Maybe it was the snowstorm, maybe it was the American political situation, or maybe it was the absence of some of the city’s most popular names, but New York Fashion Week came in for some sharp critiques this season. It “limped” along. It was plagued by “sameyness.” It was “mostly ho-hum.” But was it, really? Michael Kors, for his part, has had enough of the city’s inferiority complex. “This is New York,” he said. “Why would you chase Europe? I don’t even mean the runways. I mean the streets. Everywhere you go in the world, people want a sense of ease.” We thought it was time for a temperature check, so we asked designers, buyers, and our fellow editors and critics how they think the New York season went, why it’s so hard to compete with Paris, and what a perfect spring 2026 New York Fashion Week in September would look like. Here are their answers.
Stuart Vevers, Creative Director, Coach
Being in the city, living in the city, it does change how you create because you are reacting to the things around you. We also have a strong sense of individuality and self-expression; that all feels very New York to me. When I see other brands showing here or returning to the schedule, I feel really positive about that, because I think it’s the community that we create that makes our city a compelling place to come and visit during the shows. I’m encouraged by it, it’s good–in fact, I wish we had more of it. It’s a little hard to talk about us taking a leadership position, but I do feel a responsibility. I’ve made a real point of connecting with other designers in the city, and I have found it to be a genuinely friendly and supportive environment. I always send flowers before fashion week to designers as a message of support to say good luck—even people who would be considered in competition with us [laughs]. Some time ago I met Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte because we were messaging each other about sharing models, and they said, let’s meet for a drink, and we did, and we got to know each other, and ended up working together.
Going forward, we need to keep celebrating who we are; to enjoy our differences, and what makes us different from Europe. I have read some things that were negative about the season in New York, and I have to say I thought it was a great week, that there was so much good work. There’s always a lot of pressure to kick off the whole season, especially a season that’s complex and that we’re all trying to understand and navigate—but we did it!
Lucien Pagès, Lucien Pagès Communication
I personally think it was a great season. I came back to Paris and the people I met told me, ‘wow, New York looks so exciting.’ I have the feeling that only American journalists complain about NYFW; the rest of the world is very excited by what’s going on there. New York is always energetic, and this season particularly.
Alexander Fury, Fashion Features Director At Large of AnOther magazine, and the Men s Critic of the Financial Times newspaper
“We need to be realistic: Paris has always been the center of fashion, since the 17th century. That won’t change. But other capitals can compete. In New York, honestly, I would like to see more of the downtown sensibility—the brands, like Telfar, are there, but they’re not showing. People should be helping them show. I think across fashion as a whole the emphasis is on ‘superbrands’—slick, polished, commercial. It’s important for fashion bodies to nurture and support young talents, to lift up and promote those who are deserving of being seen. I think this is something all cities need to consider—fashion will die without its new blood. I saw my first Luar show—which entirely lived up to my expectation of encapsulating a gritty, alternative vision of New York fashion that for me traces all the way back to Stephen Sprouse in the ’80s. You need some downtown next to the uptown. And can I also say what a joy it was to see Marc Jacobs? This was my first Marc show in six years, and it was totally worth crossing the Atlantic three days early to see what the greatest American designer of the twenty-first century thinks the world should look like. I hope he’ll show close-ish to fashion week more often. Marc’s amazing work deserves the biggest audience. He shapes fashion.”
Bosse Myhr, Director Menswear, Womenswear, and Childrenswear, Selfridges
Overall, New York Fashion Week is a great way to kick off the women’s season. The mix of commercial brands alongside emerging talents with a high degree of creativity makes it an important one for us to keep being a part of. A highlight was the Luar show, the first time I went, which really showcased the talent of the city that is so deeply rooted in the fabric of the culture. For me, going to NYFW represents an opportunity to get ahead of Paris, to go that little bit further, and in many cases, discover something I did not know before, but something that our customers are sure to like and expect us to deliver: a fashion product offer at the forefront of fashion. New York is a significant place to visit and discover something new.
