.jpg)
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 Spring/Summer 2026 is going to be a little bit easier to navigate for the editors, buyers and influencers running around the city come September.
KFN, the organisation formed with the goal of improving the NYFW experience for brands and attendees, has announced plans for the Venue Collective, the first phase of its multi-year plan to reinvigorate NYFW by bringing show locations within a centralised Manhattan radius. The Venue Collective is made up of three location categories — runway, boutique venue and showrooms — that will be part of a multi-venue ‘campus’ located below 34th Street. The runway venues (approximately nine) are for bigger shows; the boutique venue is for smaller brands that wish to share resources; and showrooms will offer a multi-room venue for appointment-only showings.
“We wanted to create a perimeter that was focused on making [NYFW] logistically easier, and I think this is the beginning of it,” says Leslie Russo, founder of The Culture Shop, who is spearheading KFN alongside Imad Izemrane, co-founder and CEO of event company N4XT Experiences. “Where we landed is predominantly on the West Side, swinging down Lower Manhattan and up through the Lower East Side and in between, which was a good start,” Russo says. A website launching towards the end of August will show the exact perimeter. “Most designers don’t want to share where their shows are until closer, so it’ll all be revealed in good time.”
The newly-formed KFN has stepped in to improve the experience for September’s New York Fashion Week, with support from the CFDA. Is it what the industry has been waiting for?
The launch of Venue Collective means a financial (and logistical) weight will be lifted for 30 brands participating in this first phase of KFN’s NYFW revamp. Brands including Off-White, Brandon Maxwell, Altuzarra, Fforme, Kallmeyer, Simkhai, Tibi, Zankov, Kate Barton and Sergio Hudson will show across the new venues, at a limited cost to the designers themselves. As reported in May, KFN will cover permitting as well as back-of-house logistics, including floor plans, equipment rental and installation, while designers will pay for PR and security for arrivals, hair and makeup, models and show production.
For Daniella Kallmeyer, who founded her eponymous brand in 2012 and staged her first runway show two seasons ago, it’s a necessary initiative. “I started Kallmeyer during the heyday of Bryant Park and IMG,” she says. “The fashion industry has since changed and is actively evolving. While there are still the giants of our industry, it is really the new blood and independent brands who are reshaping the landscape, driving cultural change and building loyal communities.”
For Fforme, too, the prospect of more industry support is enticing. “We’re honoured to take part in the inaugural KFN programme, joining a celebrated group of designers united by a belief in the cultural significance and enduring influence of New York Fashion Week,” says Fforme CEO Joey Laurenti. “At a time when the industry is actively seeking meaningful support for brands, this initiative feels both timely and essential.”
KFN is working closely with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) on this first stage, as well as future evolutions of its NYFW initiative. Since launching its NYFW project, KFN has gone to lengths to emphasise that it will work alongside the NYFW organiser. The CFDA, for its part, is embracing the offering.
“As the organising body of the official NYFW schedule, the CFDA has always been committed to building and optimising the calendar while providing resources to support the designers showing and the industry at large who take part in the week,” Joseph Maglieri, director of fashion week initiatives at CFDA, said in a statement. “The team at KFN worked with CFDA to advance that mission with the Venue Collective and we appreciate the coordination and logistics it brings to strengthen the week beginning this September.” Though a slot on the official schedule is not a requirement to be part of KFN’s cohort, every brand in September is indeed on-schedule.
After KFN announced the initiative in May, the company says it received 105 applications from brands — an indicator that there’s both a need and demand. Though the initial number of applications was high, the final selection whittled itself down, Russo says. Because the initiative was announced in May, some designers already had venues locked in — some of which are outside of the perimeter. It was also a matter of timing. “There was a lot of coordination with the calendar, because there may be a venue available on one day and you’re slotted for another day,” Russo says. “There was a lot of orchestration.” Plus, she adds, some designers were ready to pull the trigger earlier than others. “It was a bit of a self-selecting process.”
For those who weren’t able to secure a runway slot, KFN offered up their other venues, or connected designers with locations outside of the KFN network. “We’re also trying to serve as a resource overall, and moving forward, as we expand, we’ll take a lot of those learnings [about timing and demand] into consideration,” says Russo.
In 2026, KFN will launch a fourth type of location: an Editor Salon Series. This will serve appointment-based presentations, set in gallery-style spaces, designed for brand discovery and engagement with editors and buyers only. In addition to the Venue Collective, KFN has additional plans to revamp NYFW, including consumer-centric events, raising city support and a digital platform.
For now, organisers are looking at this season as a trial run. “What we really wanted to do is have the season be sort of the pilot and get some learnings and expand in 2026,” Russo says. This means getting an earlier start to planning and accommodating more designers. “I think we could easily double it.”
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
More from this author:
Comme Si is coming for your sports socks
Fashion faces more uncertainty with new tariff announcements
