler, opening a new chapter at the New York house with a collection that immediately shifted its direction. Appointed to rethink the brand’s vocabulary, she arrived with a clear point of view – exploring the tension between structure and fluidity through tailoring paired with draped silks, dimensional knits balanced by airy layers. Hand-painted leathers and abstract prints added a tactile richness that balanced the intimate with the experimental, while her play on proportion and texture redrew the outline of the modern New York woman: strong and adaptable. Confident yet inquisitive, it was a striking first step into a new era for Proenza Schouler.

Image courtesy of Diotima
Image courtesy of Diotima
Image courtesy of Diotima
Image courtesy of Diotima
Image courtesy of Diotima

Diotima

Rachel Scott closed out a fruitful New York Fashion Week with a Diotima showcase that drew inspiration from the life and work of Afro-Cuban painter Wifredo Lam. Bringing together spiritual symbolism, Caribbean handwork, and distinct modern sharpness, the collection moved between crochet and hand-woven elements and exacting cuts – forming silhouettes that felt both elemental and elevated. Works like ‘La Jungla’ and ‘Femme Cheval,’ developed in collaboration with Lam’s estate, gave the collection a distinct pulse. Under Scott, Diotima continues to operate as something beyond fashion – an evolving dialogue between art, identity, and womanhood.

Min Ji Park

Editor | + posts

Born in Korea and raised in Hong Kong, Min Ji has combined her degree in anthropology and creative writing with her passion for going on unsolicited tangents as an editor at Friday Club. In between watching an endless amount of movies, she enjoys trying new cocktails and pastas while occasionally snapping a few pictures.