Is the divisive New York fashion scene boring or brilliant?
We explore the shows that divided opinion at New York Fashion Week, and meet the up-and-coming designers who are reviving the US’s largest metropolis.
On the eve of New York Fashion Week (NYFW), Thom Browne, head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, published an open letter to the city’s designers as they prepared to present their spring/summer 2026 collections. Browne told his colleagues to “remind everyone that true creativity still exists” and that “everything we do and say must be first for us… and then the world.”
The note tacitly acknowledged the worrisome state of the US fashion industry. New York has always been the scrappy little sister of the more grown-up jamborees in Milan and Paris, and the city’s fledgling labels have been hit hard by tariffs and other events in the sector, including the recent bankruptcy of Canadian e-retailer Ssense. But the heartfelt letter was also proof of what sets NYFW apart. The world of fashion can feel overwhelming but New York’s scene is small enough to know that it is stronger when it bands together.
However, reviews of this year’s NYFW were blunt, with The Washington Post and The Cut complaining that in their sobriety, tastefulness and stripped-back aesthetic, the clothes and the shows were nothing other than boring.
Was Rachel Comey’s decision to unofficially kick off fashion week by presenting her collection in a Noho alleyway boring? Or was it brilliant? Guests sat on mismatched chairs and models applied their own makeup – they could have walked from the runway to Soho and looked right at home. Comey’s decision to eschew a large production was not only a good way to save money but also a way to strengthen the casual feel of her collection, which included relaxed suits and floor-skimming dresses worn with ballerina flats.
The easygoing aesthetic continued at Fforme, a young label led by Frances Howie, which was the fan-favourite of the week: models with loose hair walked down the runway in ankle-grazing trench coats, slinky strap dresses and flip-flops. New York-based Irish designer Maria McManus presented a small collection of handmade macramé dresses and light-washed baggy jeans, with coats carried under the arm or slung casually off one shoulder. Khaite was the top pick of Mytheresa chief buying officer Tiffany Hsu, who said that the brand translated “a sense of urban strength into silhouettes that remained wearable.” Expect to see Upper East Siders wearing hourglass-shaped ribbed tops and buttery leather jackets next spring. For these designers, perhaps being “boring” is the point – the concept lends itself to wearable items that New Yorkers want to take out of their closets.
Critics might have sneered at the lack of pomp and ceremony but haute-couture spectacles and high-voltage runways have always been best left to Parisians and the Milanese. American brands that have made it big – Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein chief among them – never had high-fashion pretensions. They succeeded by making clothes for the preppy, style-conscious everyman.
US designers have also discovered that there is an upside to keeping things local. The tariffs that have thrown international shipping into chaos only apply to finished goods, so brands that have always sewn their clothes in New York – including Khaite, Thom Browne, Rachel Comey and William White – now have a major advantage. “There is so much talent in the Garment District,” said William White designer Will Cooper at the opening of his new shop on Canal Street, which is also equipped with a bespoke clothing service. “It’s about supporting this community.”
To those expecting the theatrics of European shows, New York Fashion Week might have been a little boring. But today’s generation of designers is showing that sustainable production and wearable styles are the future of the city’s fashion industry.
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