Become a Vogue Business Member to receive unlimited access to Member-only reporting and insights, our Beauty and TikTok Trend Trackers, Member-only newsletters and exclusive event invitations.
New York Fashion Week is here, but along with all of the excitement that comes with the kick-off of the Spring/Summer fashion season, there’s some tension in the air.
“Everyone is a bit nervous this season,” says Rachna Shah, CEO of PR and branding firm KCD, referring to the geopolitical mood and disruptions in retail.
It’s been a chaotic year so far. The Trump administration’s tariffs threw production planning and pricing into disarray, putting even more pressure on independent brands to find ways to make ends meet. As in years past, sponsorship dollars aren’t pouring into New York Fashion Week (NYFW), meaning some designers are having to look in unexpected places for funds (Jane Wade is partnering with Docusign for her officecore-themed runway). America’s reputation on the global stage has taken a hit, with ICE raids, deportations and National Guard deployments roiling the country — meaning international press and buyers may think twice before visiting. And multi-brand retail is facing yet another reckoning, as the bankruptcy filings of Ssense and Luisaviaroma in the weeks leading up to fashion month show.
It’s not enough to hold brands back. Shah says that there’s still much to gain from showing on-schedule, even if designers have to move mountains to make it work. “You really have to look at what a brand can accomplish. There’s no question that the value of showing during a collective time is so much greater, when eyeballs are on the industry, you can make a social media play, make connections and bring new audiences in.”
Fashion consultant Julie Gilhart is similarly optimistic about this season. “Despite the challenges, New York has a great energy right now,” she says. Though the week doesn’t officially begin until Thursday, preview appointments have already kicked off. Gilhart’s first appointment on Monday was with newcomer Mel Usine, which she said felt “fresh and distinctive”.
This NYFW SS26 season has 65 runway shows and 36 by-appointment showings and presentations on the calendar for a total of 101 — 15 more than February’s fashion week. The week officially begins on 11 September, though there’s plenty going on in the lead-up, with an off-schedule Proenza Schouler presentation at 10am on Wednesday — the brand’s first since announcing Rachel Scott of Diotima as its new creative director, after founders Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough left for Loewe. The collection was primarily designed by the brand’s studio, but with consultation from Scott, who began working with the brand earlier this year. (Scott will have another big moment on Monday hosting Diotima’s first runway show after seasons of doing presentations and lookbooks.)
Ralph Lauren — whose shows float around the calendar, usually landing nearby but not on the official September schedule — will host its SS26 show on Wednesday evening at the brand’s private design studio on Madison Avenue.
While the show will go on, some designers have reported grappling with heightened costs for materials and shifting plans for collections as tariffs entered effect in the lead-up. There may be some evidence of this impact on the runways, but Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), the organising body that owns the NYFW calendar, says that it’s no worse challenge than brands have faced in the past.
New York fashion designers were five weeks out from their Spring/Summer 2026 shows when the US’s global tariffs went into effect. They had to act quickly.
“We’ve been in this situation before — Covid, the 2008 financial crisis. This is not anything new,” says Kolb. “The word then would have been resilience. But now, it’s also determination. We’re used to being thrown hurdles to overcome, and tariffs and the geopolitical issues that are happening are just another hurdle in the day-to-day of running an American fashion brand. As American designers, they tend to figure it out.”
Kolb concedes that there may be some proof of tariffs’ impact on the runways by way of smaller collections, and that a decade ago there were more sponsorship dollars to be had and bigger budgets to send more press and buyers. But, he says, “it’s just the nature of a shifting business”.
What to watch
From season to season, NYFW shows its strength by way of powerful legacy brands (Michael Kors, Coach, Tory Burch, Calvin Klein), its seasoned starlets (Khaite, Altuzarra, Area) and its upstart standouts (Lii, Kallmeyer, Jane Wade, Zankov). Some designers will be returning to the calendar after missing a season or more, like Jason Wu and Alexander Wang. International brands Cos, Toteme and Off-White will also show on the NYFW calendar, while CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund 2024 winner L’Enchanteur will make its debut and Brandon Maxwell will celebrate its 10th anniversary. LaQuan Smith will close the week on 16 September — a late addition to the calendar in the 8pm slot that previously had a “To Be Announced” placeholder.
One usual pillar of NYFW will be missing: Carolina Herrera is not on the schedule; designer Wes Gordon is bringing this season’s collection to Madrid on 18 September.