Hillary Taymour, Collina Strada
“I think New York Fashion Week went well, but we need better global press here and incentives for them to come. I think we don’t elevate the independent designers as much as Europe does, which is why it doesn’t get the global recognition it deserves. A perfect spring 2026 NYFW would look like an October Paris Fashion Week. Some notes towards achieving that goal are dedicated spaces with discounted rates that come already equipped with benches, lights etc; more partnerships available for brands in need; an accessible database of who’s in town for invitations; and a list of sustainable vendors for catering and backstage options.”
Susan Plagemann, President, WME Fashion
“There were some wonderful standout moments during New York Fashion Week this season. Wes Gordon breathes optimism and femininity at Carolina Herrera. Thom Browne remains such a prolific creative force—personally, I would love to see what he could do in the film space. Diotima’s Rachel Scott continues to be a significant rising star and Prabal Gurung is always a favorite of mine. I loved the ease and versatility of the collection.”
Beka Gvishiani, Stylenotcom
For many, NYFW mostly feels hit or miss; suddenly, there’s a season when everything is great, and then there’s a season when it’s…not so great. This season was somewhere in between. It’s only my third NYFW and I still enjoy coming here. Due to my personal projects and events, I had to miss half of the shows, but I went to all the ‘big’ ones, and as a verdict, I would say: ‘give me more fashion, and less product.’ NYFW and NYC have energy and people like no other city, it’s the place where anything can happen, and people (including me) are attracted to it, but it’s also a business, and I know from many that to ‘invest’ and come to NYFW, they want/need to see all the OG American fashion names during their trip, along with newer names. This season, just one comeback, of Calvin Klein, proved how one big name can bring global attention back to the entire fashion week.”
Linda Fargo, SVP, Women’s Fashion and Director of Store Presentation, Bergdorf Goodman
Thom Browne’s show was superlative. Superlative. And honestly, I think we have to be so grateful that he is an American, that we get this really couture level work and concept out of New York, out of the US. And I think sometimes you have to kind of think about for a minute, what do we give the world? And I think it s like #NewYorkProud because we have to remind ourselves that we probably incubate and give birth to more new talent than arguably almost any other city. Because the industry, meaning retailers, press, everybody encourages them and helps and invests. To me, that s so quintessentially the American spirit, if you will. The other thing that I think we have to be #NewYorkProud of is that a lot of the brands, I don’t mean just the newcomers, are relatively independent. They may have funding, but they’re not part of big groups. So they have to kind of go it alone. Their shingle is still over the door. Michael Kors still says Michael Kors, Joseph Altuzarra still says Joseph Altuzarra. They’re not part of these houses where the brand, in essence, is almost larger than the designer themselves.
This season in particular was, I think, emotional for everybody. There s so much going on globally, so much uncertainty, that it was interesting to see how the designers processed that. And while we may have wanted maybe more…let’s call it escapism…designers reacted with things that maybe felt more enduring and things which were somewhat less trend driven. The great new guard coming up, Zankov, Diotima, Christopher John Rogers—I found that group pushed things more. They were more experimental. Khaite was one of the most exciting shows of the week for me, and I think definitely for the team at Bergdorf’s, because it checked all the boxes. The show itself, the presentation was very dramatic and powerful. The styling, the clothes, they were cool, they were aspirational—you wanted to be that girl. And I think that’s what we sometimes want from fashion. I definitely see this as a glass half-full moment. We do have some of our children now showing in Europe, but listen, it’s a free country. People need to do what they think is best for their businesses; this is a global economy. If they feel that they’re going to get more buyers and more eyes on their work, we will miss them and sometimes we have to let them go. Next season, I hope that the mood is going to lighten. I’m hoping that people are going to start to feel a greater sense of freedom, a little more stability. That’s what I hope for. But that’s a universal hope. It goes beyond fashion.
