sheer trends, Michael Kors’ 45th anniversary and a

A day before Calvin Klein unveiled its runway show designed by creative director Veronica Leoni, the romantic drama series “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette,” created by Ryan Murphy, premiered on Disney+.

The timing, on the eve of New York Fashion Week and Valentine’s Day, was no coincidence. The series revisits one of America’s most iconic love stories, cut short by a tragic plane crash. Its heroine, Carolyn Bessette, came to embody the precise minimalism of the 1990s while working as a stylist in Calvin Klein’s public relations department at the height of the brand’s fame, where she was responsible for private client sales.

In recent years, Bessette’s understated wardrobe has found renewed relevance among Gen Z women embracing clean lines and monochromatic palettes. “She had an all-American beauty. Not a model. Not an aristocrat. Not a celebrity. It was never contrived,” George Carr once said of her. Carr is the brother of fashion designer Zack Carr, who served as Calvin Klein’s artistic director in the 1990s, when Calvin Klein shook the industry with Kate Moss’ heroin chic and the CK1 fragrance campaigns that defined a generation’s aesthetic.

Leoni’s new collection nodded to Klein’s elegant codes through tailored suits, trench coats, long overcoats and sleek dresses in solid hues. She also introduced denim pieces that reinterpreted archival designs from 1976. “This season was formed by an investigation of Calvin Klein’s strong history of iconography and a rigorous exploration of shape, craft and meaningful simplification,” said Veronica Leoni, according to Fashion United. “I wanted to tighten my expression of elegance and style with an intimacy and focus on form and the body to evoke a sense of empowerment.”

New York Fashion Week for fall-winter 2026-27 opened the international circuit of shows scheduled for the coming month. Despite celebratory milestones, including 45 years of Michael Kors and 35 years of Anna Sui, the clothes often felt secondary. Many collections leaned on recycled ideas and cautious conservatism.

This was also evident in ostensibly provocative, media-savvy shows such as A$AP Rocky’s presentation for the AWGE collective. Not even Rihanna’s presence in the front row could elevate the recycled concepts on display. Fortunately, Khaite once again delivered a powerful collection that many women would likely be eager to adopt.

One of the week’s standout figures was designer Rachel Scott, who made her debut this season as creative director of Proenza Schouler after founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez departed to lead Loewe.

Scott, 42, was born in Jamaica and works in New York. She identifies as a queer woman and has established herself as one of the most influential designers of the new generation of American fashion. Her aesthetic language fuses Afro-Caribbean culture, traditional craft and contemporary tailoring. In 2021, she launched her own label, Diotima.

For Proenza Schouler, Scott emphasized the artistic and cultural elements that have made her a compelling voice. Through body-focused silhouettes, including open backs, sheer fabrics and knitwear combined with beaded crochet, she created a contemporary collection that remained faithful to the founders’ spirit.

At her independent label, however, Scott displayed a more experimental and personal approach, incorporating prints inspired by the work of Afro-Chinese Cuban artist Wifredo Lam. Vogue described the show as one of the few political statements of New York Fashion Week.

What else happened in New York? The season’s standout moments are captured in the images above.