For fashion, the Fall/Winter 2026 season arrived at a moment of heightened uncertainty, as wholesale continues its rocky reset and geopolitical uncertainty remains high. In survival mode, many brands have been forced to knuckle down and fortify their business strategies, in hopes of setting them up for success against a difficult backdrop. What that looks like for 2026 and beyond is now coming into focus.
Day after day this season, designers emphasized the wearability and layerability of their collectsions. Many did so from showrooms and previews, having opted for smaller by-appointment formats in lieu of major shows. Alongside their collectsions, designers discussed recent business investments and tweaks, from website re-dos to carefully increased marketing spend, reinforcing their commitments to sticking around for the long haul.
Challenges for small brands, as well as fashion at large, have accumulated over the past decade. First came Brexit, the first Trump administration, and the pandemic, followed by the collapse of e-tailers including Matches and Farfetch, leaving brands in a lurch. “Just as it felt like things might start to pick up again, the US introduced steep tariffs,” says Ashish Gupta of eponymous ready-to-wear brand Ashish, who made the call to cancel his London Fashion Week show due to extenuating circumstances. “Couple all this with detrimental domestic business policies, increased business rates, and rising operating costs, and it doesn’t feel like an environment that is supportive of creativity or small independent business.”
‘Independent’ is a moniker perhaps too often interchanged with ‘emerging’ when it comes to brands and designers. The reality is that an abundance of independent talent that contributes to the fashion month calendar is no longer emerging: these designers have emerged. Now, many of the same talents that show up season after season are reckoning with what it looks like to push beyond IYKYK status, and transcend from niche industry darlings into lasting brands that can stay the course. It’s no small feat, in an economic environment that’s unfriendly and unpredictable. Here’s how they’re navigating it in 2026.
Clothes that work smarter, not harder
This season, many designers emphasized that their runway collectsions would be available to purchase in their entirety, with fewer or no garments made just for show. Ashlyn’s Ashlynn Park takes this approach. In her studio before the show, Park spoke about the importance of working sustainably, in regards to business, not the environment. “Most of the runway pieces are just to sell the handbag accessories,” she said. “I think we can do better work, make it to a wearable level and not waste months of effort every [season].” Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada made a similar point backstage: “I really just want to pound in the fact that, you see it on the runway, you can come get it from us.” Same goes, and always has, for Eckhaus Latta.
Other brands who haven’t always operated on this model are now increasing the number of garments that make it from the runway to the store, even if it’s not 100% of the collectsion shown. At Altuzarra, about 70% of what’s shown winds up getting produced, which designer Joseph Altuzarra says is “pretty high and pretty efficient”, adding that the brand has a “pretty low” cancellation rate.
Even designers known for their more avant-garde looks are reigning it in as they get serious about selling. This season, for Mel Usine designer Stephen Biga’s sophomore collectsion, the designer spoke about the process of envisioning his clothes in the real world; establishing the brand’s “actual” wardrobe offering. “Not costumey” and “a brand to be worn” were sentiments that surfaced throughout his February preview. At one point, Biga picked up a sheer pink blouse and a pair of brown and pink pants — they could be worn as separates, or paired together. “You wear them with the top and it’s Mel,” he said of the latter combo.
The ‘small plates-ification’ of fashion abounded this season. During collectsion previews, designers emphasized their mix-and-match-ability; that the pieces are for layering, almost like accessories. The logic is twofold: those who don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on a wardrobe can buy an element of a layerable look that stands on its own, while those with higher disposable incomes can bulk buy, adding on and on, because it’s all designed to fit together.
London-based Pauline Dujancourt made this point ahead of her London show, when discussing her move into more production-friendly pieces. The designer pointed to a great-for-layering, sheer long-sleeve top from the season prior, which, she suggested, can be worn beneath her more intricate, hand-knitted pieces. In Paris, Julie Kegels leaned into this approach with modular garments, incorporating additions that can be clipped at the nape or waistband for a bubble effect, or let down to create a train, depending on the wearer’s mood (and budget).