Rachna Shah, Global CEO, KCD
NYFW had a true sense of camaraderie, kicking off with the CFDA cocktail hosted by Thom Browne and Tory Burch which felt like a family reunion. There were the exciting returns of Calvin Klein and Christopher John Rogers, NYFW leaders Coach, Tory, Thom Browne, and Michael Kors, and as always so many incredible independent designers showing. Given the current political climate it also felt like designers were really focused on sharing beauty and comfort in their clothes and collections from Wes Gordon’s floor of flowers at Carolina Herrera to Michael Kors’s living room set. It is hard to compete against the conglomerates, but NY designers should continue to champion diversity in all its forms and, for many, the power of being independent business owners. It is not an easy road, but look at the even more dynamic collections being put out by Anna Sui and the continuing Toryssaince. Maybe it is about creating sustainable businesses that may not be as big, but are built with a creative spirit and not a game of musical chairs.
Henry Zankov, Zankov
I was excited to show what we’ve done this season. I felt very proud of it; it was a strong body of work. But then, of course, you have the layer of what’s going on politically, what’s happening globally, and that’s always in the back of your mind. You feel like, is this important? Is this relevant? Not that I’m saying that it’s not. It’s that you start to question it, not out of fear, but out of everything else that’s going on around you. And then you also think about the economy. Everything feels a bit uncertain. It’s not something that’s consuming, but it’s definitely something that is there and you can’t deny it.
There’s not a lot of international press and buyers that come here. I know that budgets are tight. I know that there’s issues with people not having enough money to travel, and I totally understand that, but I think also—I hope I don’t sound negative, because I don’t want to sound negative at all!—but I do feel there could be more openness and curiosity about what is shown here. Back in the ’90s, when you had Donna Karan and Calvin Klein [ showing], you were like, wow. Now there’s obviously a new generation. Eckhaus Latta, for instance, really opened up the door for this idea of downtown kind of fashion, which I think opened up the door for Hillary [Taymour of Collina Strada] and has now opened it for Rachel [Scott of Diotima] and Luar and myself. What we have here is very unique to New York: these anchor brands, Carolina Herrera and Tory Burch, and then you have this downtown thing. There’s definitely this duality in New York, which I don’t feel exists anywhere else, and which I think is very special.
[As to the future….] Rachel and I talk about this a lot, about having more support from the city, because the fashion industry brings so much money to New York. I wish there was a little bit more support. I’ve found the CFDA to be wonderful, but there could be more support from the Mayor, from the city itself. All of that would be a huge help, and would create a more equal and dynamic fashion week.
Roopal Patel, SVP Fashion Director, Saks
For me, the week was very pared back and very subdued, and I think that’s a reflection of these ever changing times we’re living in, of reading the headlines every single day. But with that, it was a very sophisticated, very polished and very refined season, and that’s something very important to be said, especially now with the changing landscape of not only the world but of fashion. Designers are looking to make clothes to entice the customer, and I think that’s something that we as an industry tend to forget. New York designers [this season] put a lot of heart, a lot of creativity into making clothes that are not just beautiful on the runway, but that people can wear. We’ve been using that word grown-up. The return of Christopher John Rogers was so joyous and happy and what a way to kick off New York fashion week: The colorful kaleidoscope of color coming down the runway and also the collective community that he brought to his runway. He has been missed. Then you saw Henry Zankov, you saw Rachel Scott of Diotima—you saw other designers front and center out to support each other. And I think that’s very important.
The highlights of the week? Well obviously Thom Browne. He is a master storyteller and of theater, and he’s leading the way. He’s saying to designers: Don’t be afraid—show your creative spirit, show your voices; that’s what New York Fashion Week should be about. Catherine Holstein of Khaite continues to bring that brand forward and continues to push for her customers to expand their wardrobes. And Raul Lopez of Luar is a very important voice within fashion because, as he said, ‘I’m not going back in the closet.’ And when you look at Joseph Altuzarra, it’s a beautiful, sophisticated, polished collection that he showed in his atelier and which was very refined.
