New York Fashion Week is an island of its own this season. The Autumn/Winter 2025 womenswear shows begins in New York this week and lasts through 11 February, but London doesn’t kick off until 20 February.
It’s a rare moment of rest during the whirlwind fashion season. “I was nervous about it, but the buyers and editors are loving it,” says Steven Kolb, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), which oversees the week’s calendar. “There’s a nice reprieve. There’s some downtime.”
That could also mean more time for New York to shine. This season, everyone is buzzing about the return of Calvin Klein to New York Fashion Week on Friday at 12pm. The show marks the debut of creative director Veronica Leoni, the Jil Sander and Celine veteran recruited by parent company PVH last May. Calvin Klein hasn’t appeared at NYFW since Raf Simons showed his last collection for the classic American brand in September 2018. Simons departed in December that year, and the brand hasn’t had a creative director since.
“The industry is very excited for the return of Calvin Klein,” says Kolb. Julie Gilhart, the former long-time fashion director of Barneys who now owns her consultancy Gilhart Co, agrees. “I am excited to see Veronica Leoni’s debut at Calvin Klein,” she says. “She’s a great designer and I love that she is the first female to lead the brand.”
Norma Kamali and Christopher John Rogers are also returning this season, after several years, as well as Altuzarra, which skipped last September. Thom Browne, chairman of the CFDA who just signed on for another two-year term in the role, is keeping to his schedule of showing in New York for the Autumn/Winter season (Browne otherwise shows in Paris for couture), and will close out the week on 11 February at 5pm. Off-schedule again was Marc Jacobs, who held his runway show on Monday. New York’s consistent headliners, like Tory Burch, Luar, Khaite, Anna Sui, Michael Kors, Coach, Collina Strada and Carolina Herrera will all be back, too. In total, the AW25 NYFW season consists of 86 runways and presentations, down from SS25’s 98 (February generally has a smaller showing, as some designers opt for one collection per year timed to September).
Some names are missing. Willy Chavarria, who has become one of NYFW’s hottest tickets, departed for the Paris menswear season in January. Lii’s Zane Li and Commission have also pivoted to Paris men’s from New York. Melitta Baumeister, the 2023 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner who closed out last season’s shows, isn’t showing. Proenza Schouler won’t show after founding designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez departed the brand last month (amid rumours they’re being tapped for Loewe). Area, which celebrated 10 years last season, is also absent, while announcing on 4 February that co-founder Piotrek Panszczyk is exiting the brand. Some banner names, like Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, also won’t show this season, opting instead to show on their own schedules (which only sometimes align with New York’s).
“The schedule seems more pared down, but that’s a good thing,” Gilhart argues. “Too many shows and presentations aren’t necessary right now.”
Americans in Paris
How should New York Fashion Week react when it loses major talent to Paris? It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last. What if instead of treating it as New York’s loss, we looked at it as fashion’s gain?
“Brands showing in other cities is good for business and good for reputation,” says Kolb. He says that he and Chavarria had breakfast together when the designer told him about his decision to move, explaining he wanted to bring his Latin culture to the French capital. “It wasn’t as though he was abandoning New York; he was expanding his vision. We’re always proud to see that happening.”
In return, Kolb points out, the US market is a serious draw for international brands’ business. Guest designers love to pop in for appearances, though more typically in September. Last year brought Alaïa, Toteme and Ludovic de Saint Sernin to the city.
Plus, if an American brand moves onto Paris for good, there’s more space on the calendar for emerging names. In his latest column for Vogue Business, José Criales-Unzueta argues just that, pointing out that it’s not a uniquely New York problem that designers want to go to Paris. It’s Paris! “Rather than framing moves like that of Chavarria’s like losses, think of them as a net positive: designers get a bigger spotlight, which they reflect back to emerging talent at home,” José wrote.
In the spirit of such support, this season, the CFDA expanded its New York Fashion Week Travel Fund, renaming it the ‘New York Fashion Week Fund’. The non-profit pays for international press to attend, and this year is also bringing a buyer to the shows. The repositioning of the fund will mean that money raised can be used in new ways, Kolb says. He also acknowledges how difficult it is for designers to find runway sponsors these days — compared to years ago when you wouldn’t leave a show without a gift bag full of sponsor goodies.
