The Top Trends From NYFW, According to Our Editors

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Fashion Month is underway and Who What Wear's editors are already seeing some key trends popping up on the runways. 

At New York Fashion Week, designers from Prabal Gurung to Khaite were proving that fur is here to stay.

"There were fur coats. Prabal [Gurung] had them, Proenza [Schouler], Khaite, but then there were also these reinventions of it," Who What Wear fashion editor Jasmine Fox-Suliaman said. "At LaQuan [Smith], there was literally a briefcase covered in faux fur. There were heels covered in fur."

Fox-Suliaman also notes that there was a new spin on workwear. 

"This season, it was very sultry. Very like, 'I'm gonna give you boss-girl energy,'" she said.

For the latest episode of Who What Wear With Hillary Kerr, Editor in Chief Kat Collings sat down with Fox-Suliaman to discuss the top trends coming out of NYFW, their favorite shows so far, and more.

For excerpts from their conversation, scroll below.

Kat Collings: Let's hear your overall thoughts on the week. What are the big headlines?

Jasmine Fox-Suliaman: I feel like this was a season where we had a lot of people showing for the first time and then also a lot of people leaving the calendar for the first time or shifting how they were presenting this season. 

Because New York is such a big market for fashion week, I feel like it's always indicative of what is happening in the industry. 

We had Ludovic [de Saint Sernin] show this season. I believe they're normally in Paris, right?

I feel like as a result of that, we had more attendees from overseas compared to recent seasons.

Then a lot of smaller brands kind of being like, "I'm either no longer going to show at New York or I'm doing something smaller—like a presentation—or I'm even switching cities." It was very interesting to see that shift. 

You know it's so different to go to Paris versus New York. 

New York is very much like, "We have our high-end brands, but then we also have so many wonderful smaller brands."

What about runway trends? What's the tone that's being set so far, even though we have London, Milan, and Paris ahead of us?

I feel like there's almost this fine line between pragmatism and then being like, "Okay, we're going to add a dose of glamour." I feel like that was everywhere this season. 

One trend that I really was like, okay, we're still keeping this from last fall/winter and then we're keeping it from spring was fur. 

There were fur coats. Prabal [Gurung] had them, Proenza [Schouler], Khaite, but then there were also these reinventions of it. 

At LaQuan [Smith], there was literally a briefcase covered in faux fur. There were heels covered in fur. 

I think it was Stuart Weitzman who did the shoes for Aknvas. At Prabal, too, there was this little mitten/muff situation that was furry.

I feel like I saw so many capes—which I'm not a big cape lover—but I feel like I'm gonna have to come around. I saw enough amazing ones that it's time.

I also feel like it wasn't just capes, though. I think it was more like this concept of picking a silhouette that accentuates your neckline. 

There were the capes, but then there were also a lot of wraparound scarf-coats. 

I think Proenza had a white leather dress and a scarf that kind of wrapped around the neck. 

Then [Christian] Siriano had a wrap coat that kind of wrapped around that was chocolate brown. 

Then there was Bevza and Brandon Maxwell, which had the funnel neck. 

I think it's leaning into that, "I want to feel rich and luxurious." What better way than to wear a turtleneck or something draped around the neck, because it's very high brow.

I would say that also it wasn't just the necklines. It was a lot of texture this season. 

Tory Burch had that little peplum top and pencil skirt that was made from a faux-croc textile. It was just very beautiful to see this traditional silhouette reimagined with texture. 

At Helmut Lang, we saw this button-down shirt that came in this almost like bubble wrap that you use to wrap packages. It looked like you could just pop it. 

I think this season in general, too, it's about taking those things that are classic and giving them a little bit of depth through what you're using textile-wise.

Give me one or two other big trends.

One that I was very excited about this season—which also feels a little bit TikTok coded—but something we see every season was this kind of embrace of the office siren. 

What I mean by that is obviously work-wardrobe staples are always there. We're always going to see a suit. We're always going to see that kind of buttoned-up dress, right?

This season, it was very sultry. Very "I'm gonna give you boss-girl energy." It was interesting because I feel like in general we've seen more of this embrace of very girly aesthetics in the past few seasons, like the bows and the pale pink. 

This was very—it was corporate. It was buttoned up, but it was still boom. Va-voom. 

For example, there was LaQuan Smith's show, which was so decadent. It was so good. 

It had these sexy pinstripe suits that you could wear to the office, but then it was paired with a bra top that had a wraparound scarf. 

The model was walking while they played the line from The Devil Wears Prada being like, "Everybody wants to be us." Everybody wants to be in that pinstripe suit. That's what everyone wants. 

Then there was Sandy [Liang]—who celebrated 10 years this year in the business—and she had a very buttoned-up kind of polished feel with a '60s mod wool dress that felt very work appropriate. 

Sergio [Hudson], he always has great suiting, but he had these insane kind of like a bustier embroidery over a blazer. It was this saffron red suit. It was like, "We're bringing the heat to office workwear."

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Next, check out our interview with the Tibi founder.