New York has always been known out of all four cities as the place that launches new talent. The beauty of this week in particular for us was that there really felt like there was a new guard of voices which are not just emerging, but really wanting to take center stage and embody what New York Fashion Week is so well known for. And as for building their businesses…I don’t know if it’s what they need to do. I think it’s what we collectively need to do as a community. The designers are showing up: they’re putting on these shows and it’s a lot for them to take on. It’s more of a question to the community at large and to the city of New York itself. Can the New York city council offer some landmarks and some city institutions for the designers to show in? Can we have a collective fund to support our designers to be able to make it a little bit easier for them to put on these shows? And I think we saw that this season where designers are very resourceful in finding different new venues and different ways to show. But if we as a global community are like, we want to see more, we want to see more theater, we want to see more drama, we want to see more of this and that, well let’s help them out, shall we?
Justin Padgett, Co-founder, DLX NY
I was focused on our projects, and, honestly, we had fun. Patti Smith performed at the dinner we hosted with Jimmy Choo and Chloë Sevigny. There was an undeniable New York-ness in the room that reminded me of the beauty of this city. I did, of course, miss Proenza on the schedule, but I believe in the brands, like Eckhaus Latta, that continue to show here and represent the best of New York.
Rickie de Sole, VP Fashion Director, Nordstrom
At its core, NYFW is about creativity and emerging talent, and I hope to see that remain as its foundation. Supporting the next generation of designers is essential, while also ensuring that major brands, like Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren, return to the official schedule. NYFW continues to expand into a more globally connected platform that is a creatively charged and seamlessly structured experience. Having a major European house make its mark in New York—like Alaïa did last season—will continue to reinforce the city’s place as a key fashion capital. More international buyers and editors attending would further elevate NYFW and ensure designers gain the visibility and commercial opportunities they deserve. One of the biggest shifts I’d love to see is more consistency in the schedule, specifically location. In Paris, certain shows are synonymous with specific venues, creating a sense of tradition and familiarity. The CFDA’s NYFW Shuttle was definitely helpful for key show-goers this season to enable flexibility with getting around town. For Spring 2026 to be truly successful, NYFW needs to continue to feel bigger, more international, and more experiential, while still championing the raw creativity that sets New York apart.
Julie Gilhart, Founder and President, Gilhart Co.
“Considering the current state of affairs in our country and the world, I feel the bigger brands like Marc Jacobs to Thom Browne, really delivered in terms of creativity and joie de vivre. Emerging to mid size brands were full of creativity. Some were more commercial and some took chances. It was a good mix. There used to be a time where one went from New York—London—Milan—Paris in search of creativity and business. The cost of doing this became significant for buyers and media and was affecting the cost-of-doing-business. Adding in social media platforms versus print advertising made it easier to ‘experience’ from afar. Paris became a ‘one-stop shopping’ place where one could see more there as brands from all over flocked to set up showrooms or even do a runway or presentation. It was efficient for business to be in Paris. All this aside, I say never take your eyes off of New York. Its natural DNA is to be a hub of creativity that can turn into business.
I think as a whole city, New York needs to support more of our emerging talents. The cost of doing a start-up business is more than ever before. Yes, the shows are still relevant but maybe we need a new system? True creativity and new experiences bring more visibility. Things need to change to bring a new rumble in the jungle. It has to be driven by creativity and experience—not just business. One must think about business as it is very important, but business should not be on the ‘billboard’—if you know what I mean. Creativity needs to be out front and center.”
Sally Singer, President, Art + Commerce
“I think Willy Chavarria (who showed in Paris) and Raul Lopez for Luar are world class talents who command a global audience for the right reasons. I think they do what they do on a wing and a prayer… but ultimately that is seriously challenging. No doubt those two brands, plus Bode, are reshaping menswear. Add Thom Browne and you have a very serious bloc of menswear talent.”
