In times that often feel, well, dystopian, it’s fair to wonder why events like fashion week should still hold our attention. During New York Fashion Week this season, however, several of the city’s emerging designers gave us our answer. From shows that examined our evolving relationship with technology to collections that dove head-first into heartbreak, the events of the last few days proved that art can be a way to make sense of the very strange reality we exist in, and that the form is at its strongest when it’s clear the creator has something very real to say. 

Indeed, storytelling was alive and well during this year’s presentations, where designers drew inspiration from far and wide. Everything from niche essays on feminist theory to winter sports saw themselves used as references, and in the span of three days, one could witness a hazmat suit, a dress made of Dunkin Donuts bags and a Victorian-inspired gown on display. In other words, it was (yet again) the emerging designers at NYFW that encapsulated the city it took place in, a historically eccentric fashion haven where pretty much anything goes.

Below, learn more about the week’s most exciting moments and the designers behind them.

SHAME

One of the most exciting runway memories of the week forgoed the runway altogether. Titled ‘Automata’, New York brand SHAME’s fourth runway collection was inspired by Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto and presented assembly line-style, with designer Ramona Beattie and stylist Maxi Vasquez live dressing a single model in each look.

As they assembled each piece onto the model, Beattie and Vasquez kicked off NYFW wearing hazmat suits, which felt in line with the collection’s themes around bodily autonomy. Experimenting with harsh shapes, hardware and elastic, ‘Automata’ explored the ways in which garments can “behave as devices”. As part of the show’s focus on technology and machinery, SHAME presented the collection in partnership with dumb.co, a new tech company that makes hyper-modern flip phones.

GABE GORDON

Those feeling FOMO from this year’s Olympic Games would’ve felt right at home in Gabe Gordon’s Fall/Winter 2026 collection. For their third New York Fashion Week showing, design duo (and husbands), Gabe Gordon and Timothy Gibbons, took inspiration from the world of winter sports, with thick knits, plenty of hoods and even literal ice skates gracing the runway.

Each look was styled with a pair of boots by UGG, one of the show’s partners. Taking the “bite” theme literally, many looks were also paired with werewolf-esque claws and purple-ish undereyes.

ZOE GUSTAVIA ANNA WHALEN

In the Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen universe, femininity, motherhood and overwhelm are inextricably tied. The designer’s latest show on February 15, titled Birthing Circle, drew inspiration from pre-industrial pregnancy corsets, sanitary belts and maternity wear, and was lit only by candles, adding to the reverent, slightly haunting aesthetic she’s become known for. At the end, Whalen even dunked herself in a bath.

“This collection focuses on the sensation of overwhelm, heaviness or weight,” Whalen told Dazed of the collection’s message. “I have this meditative vision that sometimes happens when I’m overwhelmed by current events, darkness or difficulty in my life… It’s like I’m in a dark wood and walking a path only illuminated by a candle I’m holding.”

CAMPILLO

At Campillo’s FW26 show, ‘Possibility and Restraint’, on Valentine’s morning, clothing became a vehicle for transformation. The label, founded by Mexican designer Patricio Campillo, used its recent collection to show that identity is malleable, and fashion can be a way for us to reconfigure our own.

This was accomplished through sharp tailoring, structured silhouettes and elegant suiting, all of which have become trademarks of the Campillo brand. “Ultimately, the collection suggests that clothing holds a transformative power not only in how it makes us look, but in how it makes us feel,” Campillo said in the show notes. “Identity becomes something sculpted, rehearsed, discovered, and reaffirmed through the garments we choose.”

THE TWINK NEXT DOOR

If you still think New York Fashion Week is boring, it’ll only take one show by The Twink Next Door to change your mind. Twink, the brand’s founder, is a true DIY expert, and one who proves fashion can still be fun, especially when it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Though it’s tough to beat his prior shows at Dallas BBQ, the designer’s recent show at The Moxy East Village on February 9 still brought all the drama.

A sculptural heart, plenty of fur, and even a Dunkin-inspired dress, an ode to Twink’s obsession with the coffee chain, all graced the runway. Despite all the campiness, the theme of the collection was actually heartbreak, specifically the ways in which it can lead to new beginnings. “I feel like heartbreak can actually be a really good thing, because it feels like the start of something,” the designer told Dazed before the show. “I feel like this [work] is a very deeply thought-out emotional collection of trauma, but also excitement, because of all the support that I get.”

SHOWPONY

For his debut AW26 show on February 16, hairstylist Evanie Frausto blurred the lines between fashion and beauty. Each look was designed with deadstock hair, along with leather corsetry and dyes from Pravana, one of the night's partners, resulting in a show that put glam at the forefront, rather than discarded it as an afterthought.

As Frausto stated in the show notes, the collection was a “response to a world that can often feel harsh and unforgiving,” and paid homage to "mammalian strength and instinct,” citing wolves, gorillas and queer cowboys as examples. “It celebrates the real-life show ponies in my community whose boldness and individuality make my world brighter and more beautiful,” wrote Frausto. “Above all, this is a love letter to the freedom of becoming exactly who you are.”