New York runs on an aggressively tiring schedule every February. Fridays, though, are everyone’s favorite point of the week. Make it a New York fashion week and it’s no surprise that three of the most anticipated shows on my radar landed on the same day.
7 For All Mankind by Nicola Brognano
“She’s a rebel, she’s a rich girl. She can go out in the morning and come back the day after wearing the same outfit, with a Starbucks cup in her hand and a bracelet from the club the night before,” honestly, I’d raise an eyebrow at the thought of a Serena van der Woodsen stuck in 2007, if I didn’t know Brognano. His debut Serena is living in 2026, with 2007 close at heart. Skinny jeans, alarmingly high knee boots, strapless mini dresses, blazers under brooches and scarves, low-hanging necklaces, and leather sets that look like denim, all in a Kate Moss paparazzi-photo kind of way.
Area by Nicholas Aburn
Aburn’s debut last September set the bar high, so this one comes across as a bit quieter, by Area standards. Still, there were show-ready pieces and wearable ones, walking down the runway almost hand in hand. Velvet either hid below the waist or gained structure all over, hugging literal ball gowns. Polka dots covered faces, while sequins came together to create them. Lamé oversized flowers appeared almost next to cotton sweatshirts. Vintage sheer scarves were patched, tied, and draped casually into dresses. Quite the trip.
Christian Cowan
Cowan also stuck with simpler designs this season, but simpler for Cowan is still very much exciting. “It’s probably our least campy collection. Not that I don’t love [camp] — but it just doesn’t feel quite suitable for the world we’re in right now,” the designer told Vogue, pinning an ‘ICE OUT’ badge to his outfit. Camp or not, it was still sexy. Lace and sheer black fabrics were everywhere, alongside cinched waists, embossed leather, garters, pearl necklaces, and, best of all, a satin dress that from the waist up, was so manipulated it looked drenched in water. Simpler looks good in Cowan’s studio.