Runway debuts from New York’s buzzy new guard are expected to be highlights. “First-time runways from Diotima and Zankov should also create buzz, given the strength of their collections so far,” Gilhart says. Industry favourite Lii is also holding its first runway show, after hosting womenswear appointments in Paris last season. But it’s not just runways Gilhart is excited about. “This season, the smaller presentations feel especially strong and worth exploring like Colleen Allen, Heirlome and several others are adding interest to the week,” she says. “Jac Cameron’s Ruadh is one to note for her refined take on upscale casual.”
Gilhart is also watching this season’s sophomore shows, including Veronica Leoni’s second runway at Calvin Klein, and Frances Howie’s second show at Fforme. As for designer debuts, there’s not nearly as much action in new creative director appointments as in other cities, but there will be some fresh talent. In addition to Scott’s teaser preview at the Proenza Schouler presentation, Balenciaga alum Nicholas Aburn will show his debut collection for Area after co-founder Piotrek Panszczyk’s exit earlier this year.
A new infrastructure
This season ought to be a little easier to navigate, editors, buyers and other attendees hope. KFN, the organisation founded in partnership with KF Fashion and N4XT Experiences (which acquired LA Fashion Week in 2022), formed with the goal of improving the NYFW experience for brands and attendees, is implementing phase one of its multi-year revamp: the Venue Collective.
It’s a three-tier approach that supplies participating brands with venues in multiple formats. Eight brands have unique venues, another four will rotate through a shared showspace in West Chelsea throughout the week, while around 20 designers will participate in a showroom space. The eight brands with their own individual venues are Brandon Maxwell, Simkhai, Fforme, Off-White, Sergio Hudson, Tibi, Altuzzara and Kallmeyer. The four sharing the ‘boutique venue’ are Kate Barton, Advisry, Aknvas and Zankov.
.jpg)
All of the venues will fall within a radius from Hudson Yards, down to the Financial District and up through the East Village. The idea was for shows at similar times to be kept closer together within this area, coordinated with the CFDA, says N4XT Experiences co-founder Imad Izemrane. “It’s going to be a big pivot and a big change, in a way that the schedule makes sense and the calendar makes sense on a day-to-day basis.”
It’s been well received, Izemrane says. It’s no surprise — venue and production support have long been flagged as necessary initiatives by the many brands for whom it is a feat to show season after season. “The greatest need for NYFW has always been financially driven. KFN and the Venue Collective are providing that avenue of support,” says Shah.
Shah has reason to believe that the Venue Collective can succeed where other show hubs before it have failed in New York, because the multiple options for backdrops will keep it from feeling stale. “It’s an approach that allows designer creativity to show through, rather than being restricted to show a certain way,” she says. Kolb agrees: “[KFN] didn’t see a campus at a certain building, they saw New York City as the campus, not locking people into a specific space, so there’s more fluidity, and it’s more organic. I’m eager to see the success of what this is.”
This was the logic behind KFN’s tiered approach, Izemrane adds. “A lot of the designers that you would like to attend really don’t want to share the same venue, the same space, and certainly don’t want to be in and out within a three hour time slot,” he says, referring to the reason many of New York’s big players eschewed communal venues like Spring Studios. “So we’ve been able to create this format now that makes sense, that allows the Altuzarras, and the Off-Whites, etc, to be on our platform, versus having to figure it out on their own and go to other places.”
Formal support has been a growing initiative for the CFDA, as American design has had less of it compared to other countries like France and Italy. For its part, the CFDA offers a travel fund to bring international guests to town, and the group is also working with the city of New York on a Local Production Fund that will mix private and public dollars to offer designers subsidies for producing in New York. For the second time, shows will be live streamed at Rockefeller Center to give passersby a chance to see the runways, an activation spearheaded by the CFDA.
As for guests, the Google Shopping-sponsored bus will be back for its third season to ensure editors can get from show to show. This, coupled with the travel fund, have been “meaningful transitions for how the community is supported”, Shah says. Kolb says he hasn’t noticed a significant dip in editors and buyers travelling in from abroad this season, despite what’s been playing out on the ground in the US this year. But he does note a “spirit of change” in the air.
“You have freshness. Nothing is forever. We’re good about embracing newness and staying focused on the work,” he says.
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
3.1 Phillip Lim ushers in new era with head of design Michelle Rhee
5 womenswear trend predictions for Spring/Summer 2026
Herbert Levine is back with twisted shoes for the 21st century
