Everyone’s Busy Saying NYFW Is Dead. Meanwhile, This Is What We’ll Actually Be Wearing.
Less runway drama, more real-life fashion — here’s what NYFW is actually influencing.
Every season, the same argument pops up on cue:
New York Fashion Week is boring. It’s lost relevance. It’s nothing compared to Paris.
While people are busy debating the spectacle, NYFW is doing what it has always done best — shaping what real women will actually wear next.
To cut through the noise this season, I looked at runway analytics from Tagwalk — and the numbers tell a far more interesting story than the usual NYFW hot takes.
Before we dive into specific details, two bigger themes stood out this season: the antidote to AI showing up as messiness — or, as New York fashion bloggers would call it, the “undoneness” of a look — along with a color story that leaned far more neutral than spring usually suggests.
Let’s start with the former.
Think disheveled imperfection in the best way: undone hair, slightly off styling, or that early-2000s, Jenny Humphrey-esque energy that feels lived-in rather than overly composed.
Personally, as a mom of two under four who considers it a true luxury to have twenty minutes to get ready (and that’s a big if), I fully welcome the relaxed aesthetic. I silently thank the fashion gods every time they steer us toward elastic bands, messy hair, and flip-flops as a legitimate style direction. It feels similar to what we saw last summer — just with a cooler, more considered edge.
That sense of deliberate imperfection wasn’t just abstract mood-setting — it showed up directly on the runway. 7 For All Mankind, in particular, made quite a splash with a debut that leaned into an early-2000s “It girl” aesthetic: skinny denim, babydoll silhouettes, layered styling, bold accessories, and platforms.
Beyond silhouettes and styling, this season’s color story told its own narrative — and it wasn’t particularly spring-y.
New York Fashion Week leaned hard into a monochromatic palette, with only small injections of color breaking through. Think blacks, greys, warm browns, creams, and deep neutrals dominating the runway.
It reads like a wardrobe built for longevity and real life — practical, versatile, meant to last beyond one season. That said, as most of us are already living in plenty of real life, a few unexpected pops of color in spring wouldn’t hurt.
I thought it’d be interesting to look at the analytical side of what showed up most on the runway — since these are usually the details that trickle down into our everyday wardrobes through the high street.
The Unexpected One: Velvet Is Having a Real Moment
There was a +376% uptick in velvet this season. It surged across collections in a big way — not in a costume-y, holiday kind of way, but as a core fabric for tailoring, dresses, and outerwear.
If you’re raising an eyebrow, you’re not alone — not because velvet feels vintage, but because this was a Spring–Summer season. Velvet… in warm weather?
Naturally, curiosity led to a little window shopping. There were velvet-trim wedge sandals (which, I suppose, could work for spring) and an airy Dôen blouse finished with the softest velvet detail — the kind of piece you could actually imagine wearing to an early dinner.
It makes me wonder if velvet is shifting from “special occasion only” into everyday elevated dressing.
I’m not fully sold yet — but I’m intrigued. What do you think?
The Sexy One: Slits Are Back — But Grown Up
Slits were everywhere this season, with a surge of +160%, but not only in the obvious, look-at-me red-carpet way.
We saw them on tailored skirts styled like corporate cool, alongside sweeping evening gowns at Ralph Lauren. They cut through coats, slipped into denim skirts that would otherwise feel too stiff to walk in, and showed up across silhouettes meant for real movement.
Runway reports kept flagging slits as a recurring motif. You could read it as a nod to a broader 2020s aesthetic: a wardrobe built around confidence through comfort and motion, rather than freeze-frame glamour. It feels very New York. Sexy, yes — but also functional, and purposeful.
The Easy One: Lace Isn’t Going Anywhere (It’s Just Getting Cooler)
Lace rose by +369% this season — and it might be the easiest trend to fold into everyday life, mostly because you probably already own some version of it.
What I loved about how it showed up was the shift in attitude: less boho-bride, more romantic with edge. Attendees wore it in all its forms — sheer skirts, layered tops, and even toughened up with ripped tights and oversized tees. If you’re not ready to commit to head-to-toe lace, even a subtle trim peeking out from under a chunky sweater does the trick.
Lace isn’t just for special moments anymore — it’s officially part of the everyday wardrobe. I’ve included a few easy ways to try it in the last letter.
The Fun One: Fringe Is Fashion’s New Movement Obsession
Fringe is one of those trends that has historically been coded as either festival boho or full costume. I started incorporating it last year — and was beyond happy to find a fringed leather jacket (on TRR) — so I felt personally validated seeing it surge by +212% on the runway this season.
In 2026, fringe showed up across runways and NYFW street style as intentional texture rather than aftermarket ornamentation. Sometimes it enhanced movement, swaying with each step; other times it simply drew the eye, adding depth and dimension to otherwise clean silhouettes.
So, Is NYFW “Dead”?
When people compare New York to Paris, they’re often comparing fashion fantasy to wearability. Paris will always deliver couture spectacle — it is institutional, historical, built around salons and dream worlds that feel intentionally removed from daily life.
New York operates differently. Even a house like Chanel, under Matthieu Blazy, chose to go underground — staging a show in the subway, under fluorescent lights, in a space defined by movement rather than marble. That decision felt symbolic. Luxury wasn’t placed on a pedestal; it was dropped directly into the rhythm of the city (I wrote about it here).
That rhythm is what New York Fashion Week has always reflected.
NYFW isn’t about suspending reality; it’s about dressing women for it. For the woman who commutes, works, walks quickly between meetings, who goes out after, who needs her wardrobe to carry her through a full day of living.
The trends this season reinforce that idea: velvet reimagined, slits designed for movement, lace layered thoughtfully, fringe integrated into construction.
So the next time someone casually declares “NYFW is dead” over coffee, you’ll know exactly why it isn’t — it’s just busy dressing real life.