New York Fashion Week culminated on Tuesday with a final flurry of shows from LaQuan Smith, Kallmeyer, Lii and others. The previous night, Japanese juggernaut Uniqlo took over MoMA to celebrate its LifeWear collection with celebrity guests including Cate Blanchett and Roger Federer.
Here are the five runway trends that stood out this season. Keep them in your back pocket as the Spring 2026 caravan heads next to London, then to Milan and Paris – or take them as food for thought when shopping next year.
Blank Slates
Countless designers, including Coach (pictured here), chose to open with various shades of white, cream and beige.Photo: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com/Gorunway
The first look of any fashion show is known to set the tone for the rest of the collection, and countless designers chose to open with various shades of white, cream and beige. Some might call it vanilla. Others might see it as a palette cleanser. Either way, anyone attending a white party next summer will have plenty of options to choose from.
At Calvin Klein Collection, a simple pinafore mini dress worn with a headscarf kicked things off. At Coach, it was a tailored and frayed floor length denim vest paired with a matching bag. Diotima opened with a hooded crochet tank and balloon trousers, worn with a cascading ruffled skirt overtop.
Meanwhile, at Prabal Gurung, there was plenty of visual interest, with a cocooned, embroidered coat layered over a flared skirt inspired by the trumpet flower of the designer’s native Nepal.
Ballooning
Billowing pants, like this cropped grey pair by Michael Kors, bubbled over on the runways.WWD/AFP/Getty Images
The 1980s are back – or is it the 1910s, when the original Harem pants were created by French designer Paul Poiret? Either way, billowing pants bubbled over on the runways, including a black pair matched with a patent leather blazer at Altuzarra and a cropped grey wool pair worn with a slinky top at Michael Kors. It’s giving chic MC Hammer.
Minimalism with a twist
With the world in undeniable turmoil, it’s no surprise that designers opted to keep things simple. Michael Kors, Fforme, Khaite and newcomer TWP (named for founder Trish Wescoat Pound) leaned into sharp lines and neutral palettes. But simplicity got an upgrade at Tory Burch.
A petal-pink, off-the-shoulder dress with elongated sleeves and a billowing skirt looked fit for the corps de ballet; a bold, aquamarine trench popped against brown trousers and a butter-yellow bag; and a gleaming foil top proved that minimalism can still pack a punch.
Shrugs and headscarves
Eckhaus Latta offered a wispy knit cardigan.Thomas McCarty/Supplied
File under “things to pack for Europe next summer”: headscarves à la Monica Vitti (for when the sun is blazing) and cropped shrugs (for when it dips). At Altuzarra, the shrug came in shearling. Eckhaus Latta offered a wispy knit cardigan and Khaite showed ultra-cropped mini jackets. Headscarves, meanwhile, swung from hyperfeminine at Sandy Liang and Tanner Fletcher to street-approved at Luar.
New beginnings
Diotima founder Rachel Scott made her debut at Proenza Schouler.Victor VIRGILE/AFP/Getty Images
Spring 2026 will be the season best remembered for its designer debuts, the most anticipated of which are still to come in Paris and Milan with Jonathan Anderson at Dior, Matthieu Blazy at Chanel and Demna at Gucci. New York kicked things off with Diotima founder Rachel Scott at Proenza Schouler, Balenciaga alum Nicholas Aburn at Area and Michelle Rhee at 3.1 Phillip Lim.
Not to be outdone, Gwyneth Paltrow also launched her new womenswear label, Gwyn. Or should we say “relaunched” – the streamlined collection is an evolution of her fashion line G Label, this time with Sofia Menassé, a designer with pedigree from The Row and Maison Margiela, on the team.
