NYFW Shows Elegant Undone Style
New York Fashion Week's Fall/Winter 2026 runways embraced both elegance and an "undone" sensibility, featuring Chloé's layered looks and Lemaire's sculptural earrings. Leather, shearling, and classic outerwear dominated the shows, with retailers pointing to these as key investment pieces. On the streets, fur made a strong comeback, driven partly by frigid city temperatures.
- The week officially ran from February 11 to February 16, 2026, and kicked off with the highly anticipated runway debut of Rachel Scott as the new creative director for Proenza Schouler. - A deep, jewel-toned aubergine emerged as a dominant color on the runways, offering a moody alternative to basic black, while various shades of cherry red also made a strong statement in collections from Coach to Proenza Schouler. - Brooches were a standout accessory trend, with designers like Ralph Lauren, Sergio Hudson, and Tory Burch using them as closures for scarves and sculptural adornments on outerwear and suiting. - Michael Kors celebrated his brand's 45th anniversary with a show at the Metropolitan Opera that featured supermodel Christy Turlington, who was the face of the brand's first ad campaign, closing the runway. - The widespread use of faux fur by designers like Altuzarra and Sandy Liang comes ahead of an official ban on animal fur on all NYFW runways, which is set to take effect in September 2026. - More than 60 designers presented collections, with several new names added to the official schedule, including contemporary labels Cult Gaia and 7 For All Mankind. - In addition to celebrity-filled front rows that included Anne Hathaway and Lana Del Rey at Ralph Lauren, supermodel Gigi Hadid made her first runway appearance of 2026, opening and closing that same show.
