The month of Feb is beyond busy but this year with the addition of the Winter Games 2026, Super Bowl, Grammys and of course, NYFW it’s a lot of activity! NYFW FW26 took place from Feb 11th - 16th and this season, we attended an array of runway shows and presentations as well as backstage coverage. As we do each season, we go over some of the shows that stuck out with us as well as interviews that took place along the way.
LOVESHACKFANCY NYFW FW26
We kicked off this season of NYFW heading backstage to NY based LOVESHACKFANCY which is known for their whimsical collections. Founder and Creative Director Rebecca Hessel Cohen held this runway show at Cooper Hewitt’s Gilded Age mansion and transformed the historic landmark into a sanctuary of romantic vibes. By using history as her guide as well as the social codes of Gossip Girl, she shared that her muse, “is feminine yet opinionated, romantic yet ironic, a little dramatic and fully self-aware. When you’re looking at her, it’s as if she’s been dancing through the halls of Versaille, yet also entirely of the moment.” This upcoming season’s collection is filled with pastels that are grounded in espresso, soft florals that are precisely tailored, and beaded mesh corsetry. With tones of blush, powder blue, deep bordeaux, choclate, gunmetal and more.
Courtesy of Goody, Wet Brush, and Bio Ionic, we watched the hair look and its inspiration come together with Brent Lawler, Celebrity Hairstylist and Lead Hairstylist for this show who talked with us about how he created the look and he even provided a 9 step process on how we can create the look.
He shared that the look was focused on an undone-yet-polished look. “We wanted the hair to feel very chic, but relaxed - a heritage reinterpreted. I wanted a concept that is clear and cohesive. I love a bow and bows are part of the DNA of the brand. I wanted to give a look that is more lived in, more casual, more wintry, and natural. It’s the girl that loves to party but also loves poetry. so if she wakes up in the morning with the bow still in her hair, she just throws on her ballet flat and heads out the door for coffee.”
This look of being undone is one that definitely can be worn to the office, heading to the studio for your workout, and of course to grab cocktails and a meal later!
Because we loved this look and hearing the inspiration behind it, Brent shared with Athleisure Mag how you can create this look in 9 easy steps to bring it from the runway to your every day!
9 STEP HAIRSTYLE
• Step 1: Brush out tangles & negate frizz with the Wet Brush Frizz Free Detangler.
• Step 2: Put a little mousse at the roots for texture and volume.
• Step 3: Use Bio Ionic Smart X Hair Dryer on high heat fast speed to quickly get out any moisture.
• Step 4: Section the hair with Goody Luxe Claw Clips.
• Step 5: Use Bio Ionic Long Barrel Curling Iron in 1.5 inch to create loose waves with natural bends.
• Step 6: Use Batiste Powder Dry Shampoo and Batiste Original Dry Shampoo along the roots for increased volume and texture (which builds the texture and creates airy volume).
• Step 7: Grab pieces of hair and pull back into a Goody Comfortflex thin hair tie, or Goody Clear Elastics, then pull the hair tie down to create a looser look. It allows it to hold the low ponies that were shown in the show.
• Step 8: Go into the ends of and push the Batiste powder into the hair to create more volume and texture.
• Step 9: Add a bow on top of the Goody hair tie.
NEW YORK MEN’S DAY SESSION I FW26
New York Men’s Day is always a great day to see runway shows and presentations that focus on menswear. Held at Mercedes-Benz Manhattan, we were able to connect with collections from brands we enjoy seeing each season as well as those that are new to us.
AVON ANGLERS
NY based Avon Anglers is founded by designer Patrik Rzepski in 2021 and made it’s NYMD debut this season. This collection was filled with wardrobe staples through elevated materials, precise construction, and a restrained point of view. The brand is focused on maintaining and preserving the craft of sewing, maintaining relationships with local makeries and factories as well as being focused on reducing excess by making less, but better.
A.POTTS
A.Potts is a staple of NYMD and is known for clothing that is easy and makes a statement. This season we enjoyed seeing neutral pieces from the collection that also has great visual texture through garments that moved as it hit the runway.
CHELSEA GRAYS
Chelsea Grays theme known as DROWNING presented a luxury streetwear 14-look collection that blends oversized tweed, navy ombré nubby wools, and technical materials with cargo shorts.
