It’s always a fun time at New York Fashion Week as respected brands like Ralph Lauren, Coach, and Tory Burch stun the crowd with artistic displays of their vision, from the fashion pieces to the runway stages. Although textured fabrics and layering often define Fall/Winter collections, designers are not playing by the book. Niche accessories were a standout trend, including Y2K hip-hanging belts from Tory Burch and brooches from Ralph Lauren and Coach. In addition, 7 For All Mankind officially confirmed that skinny jeans are making a comeback.
Ahead, we listed the five best NYFW shows for Fall/Winter 2026 that will define the upcoming season’s hottest trends.
Ralph Lauren
After its recent menswear show in Milan, Ralph Lauren kicked off New York Fashion Week with a pre-calendar show at the Jack Shainman Gallery. Ralph Lauren turned the former Gilded Age palazzo into his own vision, with its mismatched antique chairs sitting on floors awashed with oriental rugs, and walls decked in hand-painted bucolic murals. “My Fall 2026 Collection is inspired by that kind of renegade spirit and the confidence of the woman who will wear it in her own way to tell her own story. She respects the timeless quality of things from the past but reinvents them for now. Her style is not defined by time. It’s enduring,” Lauren stated in his show notes.
Opening the show was the stunning Gigi Hadid, wearing a matching tweed vest and skirt set with a dangling belt and polished leather goods. Statement belts, scarf ties, dangling earrings, and knee-high leather boots made an appearance across the runway. Ralph Lauren also embraced the romanticism wave that’s currently shifting back in fashion, with florals, tassels, and draped designs. Velvet, jacquard, and knitwear fabrics alternate between looks, designed in muted hues to imbue a vintage touch. For the finale, an array of gowns with strapless silhouettes and plunging necklines took the stage, further cementing Ralph Lauren’s innate eye for timeless eveningwear.
Tory Burch
“A meditation on what endures, especially in times of chaos and despair. Classics shaped by history and utility, made personal through our own stories and experiences, where true style originates.” These words accurately defined the heart of Tory Burch’s Fall/Winter 2026 collection, which was previewed at Sotheby’s new Breuer Building headquarters in New York’s Upper East Side.
This time, the designer’s muse was the iconic Bunny Mellon, a horticulturist and art collector, known for her distinctive taste. On the surface, the wool Shetland cardigans, tweed, drop-waist dresses, and asymmetrical trenches seemed to reflect everyday fashion. But a closer look would reveal coltish elements: Peter Pan collars, funky pilgrim-inspired shoes, sardine pins, and painted shell earrings that were leather-wrapped. “The mix reflects how women dress now: by instinct, not rules – and no one exemplified this quite like Bunny Mellon,” said Burch. A quilted cushion found in Bunny’s Antigua home also served as inspiration for a new code under the Tory Burch name, birthing the Bunny Knot, spotted on bags, shoes, and even sweaters. Despite its simplicity, the knot is a quiet reminder of connection, strength, and unity.
Calvin Klein
After a full year since Veronica Leoni took over the reins for Calvin Klein Collection, the creative director seems to have firmly found her footing. With the theme “Dressing as an empowered declaration”, the brand’s Fall/Winter 2026 collection threads between Calvin Klein’s legacy and Leoni’s reinterpretation. At a preview, the creative director unveiled mood boards filled with Calvin Klein ad campaigns from the late ’70s and early ’80s, showcasing where her inspiration began. “I wanted to start the season fighting the stereotypical perception we all have about Calvin, and I am possibly part of it as a child of the ’90s. As you start to dig a little bit more into the foundation of the brand, the roots of the brand, you just discovered this wonderful, amazing world,” she explained. “I wanted to train (my team and I) to this kind of beauty. It still looks so extremely relevant today.”
The result was a range that proudly served pure minimalism and sharp tailoring that the American brand is widely known for, complemented by its quintessential neutral colour palette – white, black, grey, and rich browns – with occasional pops of colour such as clementine orange and burgundy. As the show progressed, it showcased everyday essentials with new twists, such as backless blazers exposing the iconic Calvin Klein logo’s bras, blouses with gathered necklines, and leather-collared trench coats.
Coach
For Coach’s Fall 2026, Stuart Vevers presented a collection that carries an amalgamation of youth countercultures across decades at The Cunard Building in downtown New York. “This past Christmas, I was watching The Wizard of Oz with my children (something I’ve done since I was a child myself) when something struck me: the fear, joy and hope of one’s world suddenly evolving into complexity and colour is universal. No matter who we are, we step through the threshold together,” said the creative director.
Coach’s collection displayed a rebellion against the current fashion status quo – New York’s it-girl received a makeover with deliberate messy hair, distressed fabrics, and outside-in outerwear styling. Black and grey colours, as well as plaid patterns, were applied across ‘40s-inspired high-neck dresses, topless outerwear, and A-line checked skirts. Staying true to its humble beginnings as a handcrafted leather goods business, as well as its support for the sustainability movement, Coach also repurposed well-worn fabrics for some of its pieces. Most notable was the bag that resembled a baseball glove clutched in several models’ hands. These bags were indeed fashioned from vintage baseball gloves with a new purpose through metal clasps and handles.
7 For All Mankind
It looked as if Jenny Humphrey took over the Starrett-Lehigh Building for 7 For All Mankind’s NYFW runway debut with recently-appointed designer Nicola Brognano’s first collection for the brand. Suffice to say, it was an instant hit as it had the internet buzzing with all the callbacks to the Y2K aesthetic of messy hot girls. “The 7 For All Mankind girl is for sure Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen around 2005 or 2006. Or Kate Moss,” said Brognano. “She wears the same dress and makeup from the night before to work the next day. She can wear whatever she wants, but she doesn’t care. I want to represent this kind of attitude: rock and roll, sexy, and feminine at the same time.”
Each detail on the runway further intensified this creative direction, with skinny jeans and babydoll dresses paired with smoky eyes and mussed hair. There was also a trend of draping fabric on bags, statement necklaces, and skinny jeans. “Skinny jeans for sure. It’s time to bring them back. I’m sick of big, baggy pants,” Brognano said backstage. Following the recent DSquared2 showcase in Milan, the clean girl era might just be over.
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