He hinted at one way that might soon change: the CFDA is a strategic collaborator of a newly formed entity, KFN.
Formed by Kilburn Media’s KN Fashion and N4XT Experiences (which operates LA Fashion Week), KFN is intended to be New York Fashion Week’s new event platform. According to a release, starting in September, KFN plans to build physical and digital infrastructure for American designers at NYFW. While KFN is being teased this season, its official launch will be September, so we’ll be waiting to see what comes of it.
Ones to watch
Nine shows and presentations on the calendar are debuts, while many are making their way into their second or third seasons. The most buzzed about include Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen, who counts Rosalía as a fan of her feminine dresses. Whalen is on the official calendar for the first time after drawing crowds in the last two years for her off-schedule shows. “She is the queen of craft,” Gilhart says.
Leblanc Studios, a Dominican label by Angelo Beato and Yamil Arbaje, will make its first appearance on the New York Fashion Week calendar to much anticipation, with a show titled ‘Other People’s Money’. 2024 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Taylor Thompson’s 5000, from California, is back for a second on-calendar show, as is Mexican brand (and LVMH Prize semi-finalist) Campillo. And Colleen Allen, a veteran of The Row, is back on the calendar, hosting appointments.
Emerging designers quickly rising up the ranks of New York’s new guard include Henry Zankov, who won the CFDA Emerging Designer Award in 2024, and Rachel Scott of Diotima, who took home the American Womenswear Designer of the Year Award. Both labels will host presentations this season. These labels are driving their brands forward this season, Gilhart says: Zankov will expand beyond knitwear to more cut and sew, while Diotima will add shoes to its mix for the first time.
Designer debuts are also on the radar: in addition to Leoni at Calvin Klein, Fforme’s new designer Frances Howie will show her first collection for the buzzy brand since Paul Helbers last year.
A daunting political backdrop
As much as we love a fashion distraction, it’s impossible to ignore the backdrop of a second Trump term in the US, which has dominated the news cycle since Inauguration Day.
Some of Trump’s agenda has direct implications for designers. This week, Trump brought the US to the brink of a trade war with two of its closest trade partners, Canada and Mexico. It was only narrowly avoided one day before going into effect following negotiations to delay the tariffs by 30 days with each country’s leaders. However, a 10 per cent blanket tariff on imports from China did go into effect on Tuesday, with fashion and beauty industries left to figure out how to navigate what it means for them, as well as the ongoing uncertainty caused by the president’s willingness to weaponise tariffs. As ever, it’s the smallest brands who will be most vulnerable to rising costs of materials and expenses.
DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programmes have also come under attack by the Trump administration, with major companies such as Meta, Target and Amazon pulling back on their commitments in the past month. Kolb says that for its part, the CFDA is as committed as ever to its DEI programmes, which include awards initiatives for designers of colour. “For the CFDA, it’s now more important than ever to double down on [DEI]. We’ll continue to do it and we’re not going to shy away from it.” Protests against deportations have begun cropping up across the US as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) closes in on immigrants.
All of this to say, will the vibes be off in New York? As one brand’s head of comms said in the weeks leading up to NYFW, it feels like we are heading into a “weird season”. Independent designers are typically among the most vocal in times of resistance, and we’re used to seeing messages of political protest play out on the runways. Last season, ahead of the election, a spirit of patriotism and hope permeated as designers rallied around former Vice President Kamala Harris; Chavarria, for instance, left a copy of the US Constitution on every seat at his show.
It’s hard not to feel like the party is, in some ways, over. In his second term, Trump is more emboldened than ever, with the force of the popular vote behind him as well as some very powerful allies, from the tech billionaires to the Arnaults. Designer Adam Lippes dressed Melania Trump for the inauguration.
But as is usually the case with New York, it’s more likely that optimism will prevail. “It’s such an emotional time with politics, disasters and business challenges. It’s all very unsettling, but I am very positive about NYFW,” Gilhart says. “The city is so strong, especially under abnormal times. I think the designers that are showing have put their heart and soul into creating clothes that are meaningful and uplifting.”
“I think you’ll see mobilisation,” Kolb agrees. “People are excited.”
Madeleine Schulz contributed to this reporting.
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