PEAK LAPEL
For the past few seasons, we have enjoyed seeing Peak Lapel’s presentation. This season, their theme, Breaking Home Ties focused on a modern, rugged, and refined take on workwear and preppy, traditional codes. Key pieces included standout tailored outerwear, prep styles, and a blend of polished, and functional pieces.
PROJECT BY INFORMA LAS VEGAS PREVIEW
Pieces that showed within this presentation from the morning session as well as the afternoon one were previews of brands that you could see ahead of PROJECT by Informa Las Vegas which took place Feb 17th - 19th. Guests were able to see Devereaux Golf, Goat by James King, GWOP Meet,
KNOTWTR, Lost My Accent, Monadic, Moshe Yossel, Psycho Bunny, Public Drip, RTA, and Ryoko Rain.
FREDERICK ANDERSON FW26
We always enjoy attending Frederick Anderson’s runway shows as it always has drama and great silhouettes. This year, Tony Award nominee Amber Iman (Soul Doctor, Shuffle Along, Hamilton), kicked off the show singing Nina Simone’s Feeling Good. As 34 looks hit the runway, attendees enjoyed hearing bluesy songs from Amy Winehouse and Nina Simone. The looks were a mix of separates and one pieces that pulled from fabrications that included: Chantilly lace, wool tweeds, tulle, chiffon and metallic laser-cut vegan leather. Frederick shared that he, “wanted to write a story about finding strength in all the blackness. We’re in a black time, and you can find an inner strength in that. Throughout the collection, there’s all these layers and different fabrications that layer on top. It’s all in the details and it’s all for the woman to enjoy. It isn’t for everyone.”
IG @frederickanderson_designer
NEW YORK MEN’S DAY SESSION II FW26
CHRISTOPHER LOWMAN FW26
For the second session of NYMD, we enjoyed seeing another round of great looks. This portion of NYMD included designers who made their debut this season.
SKI TRIP was the theme of Christopher Lowman’s FW26 collection which merged alpine sport with downtown ease. The performance fabrics used in the line included neoprene, gabardine, double-sided fleece, and boiled wool that was finely tailored into exaggerated silhouettes with a palette that embraced all that is winter oriented.
MONDAY BLUES, STUDIO FW26
One of the most interesting brands that showed at this platform was Monday Blues, Studio. This brand is rooted in sustainability. What really struck out was garments that reimagined discarded burlap coffee bags into one-of-a-kind, made-to-order couture garments.
WANGDA FW26
A new to us designer was Wangda that created strong menswear pieces that showcase how you can look dapper while having an elegance that makes you think of Old Hollywood brought forward as well as east meets west sensibility. By blending in America, British and Japanese aesthetics, something completely new was presented within this collection of warm tones and deep eggplant hued suiting.
SCIENCE PROJECT COMPANY FW26
Our favorite designer that shows all day at NYMD was Science Project Company hands down. Seeing a runway show that also featured a presentation was a great way to enjoy this line of menswear apparel along with bags that you could imagine in any of your tunnel fashion views from your sport of choice!
The collection reflects the man on the go who is navigating between a number of activities that tru;y tale him from day to night. Standouts included outerwear, multi-pocketed pants, and a very large weekender bag that we continue to think about.
MODEST NOW X MUSLIMI
During the Modest Now X MUSLIMI runway show, we were able to see 2 lines that showcased their designs. In womenswear, Amariah had luxe elegant pieces that literally floated down the runway whether they were separates or dresses in tulle, lace and a number of fabrications across hues.
For menswear, we were treated to Athari Wear that really showcased a lifestyle collection of looks from what one would wear to work out, run errands, and to go out for a nice meal. In addition, a number of accessories and sneakers from the brand really rounded out this line.
Both shows were a great way to showcase modest dressing and it was easy to see how these items could be seen on the street or in your favorite show.
LAQUAN SMITH FW26
Going backstage is a great way to see the looks come together where beauty and fashion truly support one another. We were invited to go backstage at LaQuan Smith via KISS and we had the opportunity to chat with Celebrity Nail Artist/Manicurist Gina Edwards to find out about the inspiration behind the nail look and how it tied into the overall vision of this FW26 show which included structured silhouettes, sharp tailoring and Bond Girl vibes.
ATHLEISURE MAG: We always enjoy when we see you backstage at iconic fashion shows. The last time we were with you, it was at Prabal Garung’s FW24 and we’re here with you today for LaQuann Smith’s FW26. What can you tell us about the direction of the nails that we will see today?
