A fashion editor's bitesized guide to New York Fashion Week

The official fashion month calendar starts in New York City, with established and new design talent promising to get us excited about Spring/Summer 2025 fashion – even though we may have put our summer dresses in storage for another nine months.

This season, we bear witness to some of the American fashion greats doing what they do best – see Michael Kors, Tory Burch and 3.1 Phillip Lim (a label celebrating its 20th anniversary), while the likes of Sandy Liang and Toteme continue to establish themselves as the new names to invest in.

No need to watch every single runway show on repeat – we've done the hard work for you and boiled everything down to the need-to-knows, below.

ALAÏA

Dynamic simplicity are the words that best describe Pieter Mulier's latest offering at Alaïa. The 'Winter-Spring' 2025 show was the first of its kind to take place in the rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum, a New York institution – apt, considering the collection was inspired by the city's fashion legacy (Mulier namechecked Halston and Charles James in the show notes) and American beauty in general.

In the fuss-free and geometric (but meticulously sculpted) silhouettes – rendered in double-face cashmere, poplin and silk taffeta – there was a sense of American sportswear. A more democratic take on couture, if you will – not least because the house extended show invites to students from three American fashion schools, FIT, Parsons and Pratt. Very cool.

COACH

Cover your favourite bag in cute stickers – one of the takeaways from Coach's Spring/Summer show. Speaking of the bags, they were a highlight, from cushioned clutches supersized to cartoonish proportions to ladylike, 50s-tinged styles decorated with biro-scrawled scribbles.

Vintage Coach bags are hot property on eBay, Vinted et al, and the house is capitalising on this with their (Re)Loved programme, which breathes new life into heritage pieces – here, they took that one step further by patchworking skater pants using pre-loved chinos and jeans and tailoring shrunken jackets from repurposed fabric. The uniform was unequivocally New York – the 'I love NY' tee is firmly on my next-season wish list.

CAROLINA HERRERA

For Carolina Herrera's Spring/Summer show, Creative Director Wes Gordon delivered graphic glamour via precision-cut tailoring and nipped-waist gowns in a tightly edited palette of four bold hues, including (of course) iconic Herrera red – and a whole lotta monochrome.

There were polka dots galore, splashed across blouson-sleeved tops and incorporated into lace dresses. The corsage continues to reign supreme, appearing upon (or even eclipsing) bodices of fit-and-flare dresses. This is a collection that celebrating hyper femininity and feminine power.

TORY BURCH

'The collection began with the essence of sport,' said Tory Burch. 'Power and grace, precision and freedom.' Burch reinterpreted motifs of American sportswear, from jersey-esque, colour-blocked sweaters to the styling of cascading chiffon skirts with simple cotton V-necks. Quilted cotton and waffle knits juxtaposed hand-twisted sequins and crystal beading, making for a beautiful yet wonderfully wearable wardrobe.

Notably, nearly every shoe started with a ballet slipper construction and indeed, Burch's iconic Reva flat was present – with new iterations including a mule silhouette.

ULLA JOHNSON

You may recognise Ulla Johnson's trio of new-season prints – they come from three paintings by the late American painter, Lee Krasner. There were hyper-feminine elements, but rendered in a way that felt refreshingly utilitarian. For example, a pussybow blouse appeared in camo tones alongside a skirt embellished with both sequins and utility pockets. There are also so many pieces perfect for parties, in particular a flapper-style dress laden with golden, lash-like fringing.

3.1 PHILLIP LIM

In this economy, it's no mean feat to maintain a successful brand, especially for two decades – but Phillip Lim and Wen Zhou have done just that with 3.1 Phillip Lim. The label is in its 20th year and celebrated with a joy-filled show. A lace tunic top was paired with camo-pocket trousers, while a utility jacket came underpinned by a satin mini skirt. There was denim, there were pinstripes, and boy, was there was rhinestone fringing. This is a uniform for the New York woman – girlish, but with a general helping of grit.