New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026 unfurls in waves of inspiration, pulling from heritage, futurism, and nature in equal measure. At 3.1 Phillip Lim, Michelle Rhee’s debut collection as Head Designer reinterprets archival staples with soft tailoring, raw hems, and a fluid palette. Her “denim undone” and satin eveningwear signal a woman who dresses with intention and ease. Grace Ling introduces “Future Relics,” a collection that treats fashion as artifacts yet to be created, folding in AI and sustainable processes to minimize waste without compromising aesthetic. Meanwhile, Kate Barton plays in liquid fabrics and bold hues, her silhouettes governed by both technology and craft—surreal, sporty, radiant. Beneath the surface, L’Enchanteur guides us into an aquatic underworld, merging myth, sound, and texture to evoke where life begins. Across these shows, boundaries are tested as garments become portals — between past and future, earth and ocean — all while celebrating the artistry and innovation defining this moment.
3.1 Phillip Lim Introduces a New Era with Michelle Rhee
Courtesy of 3.1 Phillip Lim.
Courtesy of 3.1 Phillip Lim.
Michelle Rhee’s debut collection for 3.1 Phillip Lim introduces a thoughtful evolution of the brand’s identity, rooted in its foundational codes but reimagined for a modern, dynamic woman. For Spring/Summer 2026, Rhee draws from the archives without feeling confined by them. Cofounder Wen Zhou notes “With Michelle’s debut, we step confidently into a new chapter—one that feels fresh, modern, and deeply attuned to how women live and dress today.”
Tailoring is softened, structure relaxed, and silhouettes come undone with purpose. “Denim undone” introduces slouchy, low-slung shapes where waistbands are stripped away, offering a raw yet refined edge. Unstructured suits are marked by subtle cutouts and clean lines that feel intentional but effortless. Satin eveningwear, detailed with studs and eyelets, carries a tougher elegance, bridging functionality and flair. Leather returns in leaner forms, and day-to-night pieces blend utility with sophistication. It’s a collection that honors legacy while looking decisively forward.
Margaux Debuts The Fonteyn for a Decade of Design
Courtesy of Margaux.
Courtesy of Margaux.
In honor of their tenth anniversary, Margaux introduces “The Fonteyn,” a ballet flat that encapsulates the brand’s dedication to comfort, craftsmanship, and timeless style. Each of the 16 shades is represented by a different figure, forming a portrait series that celebrates the diverse voices behind the Margaux community. Founders Sarah Pierson and Alexa Buckley describe the design as “honoring where we started, while reimagining what a ballet flat could be today.
Handmade in Spain, the shoe holds many of Margaux’s signature details — an adjustable bow cord, plush 5 mm foam padding, and luxurious materials. New touches include a squared-off tie, a lifted silhouette, and finishes that range from neutral and jewel-tone satins to bold metallics and statement prints. Part ode, part evolution, “The Fonteyn” reflects a decade of listening, refining, and celebrating the lives of the women it’s made for.
J. Press Blends Ivy Codes with New Confidence
Courtesy of J. Press.
Courtesy of J. Press.
With his debut collection for J. Press, Jack Carlson reclaims Ivy style not as nostalgia, but as living language. The Fall/Winter 2025 show is a renewal of American menswear’s foundations. Models wore rich jewel tones—mustard, forest green, and royal purple—in mismatched blazers, collegiate cardigans, and baseball caps. Corduroy, cotton, and knitwear created a texture-forward harmony between prep and craft. Carlson’s tailoring is steeped in American academia but finished with subtle British codes, a nod to his time spent in England and Austria. “It stands for a more courteous, more gentlemanly, more academic, and, yes, cozier vision of America,” Carlson says. This is not about reinvention—it’s about refinement. J. Press finds its footing in tradition while making space for the next generation of classic dressers.
MACH & MACH Reimagines the Signature
Courtesy of MACH & MACH.
Courtesy of MACH & MACH.