GINA EDWARDS: These are the nail looks for the show. What we did with LaQuann is that he is all about edgy, tailoring to a tee and this season’s inspo is the James Bond Girl.
The Bond Girl is a structural and intentional woman! With that, we did the KISS (their new branding) with their core collection which comes in your classic colors, your trends, and your classic French with the Chrome. These are long, and they’re oval, and you want it Stiletto and they are shaped nails like a bullet now. So think about James Bond, he’s always carrying a gun with bullets. Some of the models are wearing the more classic French out of the box. Others are wearing the Chrome finish. With the French, we’re just shaping them out to a Stiletto which is Fascinating - that’s the name of those.
With the Chrome, we customized a mixed chrome finish to give it more like a gunmetal.
AM: Right.
GE: To make it that bullet, you see it here. I mean, we have seen Chrome over and over again, but the fact that when you could in terms of relate it to the collection and how it is all cohesive, it kind of really is amazing.
AM: How long did it take for you to come up with this concept as we know that, like, you go through the files!
GE: So, I can’t speak for him, but I know that he had this woman in mind. He envisioned that she had this strong, powerful edginess, and we wanted to take that and put into context and put that onto the nail right. Thinking back to James Bond, you have this fierce sensibility with guns.
He wanted that type of woman to show on the nails. And I think KISS nailed it again – the whole team. We just came up with an idea of just having this gunmetal finish to match with a lot of what you’re going to see in his pieces/ The shoes, the hair it was all how to tie that all into what he envisions on a nail for this collection.
AM: So the classic French can be purchased and is ready to go out of the box.
GE: Yes, right out of the box, you could purchase the French, the French classic. It’s called Fascinating and is part of the collection by KISS which is a staple in their line.
AM: Now, if you wanted to recreate the Chrome one at home, how can we do that as we know that this was done custom for this NYFW FW26 runway show?
GE: Yeah, so it’s a little tricky because I did mix the chrome to get this finish. It’s a DIY you can do on your own. You can pick out a chrome finish and maybe add a little black to it to kind of give it a little deepness, and then you go from there you add your gel and then you buff it down, you know? It’s like 20 different steps, but we do have the how-to guide for those people that want to do it!
AM: For our gel people out there who go in get their nails done and then on their next visit, they get it removed and get another gel, how can they keep the skin on their hands looking amazing? Right now we’re navigating the Winter here in NYC which is very tough on the skin and drying!
GE: The first thing I would say is to carry cuticle oil with you at all times! Your skin needs to stay moisturized especially at night! Just like your face has day cream and night cream! Having this for your hands will keep them moisturized and it’s also about building up your fats internally. You know, make sure you’re eating avocados and nutrients that create those fats which helps your skin. and out of oil, you know, it’s really fat. You want to make sure that you are getting the most natural oils that are good for you from the inside out!
If you’re interested in achieving the Chrome look at home that Gina customized for this show, she tells us how we can do this in 3 simple ways.
• Step 1: Select and size KISS CORE Collection nail in Fascinating and customize shape into a sharp stiletto.
• Step 2: Apply nail glue to the artificial nail and the natural nail, then press down gently, repeat on all ten nails.
• Step 3: Leave as is for the classic French tip look, or layer on your favorite bullet chrome on top for the dark silver finish.
VEEJAY FLORESCA FW26
For our final NYFW show, we made our way to the Ritz Carlton NoMad to see the latest Project Runway S21 winner Veejay Floresca where she showcased her FW26 Collection Presentation. During her season we enjoyed how she attacked each of the challenges creating stunning looks. So we knew that her show was going to be one that we had to see.
Veejay’s collection was filled with modern glamour, designed to evoke confidence, sensuality, and individuality. Her inspiration for this season came from Willem de Kooning’s abstract expressionist paintings. She wove in bold, gestural color and layered textures into tactile fabrics, heavy knits, and sculptural finishes that create movement and depth. Oversized, fluid silhouettes balance spontaneity and control, resulting in pieces that feel both striking and wearable. As she is known as an eveningwear and special occasion designer, she explored color, texture, and form through an elevated yet effortless lens. In attendance were a number of designers from her season as well as Christian Sriano.
PHOTOGRAPHY | PG 129 LoveShackFancy | PG 130 Peak Lapel NYC | PG 133 Estelle Sweeney | PG 134 Ben Hider | PG 137 Michael Pagara |
Read the FEB ISSUE #122 of Athleisure Mag and see NYFW FW26 EDIT in mag.
