NEW YORK WEEK FALL/WINTER 2026: DAY 3
CALVIN KLEIN COLLECTION
review by MAREK BARTEK
all images courtesy of CALVIN KLEIN COLLECTION
With her third runway outing for Calvin Klein Collection, creative director Veronica Leoni turned her attention to the brand’s formative years. “This season was a deep dive into what Calvin was,” she said, referencing the late ’70s and early ’80s when Calvin Klein was establishing the codes that would come to define his label: restraint, modernity, and a subtle, sometimes provocative sensuality.
Leoni approached that legacy with curiosity. Tailoring remained central — sharp satin tuxedos, clean coats, and lean silhouettes that nodded to the house’s famously pared-back aesthetic — though she continues to explore the tension between Calvin Klein’s historic minimalism and her own instinct for layering.
The most compelling moments emerged when the collection touched everyday wardrobe territory. A reinterpretation of a 1976 pair of jeans, complete with a cursive logo leather patch, hinted at the kind of instantly recognizable staple the brand was built upon.
After several exploratory seasons, Leoni appears to be inching closer to Calvin Klein’s enduring formula: simplicity with just enough attitude.
FFORME
review by MAREK BARTEK
all images courtesy of FFORME
For Fall, Fforme creative director Frances Howie looked to cinema as her entry point into New York mythology. While still living in New Zealand, she first encountered the city through Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan, the cult 1990 film chronicling the rituals of Manhattan’s young social elite. That atmosphere of dressing up set the tone for the collection.
Howie translated the reference through a controlled, almost ’90s minimal lens. A bell-skirted turtleneck gown styled with a shearling stole opened the show, followed by a series of inventive tailoring exercises. Deconstructed tuxedos proved particularly strong: satin side stripes became ribbon-like streamers trailing down trousers, while jackets layered beneath lapel-less coats created subtle optical tricks.
Though evening silhouettes dominated, the most convincing moments arrived in the pared-back daywear — winter-white trousers, frayed-edge knits, and cocooning coats that felt both refined and practical. Throughout, meticulous fabrication underscored Fforme’s commitment to craft and New York’s disappearing culture of made-to-measure dressing.
7 FOR ALL MANKIND
review by MAREK BARTEK
all images courtesy of 7 FOR ALL MANKIND
Y2K may have briefly flickered out of fashion’s spotlight, but at 7 For All Mankind, newly appointed creative director Nicola Brognano is clearly not ready to move on. For his runway debut, Brognano revisited the mid-2000s era when denim reigned supreme and nightlife dictated the wardrobe. “It’s easy to think about girls like Mary-Kate Olsen, Kate Moss, or Sienna Miller around 2005 or 2006,” he explained. “They were chic but carried this sense of nonchalance.”
That attitude translated into a deliberately undone kind of glamour. Ruffled miniskirts, ultraskinny jeans, knit scarves, and slouchy jackets slipping off the shoulders were stacked in layers, paired with towering platform pumps and piles of costume jewellery. Each model even sported a club wristband, reinforcing the after-hours mood.
Denim remained the backbone of the collection, but Brognano expanded the conversation with knitwear, leather pieces, and accessories that hinted at a broader direction for the brand. With Chloë Sevigny seated front row as ambassador, the early-2000s spirit felt very much alive.
CHRISTIAN COWAN
review by MAREK BARTEK
all images courtesy of CHRISTIAN COWAN
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, Christian Cowan delivered a collection steeped in romance—but with a slightly more mature tone than we’ve come to expect from the designer. “I just really, really, really love this collection,” Cowan said backstage. “I went about it in a very different way to what I’ve done before.”
Drawing inspiration from vintage screen sirens, the collection reworked archival lace, lingerie, and fabrics dating from the 1920s through the 1950s. Rather than recreating their famously restrictive silhouettes, Cowan reimagined them with modern ease: silky slip dresses clung to the body, disheveled nightgowns peeked out beneath tailoring, and pearl details were worn with deliberate irreverence.
Elsewhere, low-slung trousers and Bermuda shorts grounded the more seductive pieces, while fur-trimmed jackets and opera-style coats hinted at an uptown polish. The standout look, however, was surprisingly understated—a black silk kaftan with butterfly sleeves and a dramatic low back.
“It’s probably our least campy collection,” Cowan noted. A fitting evolution for a designer beginning to explore a quieter kind of glamour.