Discover our takeaways from the Fall/Winter 2026-2027 New York Fashion Week, including runway shows by Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Khaite, Calvin Klein, Proenza Schouler and Coach.
By Léa Zetlaoui.
What happened during New York Fashion Week?
Wednesday, February 11th, 2026, marked the opening of the Fall/Winter 2026-2027 Fashion Week in New York. The launch also kicked off the highly-anticipated Fashion Month, which will end in Paris on March 10th. After a stop in the city that never sleeps, the event will move on to London and Milan, before reaching its peak in the French capital. Before we dive into what happened in New York, a stop in San Francisco is in order. There, Thom Browne presented his men’s and women’s collections on February 6th, 2026.
The Thom Browne show in San Francisco
Presented on February 6th, 2026, at the San Francisco Legion of Honor, beneath Auguste Rodin’s monumental sculpture The Three Shades (c. 1886), the Thom Browne Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection draws on Dante Alighieri’s Inferno (1304), much like the work of the French sculptor. Blending classical references with athletic energy, the American designer explores the pursuit of excellence. Controlled layering, structured silhouettes, tweeds, flannels and technical cashmere shape a preppy sportswear wardrobe. A show in which the designer’s signature grey, naturally, is king.
Rachel Scott’s debut at Proenza Schouler
The Fall/Winter 2026-2027 Fashion Week opened with Rachel Scott’s debut show for Proenza Schouler. Appointed in September 2025, the new creative director reinvents the brand’s distinctive New York silhouette and plays with proportions and fabrics. Oscillating between rigid or fluid tailoring and deliberately crumpled, draped or twisted dresses, this collection builds a structured wardrobe that never feels stiff. Nocturnal orchids, reworked as prints or hand-painted onto leather, add a dark sensuality to the collection.
Old Hollywood glamour and grunge spirit at Coach
At the Cunard Building in Manhattan, the Coach Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show once again revisited American iconography with optimism. This season, Stuart Vevers imagined a patchwork of old Hollywood glamour, skate culture and varsity spirit. Designed for Gen Z, the collection features hybrid influences, from 1940s tailoring to 1970s sportswear influences, grungy denim and structured evening gowns. All available in shades of black and white reminiscent of a new-generation film noir.
Tory Burch revamps women’s classics
For Fall/Winter 2026, Tory Burch offers a meditation on what endures in times of chaos, as a direct reference to the current political context in the United States. Women’s wardrobe staples, such as the trench coat, cardigan and pencil skirt, are revamped to break free from established rules. Knits and silks are deliberately washed, dresses are twisted, and suits feature sharp cuts. The whole collection is elevated by hand-embroidered details crafted in India, shell buckles and sardine brooches.
“This mix reflects the way women dress now: by instinct, not rules. No one exemplified this quite like Bunny Mellon, the iconic horticulturist, landscape designer and philanthropist. This collection introduces the Bunny Knot, a detail inspired by a quilted cushion I found in her Antigua home. The simple knot is a reminder of connection, strength and unity,” designer Tory Burch explained about her collection.
Artists, gallery owners and muses at the Carolina Herrera show
For her Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show for Carolina Herrera, Wes Gordon celebrates the women who shape the world of art, past and present. Artists, gallery owners and muses — among them painter Amy Sherald and photographer Ming Smith — walked the runway in New York as an embodiment of creativity in motion. Large shoulders, cocoon coats and pencil skirts structure the silhouette, softened by shirts reinvented as artist’s blouses. Leopard prints, calla lily patterns and a vibrant chili red energize the color palette. Evening looks shimmer with gold and sequins, along with the Mimi and Karlita bags, which extend this sculptural elegance. Through this show, Wes Gordon delivers a vibrant tribute to the creative power of women.
Michael Kors, king of New York Fashion Week
For this Fall/Winter 2026-2027 New York Fashion Week, Michael Kors celebrates the 45th anniversary of Michael Kors Collection with a show at the Metropolitan Opera House. The theme was “New York Chic,” naturally. “When I think of New York, I think of renaissance and reinvention. It’s one of the toughest and most challenging places in the world, but also the most glamorous and magical. It’s that juxtaposition that makes the people, the places and the fashion so interesting,” Michael Kors stated.
For next winter, the Michael Kors wardrobe will embrace dramatic simplicity with softened tailoring, fluid draping, and reinvented tweeds and flannels. Evening silhouettes will combine train trousers and wrap dresses. The collection unfolded in neutral tones, including the house’s signature camel, enhanced by flashes of ruby and raspberry red. For the finale, Christy Turlington emerged as the symbol of New York elegance and contrasting energy.
Minimalism takes center stage at Calvin Klein
Released the day before the show, the first episodes of Ryan Murphy’s new series Love Story offered Calvin Klein a timely advertisement. The show revisits the tragic love story between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, who used to work for the American designer in the 1990s.
On February 13th, the Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection by Veronica Leoni continues the minimalist aesthetic so dear to Calvin Klein, while infusing it with a distinctly contemporary touch. “This season was born from an in-depth study of Calvin Klein’s strong iconographic history and a rigorous exploration of form, craftsmanship and meaningful simplification,” the Italian designer explained. Sharp suits, elongated trench coats, backless dresses and structured coats compose a staple wardrobe defined by controlled tension. Worth noting, the iconic 1976 denim is reissued as a nod to the archives and to Carolyn Bessette.
Indie sleaze icons at 7 For All Mankind
Under the direction of its new creative director, Nicola Brognano, 7 For All Mankind opens a new chapter by revisiting the 2010s. This Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show celebrates the brand’s denim heritage and the indie sleaze icons that once defined its image. Blending rock energy, bohemian sensuality and the precision of Italian tailoring, the wardrobe combines Californian ease with European nonchalance. The skinny jean makes a major comeback, while instinctive layering creates a bold, irreverent silhouette reminiscent of Kate Moss or Jenny Humphrey, the rebellious teenager from the series Gossip Girl.
A spirit of rebellion at Khaite
At the Park Avenue Armory, Catherine Holstein stages a monumental show for Khaite — much like the towering LED screen that serves as its backdrop. Inspired by Orson Welles’s documentary F for Fake (1973), the collection questions value, authenticity and risk-taking. Much like at Tory Burch, the show explores the tension between performance and truth, as a response to the current era.
Black tailoring, often in leather, braided officer jackets, printed skirts, clouds of organza and lace slip dresses shape a structured and ethereal silhouette. References to 1970s rock aesthetic are revisited through a 2020s lens. A rebellious yet cerebral femininity emerges, portraying a woman who is confident and firmly rooted in her time. As Tiffany Hsu, Chief Buying Officer at MyTheresa, sums up: “Khaite was undoubtedly a highlight. The brand continues to define modern American luxury with a rare balance between restraint and sensuality.”
The Horse Woman at the Diotima show
On Sunday, February 15, 2026 — the final day of New York Fashion Week — Rachel Scott presented her Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show for Diotima. This season, the designer draws on the universe of Wifredo Lam, whose work, shaped by Afro-Caribbean spiritualities and European modernity, enriches a political and sensory collection. At its core stands the figure of the horse woman, embodying erotic power and cultural sovereignty. Translucent textiles, Gobelin jacquards and equestrian silhouettes translate this embodied strength. Inspired in particular by La Jungla, the pieces celebrate diasporic memory and resistance. Radiant and insurgent, this woman moves through contemporary turbulence with striking poise.