As New York’s positioning as a fashion capital is questioned, NYFW designers rally

“There’s a lot of creativity that comes out of New York,” said Emily Smith, designer of the 28-year-old luxury womenswear brand Lafayette 148, which hosted a presentation in the Meatpacking District on Monday. “Because of the diversity, there are a lot of different opinions [playing into] it. For example, we do 52 different sizes — we dress all shapes and sizes. And that’s something you definitely don’t see so much in European brands.” 

Likewise, before his Palomo Spain show on Saturday, founder and designer Alejandro Gómez Palomo pointed to New York fashion’s wide mix of mindsets: “I like how free, diverse and creative American designers are. Everyone in New York has a really independent voice and speaks for themselves,” he said. “It’s so different from the fashion focus in Europe. I don’t need to try to be chicer.” Palomo Spain is based in Spain but has hosted its seasonal runway show in New York since February 2023.

Days ahead of his runway show, which played out along the East River on Sunday night, designer and namesake brand founder Christian Cowan also remarked on New York’s key differentiators. 

“There’s an energy here that’s like no other city, and I never want to leave — I hope I’ll be showing at New York Fashion Week my whole career,” he said. ”More than other fashion weeks, New York feels closer to pop culture and more plugged into youth.”

And that connection is especially valuable today, founder and creative director Stacey Bendet told Glossy while hosting Alice + Olivia’s presentation on Saturday. “The fashion ecosystem has reversed itself, where it’s starting with the youth and with social media,” she said. “New York is at the center of all of that, but I do think there’s now less of a fashion capital and more of a fashion world.”  

On September 4, McKinsey & Company published a report titled, “At a Crossroads: New York City’s status as a global fashion capital.” According to the report, activities related to fashion, including the distribution and manufacturing of products across sectors, contributed to more than $50 billion in direct sales, $45 billion in indirect sales and 130,000 jobs in NYC in 2022. But, the local industry is facing challenges, including the ongoing rise of e-commerce, the decentralization of influence, industry consolidation, high costs of living and doing business, and a lack of support to scale up, according to the report. As such, it now employs 50,000 fewer people than 10 years ago and lags behind the post-pandemic recovery of other sectors. 

Designers and brand leaders admitted NYC’s fashion industry is in a bit of a funk. But, reflective of New Yorkers’ signature grit, they’re doing their part to turn it around.  

“Over the years, New York had its moment of being a hot fashion capital, and then it cooled down a little bit,” Tommy Hilfiger, designer and founder of his namesake fashion brand, said backstage before his spring 2025 runway show on Sunday. “I think it’s time for it to come back. And that’s one of the reasons we are planting ourselves in New York — because we would like to lead the way.”

Likewise, Smith said that the industry “may have dipped,” but stressed that “there’s still opportunity” for fashion creatives and companies in the city. 

“New Yorkers are survivors,” she said. 

According to Smith, Lafayette 148 takes part in fashion week specifically to fuel New York’s fashion capital status and ensure it stays relevant. It’s good for business. 

“We want to be in the community of other like-minded American designers; we want to make sure our incredible products are out there in the same circle as their products because we have so much respect for other New York designers,” Smith said. “It’s important that we’re supporting each other, in that sense.”

According to designer Naeem Khan, who has been working in New York for more than 45 years since starting as an apprentice under Halston, “New York fashion is all about creativity, and we always bounce back.”

“I’ve seen the industry when it’s up and when it’s down — but new designers always emerge and new ideas always emerge,” he said backstage before his brand’s runway show on Monday. “New York is the capital of fashion for America, and it will always be.”

Founders of brands that were not on the fashion week calendar but were in NYC to meet with buyers or investors, for example, stressed the significance of New York to their budding businesses. Despite challenges, both that Glossy spoke to for this story have managed to open a store or pop-up in SoHo. 

“Opening a store in New York was of top importance [for Cuyana],” said Karla Gallardo, CEO of the leather bag brand, naming three reasons why: “It’s a media hub filled with editors who have a sophisticated and educated opinion on what’s happening in the industry. Also, we design for career-driven women who are balancing their personal lives — and these women are in New York, to a heightened extent. We can learn from them. And finally, between the locals and the tourists, you get great foot traffic.” 

In 2018, the now-11-year-old brand opened a store on Prince Street. But, according to Gallardo, the move was largely possible due to the down market in 2011-2012, allowing the brand to test at least four store locations before finally pulling the trigger on a permanent space. “Retail was ‘dead,’ and there were so many open spots,” she said. “The block matters — so we got acquainted and learned a lot and made a proper decision.”  

Joëlle Grunberg, a McKinsey & Company partner who co-developed the ”At a Crossroads” report, noted recent, significant changes to fashion retail in New York City: Barneys and Opening Ceremony closed in 2020, and what was once Fifth Avenue’s Lord & Taylor store is now a WeWork, she said. Currently, there are fewer vacancies on the higher end of fashion retail, compared to lower tiers, signaling a shift to big-brand domination driven by otherwise prohibitive pricing. 

But young fashion brand founders are strategizing to make a go of their NYC retail dreams, offering further hope for the future of the market.

For her part, Danielle Guizio, founder of the 10-year-old womenswear brand Guizio, which counts Chris Burch as an investor, opened a permanent store on SoHo’s buzzy Greene Street on Tuesday. 

“I never, ever thought it would be possible to have a store here — it’s so crazy,” she said, noting that the store is positioned next door to a Loewe store and right across from a Saint Laurent. “We’re in the best company. … We have a really amazing realtor and real estate broker who just worked his magic, and everything fell into place.”

“New York is still a magnet for talent and people in the fashion industry,” Grunberg said. “To be a fashion hub, you of course want to have the big brands, but you also want to have the future of fashion — young designers who bring life and diversity and richness to the offering. The strength of New York is in the diversity. And the future The Row, Khaite and Ulla Johnson need to be able to thrive.”