New York Fashion Week 2026: Calvin Klein’s minimalist chic, Michael Kors’ polished glam and other highlights

Model Kaia Gerber walked in Khaite’s boudoir vision, while Emily Dawn Long showcased her collection with a tongue-in-cheek film

New York Fashion Week always stands out for its diversity of offerings, from quintessentially American labels like Calvin Klein and Michael Kors to independent brands such as Diotima, Ashlyn and Collina Strada. This season also saw the debut of Henry Zankov at Diane von Furstenberg and the first New York show from London-based American designer Conner Ives. Indian designer Sabyasachi and American designer Thom Browne are among the designers showing later this week.

Here are highlights from the shows so far.

Michael Kors showed Michael Kors Collection, his high-end label, in the Sculpture Garden of MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in midtown Manhattan. “Polished” is the first word that comes to mind when looking at the line-up of perfectly put-together outfits for perfectly put-together women.

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The designer’s fantasy of a version of America that exists in places such as the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Hamptons and Palm Beach never gets old but it could do with a bit of a shake-up.

Named Architectural Modernism, the spring/summer 2027 collection will certainly please Kors’ well-heeled clientele – whether they’re looking for a beautiful dress with an asymmetrical hem to wear for a fabulous night out on the town or for preppy separates like a crisp striped shirt.

A series of looks with sequin embellishments beautifully stood out amid the sea of primary colours in a line-up that stayed true to the designer’s vision of all-American glamour.

Calvin Klein Collection‘s current creative director Veronica Leoni presented her fourth range for the label in a space filled with sculptural installations by American minimalist artist Walter De Maria.

The venue provided the perfect backdrop to the clean lines of the garments: foundational pieces such as the slip dress, the pencil skirt and the fitted trouser that have always been at the core of Calvin Klein.

While Leoni has been doing a perfectly fine job since she joined the brand a couple of years ago to revive its luxury line, her shows often leave you wanting more. With its huge global presence and recognition, Calvin Klein has a lot of untapped potential and a fascinating history, as the success of the Hulu series Love Story – about the romance and tragic deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette – recently demonstrated.

Known for her impeccable personal style, Bessette famously worked at the house back in the 1990s, an era that is having a major moment among younger generations.

Mining aspects of the label such as its groundbreaking campaigns from that decade would make it resonate with today’s consumers looking for more than a beautiful pair of well-cut pants or a tailored jacket.

Designer Cate Holstein, founder of Khaite, has built a loyal following thanks to her ability to reinvent wardrobe staples that are not just another take on quiet luxury. Her reinterpretations of American classics such as the cowboy boot and the leather jacket have turned the brand into a global success story.

For spring/summer 2027, Holstein offered her version of boudoir dressing. Model Kaia Gerber opened the show in a white bra paired with a leather skirt unzipped at the back. There was an undone quality to the clothes, with unbuttoned shirts exposing the skin and fastenings that unravelled to reveal hints of flesh. With their frizzy and unkempt hair, the models looked like they just got out of bed or like they were ready to go to bed after a night of debauchery.

The collection is likely to surprise many of Khaite’s long-time fans but they still have plenty to covet, from pointy-toe pumps and peep-toe mules to sharply cut leather jackets.

As always at Khaite, the set was mesmerising. The designer and her team turned an event venue in Brooklyn that was basically a black box into a churchlike space where powerful projections created a mesmerising series of light columns.

Every season designer Joseph Altuzarra, founder of Altuzarra, leaves a book on each guest’s seat. Usually a novel, the book acts as a sort of mood board: flip through its pages and you’ll discover clipped visual references that inform the story behind the collection.

For spring/summer 2027, Altuzarra picked a photography book showcasing men cross-dressing as women in the 1950s and 60s at Casa Susanna, a retreat in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York.

Those joyful images of trans women freely expressing themselves “became the emotional foundation of the collection”, according to the show notes.

Closet staples like oversized worker jackets were paired with madras print skirts while elements from men’s suits appeared throughout the androgynous collection. Most looks were paired with Oxford lace-ups. High-waist jeans, leather pants, studded belts and other American wardrobe classics gave the range a western feel.

Among the best outfits were feminine blouses featuring men’s shirt cuffs and worn with lovely pleated skirts with floral embroidery at the waist. A couple of animal print knit skirt suits also looked fabulous.

The final looks, including a wrinkled golden dress and a series of lingerie-inspired gowns, were an unabashed celebration of feminine glamour.

It was a beautifully told story from a thoughtful designer who always stays true to his sharp vision and stands out as one of the strongest voices in American fashion.

Anna Sui is another designer who is confident enough to do her own thing, regardless of short-lived fads. In the show notes, the designer explained how, while looking for a Richard Avedon photo in an old issue of Vogue, she came across a painting by artist Howard Gardiner Cushing. The collection explores that same sense of wonderment and of unexpected discovery. As always at Anna Sui, embellishments reigned supreme, from crochet and lingerie accents to florals, fringes and plenty of prints.

Buzzy designer Emily Dawn Long showed her latest collection with a fun screening at Bridges, a popular bar in Chinatown.

Titled The Crack of Dawn and starring Meadow Walker and Sydney Lemmon of Love Story fame among other up-and-coming actors, the short video was a cool way to present the range.

The name of the film was a reference to the many butt crack-exposing dresses. The back, unsurprisingly, was a focal point with low-cut pleated hems that exposed it in a sexy and nonchalant way. A skirt and a dress with trompe-l’oeil prints of folds and pleats also stood out and showcased the designer’s ability to make desirable clothes that look and feel very of the moment.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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