Georgian accessories house MACH & MACH dazzled this season by revisiting its most iconic silhouettes in refreshed materials and textures. Staged in collaboration with Tbilisi-based Rooms Studio, the immersive installation featured mirrored floors, translucent polyethylene walls, and a stainless-steel stage—equal parts gallery and dreamscape. Signature styles like the Double Bow, Le Cadeau, Crystal Flame, and Lotus Flower appeared in gingham, mesh, and high-sheen finishes. Floating Pearl, an ethereal style with hand-set pearls, seemed to hover in midair.
The presentation, transformed into “Tbilisi in New York,” a tribute to the brand’s roots and the vibrancy of its local nightlife scene. It’s a reflection of the MACH & MACH woman: assured, experimental, feminine, and bold. At the core remains the Double Bow design, symbolic of duality and harmony, but now rendered in new attitudes. Sparkling and surreal, the brand’s evolution proves that maximalism can be both playful and deeply intentional.
GRACE LING Explores “Future Relics”
Courtesy of Grace Ling.
Courtesy of Grace Ling.
Grace Ling’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, “Future Relics,” envisions fashion as artifact—designs suspended between ancient memory and digital imagination. The mood is sculptural and surreal. Biomorphic charms—combs, padlocks, knives—cling to garments like unearthed relics, inspired by Ling’s antique market finds. Knife sheaths close tailored blazers, merging past utility with future form. There is a mythos to every detail, each piece hinting at the invisible work of artisans. To reinforce the collection’s futuristic motifs, fabrics shift from opaque to sheer, appearing glitched, torn, burned, and broken. These juxtapositions sharpen against the precision of Ling’s tailoring.
Couture silhouettes open and close the show, while 3D-printed ready-to-wear is scattered. The collection draws from CGI, zero-waste production, and a philosophy of slow futurism. In “Future Relics,” the body becomes both vessel and time machine, carrying memory forward, without forgetting the hand that made it.
Kate Barton Bends Time with Liquid Fabric
Photos by Darian DiCianno. Courtesy of Kate Barton.
Photos by Darian DiCianno. Courtesy of Kate Barton.
Kate Barton returns to NYFW with a vibrant collection that builds on her sculptural signatures—liquid-like fabrics, sportswear cuts, and dreamlike styling. This season, the color palette is dialed up with punchy citrus and rich blues meet soft pastels, styled by renowned fashion stylist Elizabeth Sulcer. Barton’s garments blur lines—between digital and physical, sport and ceremony.
“This collection is about questioning preconceptions,”
-Kate Barton
The show opens with a striking moment as an AI-generated model steps through a glowing portal into a liminal space. It’s not a backdrop, but a second world. Created in collaboration with Fiducia AI, the immersive environment marks Barton’s most surreal presentation yet. Garments mold around the body some featuring full-scale prints for the first time. Retro athletics influence the detailing, while a collaboration with Bandolier introduces a limited-edition phone case as accessory.
L’Enchanteur Evokes the Deep Unknown
Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images. Courtesy of L’Enchanteur.
Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images. Courtesy of L’Enchanteur.
L’Enchanteur’s debut collection, “20,000 Leagues / 20,000 Keys” takes us below the surface, both literally and metaphorically. This season’s runway is submerged in sonic mythology, Afrofuturist storytelling, and sacred water rituals. Inspired by Drexciya’s aquatic lore, Alice Coltrane’s celestial jazz, and Leontyne Price’s operatic force, the collection reads like a voyage across diasporic oceans.
Materials are charged with intention: linens and woven copper fabrics are selected for their energetic frequencies, acting as wearable conduits. A rich marine color palette—kelp green, abyssal blue, coral blush—grounds the collection in its mythic source. Handwoven lace, textured leather, and botanical motifs echo aquatic ecosystems, while newly debuted footwear, crafted in Lagos, Nigeria, uses textiles sourced from Dominica. The ETA vest, with its firefly clasp, becomes a symbolic key, a transitional garment between land and sea. In L’Enchanteur’s world, fashion becomes ritual, memory becomes armor, and the ocean becomes a map to something older than time.
