All the best collections of the season
Alice + Olivia
Stacey Bendet drew inspiration from the Gilded Age this season, positioning maximalism at the centre. Crystals, sequins and hyper-real embroidery built layered texture, while fitted tailoring maintained control. The return of the signature party top reaffirmed brand identity. Metallic tones and saturated jewel hues shimmered under runway lighting.
Altuzarra
Spanish influence permeated the collection. Spanish art, cinema and everyday drama created the mood of the collection. The fluidity of flamenco skirts contrasted with structured outerwear, while deep reds and burnt browns in an earth-tone colour palette intensified the mood. Wool and leather balanced structure and softness.
Anna Sui
Anna Sui responded directly to nightlife’s revival and the glamour of London’s early punk scene, drawing from the Design Museum’s exhibition on the legendary Blitz club. 1980s New Romanticism resurfaced through leopard prints, silk contrasts, purple-red tones and black-gold combinations. Faux fur added weight, and layered styling evoked a party unwilling to end. In contrast to prevailing minimalism, Sui’s commitment to glamour stood as a firm stylistic choice.
Area
Nicholas Aburn treated the everyday as theatre. Denim met crystal embroidery, while sequins and sculpted velvet shimmered in metallic and navy colour tones. Rather than designing for the red carpet, the collection amplified ordinary moments.
Ashlyn Park
Following her CFDA Emerging Designer of the Year win, Ashlyn Park returned to fundamentals. Titled “Vernacular”, she merged flat pattern-making with three-dimensional tailoring, mainly in a monochrome colour palette, allowing garments to appear minimal at rest yet dynamic in motion.
AWGE
A$AP Rocky presented AWGE Season Three in his hometown. Models carried babies and pushed strollers, introducing domestic realism. Office tailoring mixed with racing motifs, and surreal accessories added irony. He also debuted his upcoming A$AP Rocky x Puma footwear. Rihanna’s presence amplified attention, but the collection focused on identity and fatherhood. It was less a conventional menswear show than one that broke the fourth wall.
Calvin Klein
Veronica Leoni was inspired by the brand’s “salad days” of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Vintage references from the era were turned into structured suiting and luxurious fur, while cool grey and cream created sharp contrast. Leather and wool emphasised rigid silhouettes with sculptural clarity. Jennie’s appearance in a sharp suit was the highlight, perfectly presenting urban sensuality.
Coach
Stuart Vevers watched The Wizard of Oz and drew inspiration from 1970s nostalgia. Plaid, distressed leather and frayed denim created a vintage aesthetic. The dark-toned colour palette and materials evoked nostalgic campus undertones, while high-top skate shoes grounded the looks in street reality. The Kisslock Frame Bag 30 and star-emblazoned varsity jackets were also highlight items of his collection, reasserting the visibility of American youth culture.
Collina Strada
Titled “The World Is a Vampire”, this collection by Hillary Taymour created a gothic aesthetic. Diverse colours across layered prints established a high-impact visual rhythm. Recycled polyester and reclaimed cotton were layered with sheer fabrics to balance the strength of the materials. Yet deconstruction and patchwork stood out as the key craftsmanship.
Derek Lam
The brand’s return to New York carried symbolic weight. New creative director Robert Rodriguez drew from the city’s architecture, evident in defined shoulders and precise proportions. Urban neutrals and textured wool blends created a mood of warmth.
Khaite
The brand continued its modern American luxury narrative, focusing on proportion and functional detail. It took cues from Orson Welles’ 1973 documentary F for Fake, with sculptural coats and deconstructed tailoring emphasising strong shoulders and defined waists. Cream and smoky taupe unfolded subtly, while wool blends and polished leather highlighted material quality, uniting the velvet insouciance of the 1970s with the high-volume precision of the early 1980s.
Michael Kors
Celebrating its 45th anniversary at the Metropolitan Opera House, Michael Kors distilled the spirit of New York into resilience and luxury. The collection focused on fluid silhouettes: grey coats were cut on the bias to create fluid movement, and trousers revealed themselves as floor-length skirts upon turning. A palette of red, black and grey tones, alongside flannel and silk satin, conveyed mature stability. Iconic model Christy Turlington closed the show in a full black look.
Norma Kamali
If any designer this season returned fashion to the body itself, it was Norma Kamali. Centred on the idea of “body extension”, pajama-inspired tailoring blurred the boundary between home and street. Oversized down jackets layered with knitwear balanced insulation with volume. Meanwhile, gold and soft milk white paired with lightweight down, stretch cotton and silk chiffon emphasised comfort in motion. Signature circle skirts and dresses remained integrated into daily life.
Prabal Gurung
Prabal Gurung’s collection, titled “Home Sweet Home?”, lowered the saturation of his palette, turning to deep violet, midnight blue and black. Catholic school uniform tailoring intersected with the fluidity of Nepali saris – silk satin met wool, and embroidery remained understated yet refined. Rather than decorative fusion, it became a reflection on healing and resilience.
Proenza Schouler
Rachel Scott’s debut collection at its core rejected the perfect narrative, instead embracing the complexity of real women. It was inspired by the complex and multifaceted life of the modern New York working woman. Digitised night-orchid motifs appeared repeatedly in prints and hand-painted leather, softening the rigour of tailored silhouettes. The collection also featured sculptural suiting and irregular pleats in the silhouette, while a palette of purple, black and creamy white conveyed a composed depth. Archival pieces such as the Hex bag returned in mixed materials, calf hair and cashmere suede, merging the past and the future.
Ralph Lauren
This season, Ralph Lauren paired a rule-breaking attitude with the self-assured vibe of a modern, brave woman. Heritage-inspired classics mixed with her personal touch stood at the centre of the collection. Once again anchored in earth tones, it was enriched by metallic embroidery, floral patterns and subtle explorer references. Precise tailoring, assertive shoulders and luminous gowns highlighted an everyday elegance.
Sandy Liang
Known for her girlhood narratives, Sandy Liang heightened sweetness into theatricality, inspired by Marie Antoinette’s Petit Trianon. Anime witch references intertwined with Rococo silhouettes. Bows, tulle aprons and satin pajama pieces appeared throughout. Soft pink tones and luminous fabrics created intimacy and evoked the soft-girl aesthetic.
Snow Xue Gao
Snow Xue Gao continued her East-West dialogue through softened structure, taking inspiration from 1980s and 1990s power suiting. She balanced Eastern tailoring philosophies with Western silhouettes. The palette and structured fabrics lent dimension – energetic and disciplined in equal measure.
Tory Burch
Drawing inspiration from her father’s spirit and iconic designer Bunny Mellon’s refined taste, Tory Burch built a grounded palette of camel and soft warm tones to evoke lived-in nostalgia. Corduroy and silk were juxtaposed to create subtle textural contrast. The Bunny Knot shoulder bag and sardine brooch acted as symbolic details, injecting understated humour into a preppy framework that felt quiet and clean.
Zankov
For his 2026 collection, “Think of Me More and More”, Henry Zankov made knitwear that mixes dark romanticism with angsty 1990s style. Inspired by Leigh Bowery, inverted argyle patterns and sequin-embedded mohair generated exaggerated imagery. High-saturation colour clashes and collage-like construction challenged knitwear’s reputation for safety, giving the audience strong visual intensity.
Also see: 5 Asian designers to watch at London Fashion Week 2026