Norma Kamali
New York has a variety of brands, not all of which have show impact—but when they do, as with Thom Browne, they are magic. Perhaps less is more when it comes to the runway format. My collection is not for the runway, but I believe clothes designed for real life can be amazing [without needing a show]. The French have a culture for fashion as art but they also have clothes that people wear, and not all are presented in the same manner. Here we need to be authentic and tell our New York stories that no one will be able to resist. We are an incredibly interesting crew. Going forward, multimedia storytelling will be important. A Netflix film series on fashion in New York could be interesting, then people will want to see it in person in different types of venues. I like to be innovative, technology and global visibility are powerful [and are my focus].
Fern Mallis, international fashion and design consultant
“It was an okay week…lots of shows, some new ones, some tried and true, but generally didn’t have an exciting buzz… Perhaps it was the cold weather, snow, disparate locations, a lack of clear communication as to who is showing and where? It would be lovely to have a clear calendar to make everyone’s schedule easier. I’d be happier with more ‘presentations’ which are easier to see and take up so much less time. I also am always wishing for a centralized venue. It’s unbelievable how many people stop me at fashion week begging me to bring the tents back. While I would love for that to happen—it clearly will not—it’s hard to put the ‘genie’ back in the bottle. The City of New York should step up—and it’s not about a party at Gracie Mansion. The big retailers that are still standing should make some noise.”
Chris Gay, President of Society, CEO of Elite Model Management
It was wonderful to have Calvin Klein back with Veronica Leoni as its new designer. It’s super exciting to have a fashion brand of that cachet or that is a tentpole within NYFW. It’s significantly important in terms of the type of talent we’re bringing in. Obviously we had Kendall Jenner as part of the show, and that was a really wonderful moment for Veronica and for Calvin, and for Kendall as well. From the talent side, which I think is really important, these brands all collectively help decide the caliber of talent we are bringing in. So if you have a lot of these key brands showing, then we’re going to bring in our top-tier models from around the world because of course all of them will want to participate. But if there’s only one here and there, we’re not going to bring a lot of those talents in.
I also think that New York has a certain energy. If you’re Marc Jacobs or Alexander Wang, you built your brand off of that energy. I have to say, thank god for Catherine Holstein [of Khaite]. I feel like she’s doing the same thing, creating an incredible brand here. The truth is that it’s a collective energy, because everybody needs something, right? It’s that buyer who might be flying in to see Khaite that will show up to Christopher John Rogers, and that’s how you’re making business here. That to me is the most important part and the necessary part. Do we want New York to feel like a distant third place? The financial dynamics now have played a real major part in why the rest of the world can’t afford to come here or they’ve made the decision not to. It’s a huge miss. We have emerging designers here who you can’t miss, and collectively as an entire fashion industry we need to support one another and get back to the point where you can’t miss New York because we’re the ones really gurgling something up.
There should be a cost effective strategy that maybe the CFDA works on like they had Milk Studios, where they can help a young New York designer do something that’s cool. Not everybody needs to have a huge fashion show. Bringing incredible photographers to help with a lookbook, having a central location where people can do appointments and things like that. But to me, it’s the big guns that need to come back and understand that New York as a city is so important.
Lyas, fashion commentator
“For NYFW to be more recognized globally as the other big Fashion Week are, they’d need to hold onto their great big names, making sure they don’t leave for Paris the second they “make it.” I want Marc Jacobs to come back to the schedule. It would help NYFW if he was on the official calendar.”
Sherri McMullen, owner of McMullen stores
During NYFW, it was refreshing to see more exposure and light on young and emerging designers. Standouts were Christopher John Rogers, Henry Zankov, Rachel Scott of Diotima, and Julia Sloan of Sloan. Other standouts were Khaite, Simkhai and Michael Kors. Overall, it was a strong fall season with wonderful outerwear, relaxed tailoring, trousers, and dresses. The designers are showing confidence in their work and the more we can support the young designers, showing up for them, giving them a platform and place to showcase their work, they will deliver. I feel there’s a renewed energy and resurgence among American designers. And next season I’d like to see more emerging designers on the roster—and not just New York designers.