It’s not just indie designers taking this route, however, signifying a bigger shift in how luxury consumers want to shop. Layered dressing played out in its most literal sense at Prada’s SS26 show, during which 15 models walked four times, each time stripping off layers of an outfit.
It’s also a helpful strategy for production. This season, many designers emphasized the utility of reintroducing successful pieces from past seasons, bucking pressure for constant newness and reinvention. Park is one designer who has stayed true to this, though it hasn’t always won favor; editors, at times, have lamented a lack of newness. But now, more designers are doubling down on what works. For FW26, designers including Jonathan Cohen, Altuzarra and Heirlome’s Stephanie Suberville each emphasized a desire not to reinvent the wheel, but to build on existing looks.
Altuzarra’s merchandising team is essentially part of the design team, the founder says. “There’s a real discussion around what is doing well, pricing, and what fabrics people are gravitating toward,” he says. “We always want to evolve a product that feels like it’s resonating. You sort of have to analyze: why is something doing well?” Altuzarra describes his collectsions as “triptychs”, evolving in threes or fours, rather than marked by dramatic overhauls each season.
The balance between newness and continuity requires discretion. When Lucila Safdie blew up with her ruffled Peachy shorts in 2021, she had a choice: make more shorts and more money, or build out her brand off of the momentum. She opted for the latter. Safdie removed the shorts from her second collectsion, but has since reintroduced them in new colors and styles, without letting them take over. Conner Ives, meanwhile, doubled down on the upcycled embroidered coats from last season. “The irony of this is that it’s the most expensive piece on our line sheet and it’s also our current bestseller,” Ives said during a preview. Per his newly hired managing director’s recommendation, the designer also whittled down his line sheets by more than half to focus on core pieces.
A retail rethink
Roksanda Ilinčić of Roksanda also eschewed a runway show this season, in favor of opening a pop-up on London’s Sloane Street. “Next to Chanel and Pucci,” she told Vogue Runway.
Ilinčić wasn’t alone. In addition to his show, Campillo’s Patricio Campillo opened a shoppable pop-up in New York’s SoHo, open until February 26. “It’s our fourth show and we’ve built a community; I want to talk to them and have some tequila with them, really get to know them,” Campillo says. There, he’s also hosted re-sees and pre-order appointments, and is thinking of the space as a testing ground for a future store. Back in London, Knwls hosted a three-day pop-up during London Fashion Week at the Painting Rooms. Now, brands are taking this approach beyond fashion week: New York’s 6397 is opening its SoHo showroom to the public, inviting customers to come and shop the SS26 collectsion IRL throughout March.
Online is a focus, too. Brands including Proenza Schouler, Still Here, and J. Press (the latter of which is not independent) have recently revamped their websites, to better cater to consumers keen to shop direct but online. (All of the brand’s US stores, bar J. Press, are currently limited to New York.) All three are also bullish on physical store openings, as brands seek to build relationships with consumers in their neighborhoods.
Though major retailers will always have skin in the game — as long as they continue to guarantee payments — brands are increasingly looking to independent retailers with whom they can develop long-term, trusting relationships. This is partly why brands make sure to show up in Paris for market sales, on top of wherever their home fashion week is. As well as capturing international buyers, Paris appointments are especially important for connecting with independent retailers, says eponymous designer Maria McManus, who believes Paris has become “as important” as New York. Rùadh creative director and founder Jac Cameron agrees. “Interestingly, several important US specialty stores skip New York and go directly to Paris,” she says. “Because of that, it’s critical for us to maintain a presence in both cities.”
Brands are also getting creative with how they maneuver fashion month timelines to ensure they get in front of buyers at the right moment. Previously, brands could rely on buyers’ budgets stretching the length of the season, but as retailers rein in their spend, brands need to time their presentations well, before the dollars dry up.
This is why some Japanese designers are taking a leaf out of New York’s playbook, showing at home to cater to regional stockists and taking their collectsions to Paris for showrooms to capture international attention. While New York designers show during NYFW, Japanese designers are flipping the script and showing off-schedule to better time their collectsions to international seasons. “Buyers place their orders after a show, so I want to keep my Japan showroom and runway show schedules close together,” womenswear designer Akiko Aoki told Vogue Business last month. “If I do a show next season, it’ll probably be off-schedule.”
