Luxury One-Liners: NYFW Fall 2026

What would the Duke of York wear to an underground rave? Just ask Chris Leba, whose R13 collection looked like if a group of punks ransacked an English haberdashery. While he isn’t reinventing the wheel design-wise, Leba sure packs a whole lotta attitude into his style collages. Of this one, he said: “It’s a little Goth, a little ‘30s — it’s the R13 mix.”

After whetting appetites with his spring debut, WWD one-to-watch Stephen Biga said he wanted to flesh out the “meat and potatoes” wardrobe of his medieval Mel Usine universe. Taking inspiration from the rearend of a Jules Coutan sculpture, he described the “real Mel” this season as a sexy bread-baker’s wench, dressed in jacquard tailoring or a sheer cape and skirt topped with a leather apron. Biga certainly proved his chops, leaving one hungry for his third course.

Silvia Tcherassi’s fall collection was an exploration in contrasts, pitting soft against bold colors, matte against shiny textures and metal hardware against fluid draping. Leaning away from vacation wear toward red carpet and event dressing, the Columbian designer hit her stride, especially when exercising the bias cut for gowns that looked almost like they could “slide off the body,” she said. 

After visiting Sanssouci Palace outside Berlin, Libertine designer Johnson Hartig was so inspired by the palace’s architecture and ornamentation that he revamped his fall collection to incorporate elements of the building into the line. That included treillage and sun motifs that he recreated on the elaborate hand-embroidered coats and jackets that have become his signature, along with a range of gold tweeds that referenced the gilded interiors. There were also a number of more subtle patchwork cashmere sweaters, some floor-length, that proved Hartig, who is approaching his 25th anniversary, can still stretch his limits.

Add Ossou to the list of luxury brands in New York treating denim like an art form. Inside the Pierre Augustin Rose gallery, where cofounders Nina Khosla and Talia Shuvalov presented their second collection, a Romanesque sculpture echoed the sculptural fits of their jeans, including a pleated velveteen pair and a trendy boot-leg with creased fronts. Surprisingly, the highlights weren’t denim at all, but shirts and knits in shades of brown, bone or butter that wrapped around the models’ bodies. “Denim is rooted in the West and we loved the feeling of western blankets,” said Khosla.

Marina Moscone gave a masterclass in source material for fall 2026, which saw her wardrobe staples — delicate gowns, basque jackets and draped jersey — upping the ante on their fabrications. Case in point, the brushed alpaca coat whose marled blues drew inspiration from Joan Mitchell paintings, or the bias-cut organza rhomboids creased, crinkled at the edges and stitched together into intricate-yet-unfussy wares.

Omar Bertona continues to push the envelope at Bugatchi with his elevated Made in Italy collection.
The Milan-based designer, whose résumé includes Isaia, Caruso and Maurizio Baldassari, introduced the collection last season, bringing a fresh perspective to the men’s essentials brand without losing sight of its heritage.

As Bugatchi prepares to celebrate its 45^th anniversary, it has successfully moved beyond its roots in shirts and the Made in Italy collection sits at the pinnacle. The fall lineup includes plaid cashmere cotton blazers, single-breasted suits in a double-face stretch jersey fabric, a range of shirt-jackets, and shirts with a solid exterior and patterned interior that coordinate well with the brand’s core collection.

For designer Jane Wade, her latest collection “feels the most like herself.” While previous collections closely referenced the designer’s time in corporate America, this season takes inspiration from her childhood adventures skiing and snowboarding with her family in the Pacific Northwest. And the references were there — from the use of paracord detailing throughout the collection, a rayon and nylon blend dress and a batting-lined wrap skirt. The inspiration also comes full circle with Wade’s first collaboration with outdoor footwear brand Sorel, which sees multiple takes on its Callsign shoe model including a thigh-high boot, a pony hair version and a mule.