Jennie Rosén, CEO, Swedish Fashion Council
“The Swedish Fashion Council’s focus has been to oversee young talents during NYFW. I have seen an interesting scene operating without too much support from any organization or incubator, but there is still so much creativity and innovation. The fashion industry is changing. Everything is moving quickly which has affected the attention span. together with engagement. To be relevant in this ever-changing world you need to adapt. We all need to investigate new formats and experiences that address the evolving challenges and changes in the world. There are endless opportunities for the industry at a global level but we need to dare to change to go into a new direction. SFC believes that to be able to develop the industry we need to offer new formats and alternatives to shows. The transformation has given us a lot of new solutions and to stick to just one way to present isn’t relevant. In 2025/2026 it’s the industry—not NYC alone—that risks losing talents if we don’t change formats.”
Steven Kolb, CEO, Council of the Fashion Designers of America
The fall season in February is always quieter—I know some big things that are going to be happening in September, much like Alaia last September, that we’re excited about—but also the weather was cold, it was snowy, and we’re still coming off an election that a lot of people are dealing with. So generally the mood was perhaps for many of us just a little dark. The challenge [with the schedule] is that people often look at it from a bird’s eye point of view. It’s actually very nuanced on how the calendar and fashion week comes together. You can hover over it and you can look at it and you can see what’s happening and what’s not happening. But you need to perhaps know that Tommy Hilfiger took a season off because there’s new management there. Or someone like Willy [Chavarria]: He had told me that he’d been invited to show in Paris, and that’s such a proud moment for him to take his culture and show it there. By no means is that an abandonment of New York. If you don’t know those nuanced conversations or those business strategies that affect those decisions, then it’s easy to say that people are pulling away from New York.
When you look at some of the interesting things this season, no one can discount Calvin Klein being back on the runway. It’s a big brand, they showed back on 39th Street, and Calvin himself was there. That was major. There are young kids who work in the industry who have never been in a room with Calvin, and it was like God had walked into the space. And so as a big company, they could have done that show anywhere, but they really are committed to New York and being part of New York. You look at Christopher [John Rogers], he came back on the schedule. Norma Kamali, what she did was brilliant. She hasn’t been on the schedule in a long time, and she’s such a legend, but she’s also a futurist. She had prints that she had taken out of archive, like nature leaves and forests and trees that were really her way to react to the climate in this country, the vegan leather that she had and that she worked with was just really, really incredible. And to not acknowledge that someone like Norma Kamali, who is such a legend, is showing in New York again, I just think that is kind of just not paying attention. Or having Patricio Campillo, he is a young Mexican designer, and he was an LVMH finalist. He could have taken his show to Paris, but he was really feeling the vibe and the culture of New York, and he wanted to be part of what’s going on here. There are so many of those independent voices here. Take Taylor Thompson of 5000: That was such a small show and had such a small audience. But imagine if people had paid attention and kind of took a chance and wanted to see that.
I also appreciate that some of our young designers—you look at Kate Barton and you look at Theophilio—who were smart enough to know they didn’t have the funding to do shows, but it didn’t stop them from doing collections. Those are smart business decisions that don’t get reflected on a show calendar or on a runway, but there’s still a lot of that creativity. And that’s so important because you don’t want Kate or Edvin [Thompson, of Theophilio] going into debt to do a show if they can’t afford it. You want them to keep building their businesses. [In New York] we don’t have the big powerhouse conglomerates, but also what American fashion doesn’t get and has never gotten is any government funding. We’re also the youngest of the four fashion capitals, so we’re scrappy and we’re independent, but that doesn’t mean we’re not creative or powerful on a global stage.