NEW YORK—Fashion Week starts with—knock on wood, as I’ve said before—more impetus than it has had in a handful of years. Almost 70 presentations and shows, and their associated rumblings, will culminate through 15 September.

Staid American labels that have garnered some of their greatest interest overseas, like Ralph Lauren and Coach, are showing outside the official calendar, while Henry Zankov—who has been making expensive-looking knitwear that increasingly holds its own—will open his first collection as artistic director of Diane von Furstenberg on 10 September. Thom Browne—the American suit-obsessed genio—will close the week on 15 September. Browne’s Fall 2026 campaign, photographed and directed by Robbie Lawrence, was produced by Fiona Percival and styled by Stuart Williamson.

The season has been framed as a revival of American heritage fashion by Reuters, with Ralph Lauren and Coach both drawing increased interest from younger shoppers. A different kind of resurgence can also be seen outside the runway. Savills reported this spring that New York had reclaimed its position as the world’s leading city for luxury store openings for the first time since 2019, with openings up 23 percent in 2025. Dior has expanded on Madison Avenue; Moncler’s new 767 Fifth Avenue flagship is its largest globally; and Acne Studios has opened at 82 Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District. Photography surrounding the season has included work by Emerald Layne, with styling by Oliwia Jakubik for WRPD.

Below blockbuster level, newer designers are giving the calendar substance. Zane Li, the Chongqing-born, New York-based founder of LII and an FIT graduate known for architectural construction and flat-pattern experimentation, shows 14 September at 1 PM. Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen, the Boston-born New York designer whose work incorporates hand construction and historical references, shows 13 September at noon. Colleen Allen, whose womenswear uses historical dress research, corsetry and sculptural construction, presents by appointment 14 September from 9 AM–6 PM. Private Policy also returns with its SS27 runway on 13 September at 9 PM.

Even more interesting labels are operating further below New York’s established hierarchy. Giovanna Flores presents by appointment the same day from 10 AM–5 PM. Emily Dawn Long, a Georgia-born designer based on the Lower East Side who produces in small runs and works from an appointment-only showroom, presents 12 September from 1–4 PM alongside a film for Spring 2027. Kazakhstan-born Meruert Tolegen, whose shop is at 39 Wooster Street in SoHo, also appears on the season’s New York calendar.