The Emerging Legacy of American Luxury
Instead of swapping thrones, American designers are building their own dynasties
Europe has the shake-ups — from Bottega Veneta to Balenciaga, this Fashion Month is a carousel of creative director debuts. But New York Fashion Week, running September 5–13, tells a different story. Instead of swapping thrones, American designers are building their own dynasties.
This season, New York’s lineup balances spectacle with substance, putting some of the city’s most impactful voices on center stage. From LaQuan Smith’s unapologetic glamour to Khaite’s quiet-luxury authority, these designers are writing the American playbook on fashion for the 2020s. Each house carries a distinct philosophy, but together they showcase the intricacies of American luxury: democratic, dramatic and deeply tied to the cultural pulse of New York City.
LaQuan Smith
LaQuan Smith made his New York Fashion Week debut at just 21 after launching his namesake label in 2012*. An anomaly among his peers, the Queens native bypassed fashion school after attending the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan. His early NYFW presentations earned him champions like Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga, and he’s since gone on to craft legendary looks including costumes for Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour and the Summer Renaissance music video.
Smith’s designs are inseparable from the city that raised him. Born and bred in Queens, his collections channel the unapologetic energy of New York nightlife, hip-hop glamour, and street-to-red-carpet confidence. The city’s duality—its grit and its glitz—lives in his cutout gowns, latex bodysuits, and high-shine tailoring. He often speaks about designing for women who own the room, the same way New York itself demands presence.
Notable Moments:
2021 Empire State Building Show: Smith made fashion history as the first designer to stage a show inside the Empire State Building, transforming the landmark into a Fashion Week catwalk from lobby to observation deck. Sequined minis, metallic trenches, feather dusters, and Champagne in hand set a tone of decadent defiance: New York is back.
Samsung Sleepwear Capsule: In 2024, Samsung tapped Smith to debut Lucid Dream—a luxe sleepwear capsule inspired by the Galaxy Ring. Premiering during his Spring/Summer ’25 show, the collection married technology and fashion through light-as-air silk robes, gowns, and unisex pants. The four-piece line emphasized how rest fuels creativity—and how sleek tech can redefine intimacy in design. This campaign was brought to life by your agency, anchored by smart partnerships and immersive staging.
Met Gala 2025: Halle Berry stunned in a black and nude-paneled gown with a lace headpiece and satin bolero, while Ciara channeled Josephine Baker in a silver crystal-embellished gown with dramatic structure. Both looks cemented Smith’s status as the go-to for modern red-carpet opulence.
What to expect this NYFW: Smith is expected to double down on spectacle and sex appeal. With his growing Met Gala presence (Halle Berry, Ciara), all eyes will be on how he tops himself this season—and whether he uses NYFW to make another iconic New York landmark his runway.
Telfar
Telfar was founded in 2005 by Telfar Clemens, a Liberian-American designer from Queens who built a brand rooted in accessibility, identity, and community, with influences spanning his Liberian heritage, New York streetwear, queer nightlife, and a belief in accessibility in fashion. In 2017, he won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award and reinvested the prize money to scale bag production. The $150–$300 price point strikes a sweet spot: offering luxury design with genuine accessibility.
By 2020, the label was ready to meet demand for the Shopping Bag field by celebrity sightings from Bella Hadid, Beyoncé, and AOC. That same year, Clemens received the CFDA Fashion Award for American Accessories Designer of the Year, an honor he won again in 2021, cementing his influence on the industry.
Notable Moments:
2020 Breakthrough: The Shopping Bag, dubbed the “Bushwick Birkin,” became a global phenomenon. Affordable, covetable, and culturally resonant, it redefined what modern status symbols could look like.
First Flagship Store (2024): Telfar opened its first brick-and-mortar space in SoHo, designed as half-retail, half-broadcast studio, complete with a “bag bar” and community programming.
High-Profile Collaborations: From redesigning White Castle uniforms to outfitting Liberia’s Olympic team, Telfar has extended his ethos of “It’s not for you, it’s for everyone” into every corner of culture.
