For Fall/Winter 2026–2027, Tolu Coker delivered a runway that felt less like a seasonal offering and more like a declaration of intent. Her work has consistently operated at the intersection of fashion, history, and social inquiry, and this season reaffirmed her commitment to clothing as narrative, garments not merely worn but inhabited.

New York may periodically question its status as a fashion capital, but Anna Sui requires only a runway to silence the doubt. Her Fall/Winter 2026–2027 show arrived with the voltage of a downtown after-hours scene, reviving the city’s appetite for exuberance, individuality, and unapologetic spectacle. In a landscape increasingly dominated by restraint, Sui staged a celebration of dressing up as both pleasure and provocation.

Observing the quiet resurgence of social nightlife across the city, Sui channeled the energy of spaces where fashion once again serves as a declaration rather than camouflage. Her long-standing resistance to New York’s creeping uniformity, its pragmatic neutrals, and athleisure anonymity was sharpened this season into a manifesto for visibility. Faux-fur-trimmed coats, opulent brocades, and audacious print collisions operated as deliberate counterpoints to minimalism, each look asserting that style is meant to be seen.

The collection’s conceptual pulse traced back to London, inspired by the Design Museum’s exhibition on Blitz, the seminal early-1980s nightclub that catalyzed the New Romantic movement. Sui’s recollection of Steve Strange’s dramatic transformation, from punk provocateur to theatrical dandy, became a metaphor for reinvention. The soundtrack, layered with Visage, The Psychedelic Furs, Love and Rockets, and The Human League, reinforced this lineage of glam-inflected defiance.

On the runway, Sui’s signature mix-and-match sensibility felt especially kinetic. A jaguar-print twinset clashed intentionally with a gilded tulip brocade dress, while black-and-silver floral brocade trousers paired with faux-fur-trimmed jackets lent tailoring a decadent nocturnal edge. The silhouettes, lean and layered, tinged with vintage inflection, remained recognizably Sui, yet the mood was unapologetically club-centric: excess not as accident, but as aesthetic strategy.

At moments, the maximalism flirted with overload, yet that brinkmanship has always defined Sui’s charm. Her designs are not crafted for quiet contemplation but for movement under strobe lights, where texture and shimmer acquire kinetic life. In a fashion climate preoccupied with understatement, her refusal to temper exuberance felt less nostalgic than insurgent.

Fall/Winter 2026–2027 did not seek reinvention; it reaffirmed conviction. By tapping into New York’s reawakening nightlife, Anna Sui delivered a collection that positioned glamour as resistance and self-expression as currency. In doing so, she reminded the industry that fashion’s enduring power lies not in blending in, but in daring to stand apart. 

A lookbook rarely feels immersive, but Kate Barton reimagined the format for Fall Winter 2026–2027 with striking ingenuity. Among the youngest designers on the CFDA calendar, Barton bypassed the traditional showroom model in favor of an AR- and AI-powered presentation. Guests encountered garments suspended on digital avatars or projected directly onto their own bodies through virtual try-ons. QR codes replaced physical racks, transforming each look into an interactive portal detailing fabric, construction, and design intent. It was a strategic and forward-thinking solution to a familiar industry challenge: how to create depth and impact without the financial and environmental burden of producing excess samples.

Carolina Herrera returned to New York on February 13 with a Fall/Winter 2026–2027 collection attuned to the city’s velocity and cultural multiplicity. After the theatrical flourish of the Madrid Spring show, creative director Wes Gordon recalibrated toward a sharper, more kinetic vision of femininity. “She’s a woman on the go. She’s a total New Yorker,” he noted backstage, and the casting reinforced that claim. Rather than conventional runway models, the show featured cultural figures including Amy Sherald, Rachel Feinstein, Hannah Traore, and Ming Smith. The gesture was subtle yet pointed: Herrera is positioning itself not merely as a label for society fixtures, but for the women actively shaping contemporary culture.

Memory took center stage at Marc Jacobs’ Spring/Summer 2026 presentation, staged once again at the Park Avenue Armory. This was not the grand, hyper-theatrical Jacobs of recent seasons, but a designer in reflective dialogue with his own legacy. In accompanying notes, he described memory not as nostalgia but as an active force, one that shapes authorship, identity, and what endures. That meditation permeated the entire evening.

The 30th Busan International Film Festival witnessed a striking cinematic fashion moment as the stars of the thriller series Dear X made a captivating appearance on the red carpet. Set to premiere on Disney+, the series introduces a world of emotional intensity and shadowed allure, a mood powerfully reflected in its leading cast’s presence.