Campillo does so in reverse: the designer hosts appointments at Paris Men’s market before his New York show, so as not to miss out on buyers’ menswear budgets by the time they arrive in the States. There’s a business case to be made, he argues: a second window for retailers to add to their purchases. “It’s becoming a formula that works really well for us,” Campillo says, adding that, the day prior, fashion consultant (and former Barneys buying director) Julie Gilhart told him that it was how Dries Van Noten built its wholesale business, by being one of the first brands to deliver and show a line sheet, before holding a show that gives buyers an opportunity to buy complementary pieces.
Marketing moves
Ahead of the Proenza show, CEO Shira Suveyke Snyder said that one of the brand’s main focuses for 2025 was a digital revamp, which is taking effect in 2026. This year, Proenza will invest heavily in its digital content, including across socials, Suveyke Snyder said. “We have an opportunity to be more overt about what we stand for and who we are, to provide more claritys through our content, our messaging, and our imagery.”
Rùadh’s Cameron says the brand is investing more in “digital storytelling” on socials (alongside editorial content and partnerships) in order to boost brand visibility. Historically, the brand has built its customer base via direct relationships and word of mouth, she says. “As the brand grows, digital advertising allows us to extend that reach. Particularly through highly targeted campaigns that highlight the brand’s story, Scottish heritage, craftsmanship, and our deep commitment to sustainability.”
Brands who have traditionally stayed in their own lane are now looking to larger high street brands to get the word out. EB Denim’s Elena Bonvicini recently partnered with Everlane on a capsule collectsion. In a similar vein, Maria McManus is launching a collaboration with Agolde, which the designer hopes will introduce the brand to a new consumer.
Though brands are operating with sales in mind, fashion month will always double as a marketing op. For FW26, the by-appointment approach solidified its value — and popularity. The model isn’t the default second to shows that it once was. Nordstrom VP fashion director Rickie De Sole says many of her most exciting discoveries happened in showrooms in New York this season, noting the value of engaging up close. At VSJ Consulting, which manages brands including Rùadh, Maria McManus, and Herbert Levine, founder and CEO Viktorija Jasevice takes a similar approach. “For brands like Maria McManus and Rùadh, we consistently hear that the press and the wider community value and appreciate firsthand insight into their inspiration, materials, production, fit, and design,” she says.
This format is gaining traction. Greg Mitola, founder of brand development and communications firm Etagere, whose clients include Colleen Allen and Heirlome, noted an uptick in editor-in-chiefs (EICs) and celebrities alongside buyers at collectsion previews. “There is no real benefit to [the EICs and celebrities] being in the room — we don’t advertise, we don’t do NYFW dressing, or have photographers in the room to take their picture… everyone was in the room because they wanted to talk and see the clothes,” Mitola says. Many attendees posted them, too.
This uptick in celebs was not unplanned. For Mitola, personal clienteling trumps “almost any other form of selling”, he says, because of the relationships — and, therefore, repeat purchases — it drives. This same logic of personal connection informs Mitola’s approach to marketing his brands in 2026, which will focus on hosting in-person moments outside traditional press days. McManus agrees; it’s one of the brand’s “most effective growth levers”, she says. The New York-based label throws events at homes, invites VICs to shows, and hosts personal meetings to educate on quality and craft, and encourages long-term wardrobing. As well as a digital boost, Cameron is expanding her trunk shows from her Tribeca apartment to Charleston and even the West Coast.
As brands are thinking about pushing further into the mainstream, they’re looking at how they can show up in the world, not just on the runway. Fashion month kicked off with a key study in how independent brands are pushing the boundaries of visibility: J.Crew’s Rollneck Remix project, which invited five New York brands — Buci NYC, Collina Strada, Eckhaus Latta, Patrick Taylor, and Tanner Fletcher — to reimagine the classic rollneck. A month on, the J.Crew Rollneck is back in the news cycle, thanks to its appearance on Sarah Pidgeon’s Carolyn Bessette in episode five of Love Story. It doesn’t get much more mainstream than that.
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