Most importantly, it was the year before Instagram was downloaded onto millions of phones—before everyone’s online persona became entangled with their real one. The internet still felt like an unexplored universe. More a place to discover things, and less a barrage of flattened versions of the actual world. Amid post-9/11 America and a financial crisis, there was hope again. A charming President had won, and he brought a first family that reflected the country’s future into the White House. Stars embraced the chaos of paparazzi culture, often stepping out in headline-making outfits like opaque tights, short shirt dresses, and platforms that could break an ankle. It was all so, as the internet has aptly dubbed it, optimistic and weird.
Now cut to the runways of fashion week in 2026, where one particular show, 7 for All Mankind, had an almost costume-like version of this moment. Models nearly ran down the catwalk in Wayfarers, skinny scarves, and short, slinky dresses. On other runways like Area, Collina Strada and Proenza Schouler, there were subtle nods to peplum cuts, another Gossip Girl staple of the moment; high-low skirts, which were basically like mini-skirts with a train; platform high heels à la Lady Gaga (who, fittingly, cameo’d in Gossip Girl in November 2009); and ultra-mini denim skirts, which in 2009 shot directly from socialites to suburban shopping malls for high schoolers to pair with their calf-hugging UGGs (also seen on runways in 2026 for Gabe Gordon and TAOTTAO).
Runway Images by firstVIEW, Courtesy of Gabe Gordon
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 13: A model walks the runway for the 7 For All Mankind FW26 fashion show during New York Fashion Week at the Starrett-Lehigh Building on February 13, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Victor Pagan/Getty Images)Victor Pagan/Getty Images
You could certainly argue that these are multi-year trends that seeped into the 2010s, but my view of what we just saw this New York Fashion Week is not about an actual garment. It’s about a feeling that both brands and consumers share, even in a world overrun with so many bad things. Hope? Delusional optimism? Maybe it’s simply the beginning of an inevitable shift, good or bad. In the same way social media changed our online behaviors, now we have AI changing the internet in ways we’re not even sure about. While we’re not in a recession, rising material costs are making it difficult for many fashion brands to operate. In essence, we’re in the same throes of one era ending and another beginning. And the fashion is a reflection of that.