What to Expect at NYFW: Telfar enters a new chapter with its SoHo flagship, expanding its mission of accessibility. With the Shopping Bag already a modern icon, Clemens is poised to introduce new ways to make luxury truly democratic.
Area
Founded in 2014 by Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk, Area is a New York label that merges architectural precision with downtown experimentation. Known for sculptural silhouettes, crystal embellishments, and bold uses of negative space, the brand has carved out a space where couture-level craft collides with pop-culture spectacle.
Notable Moments:
10th Anniversary Show: Last year, the brand delivered a maximalist presentation of fox-fur bras, cocoon coats, and crystal gowns that cemented Area’s couture ambitions.
Simone Biles at the Met Gala: In 2021, the GOAT donned an 88-pound crystal-encrusted gown that symbolized strength and athleticism while showcasing Area’s craftsmanship on one of fashion’s biggest stages.
Taylor Swift’s Area Denim: From the viral butterfly jeans she sported in 2023 post-Joe Alwyn-breakup to the crystal slit jeans at Super Bowl LVIII, Taylor herself has become one of the brand’s most visible champions.
What to Expect at NYFW: Area thrives on maximalist spectacle, but the question this season is how they’ll translate that into the next must-have piece. Following all the recent hype, all eyes are on which runway fantasy becomes the cultural obsession.
Khaite
Founded in 2016 by Catherine Holstein, Khaite has become the beacon of American quiet luxury. Rooted in a New York sensibility, the brand blends minimalist tailoring with unexpected textures like leather and cashmere to create pieces that feel both cozy and sharp. Its clean-lined staples and elevated basics have made Khaite a favorite among celebrities and a shorthand for modern American chic.
Notable Moments:
Katie Holmes’ Cardigan-and-Bra Set: In 2019, Katie Holmes stepped out in a matching cashmere bra-and-cardigan look that sparked a viral frenzy that sold out Khaite’s knitwear within hours, introducing the brand to a global audience. Since then, the queens of quiet luxury like Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber and Zoe Kravitz have been spotted wearing the brand.
Taylor Swift’s White Gown in The Tortured Poets Department Visuals: Taylor wore a flowing Khaite dress in promotional visuals for her most recently released album in addition to a few pieces from The Eras Tour tying the brand’s minimalist aesthetic to one of pop culture’s most dissected narratives.
Fall/Winter 2025 Runway at NYFW: Holstein leaned heavily into leather outerwear, chunky knits and sharp tailoring, presenting a collection critics praised as the anchor of modern American minimalism.
What to Expect at NYFW: Khaite continues to define quiet luxury for a global audience. With Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner as its best-known ambassadors, Holstein’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection proved the brand’s authority—this season will be a test of how she evolves that minimalism to keep it fresh.
Thom Browne
Founded in 2001, Thom Browne began with custom suits from a West Village atelier. Known for his radical tailoring—shrunken silhouettes, cropped trousers, and iconic gray suiting—Browne quickly redefined American menswear. His theatrical runway work, like the 2009 “Office” performance-art show with live tableau and typewriters, cemented his avant-garde reputation.
Browne’s embrace of the pageboy/newsboy silhouette channels punk and rock references, redefined through his meticulous craftsmanship.
Notable Moments:
The Infamous “Office” Show: In 2009, Browne staged his infamous “Office” show, transforming the runway into performance art with typewriters, filing cabinets, and gray suiting that cemented his reputation as fashion’s surrealist tailor.
2025 Grammys—Doechii: Doechii wore four custom Thom Browne looks across the red carpet, performance, and award ceremony, each one reinterpreting his uniform core aesthetics through her bold, theatrical persona.
Met Gala Sculptural Couture: Demi Moore, Lorde and others turned red carpet into runway theater in Browne’s architectural gowns.
What to Expect at NYFW: Thom Browne remains the theatrical heartbeat of American tailoring. Following Doechii’s show-stopping Grammys looks and his Met Gala dominance, Browne’s upcoming presentation will be scrutinized for how he weaves his signature gray uniformity into another act of runway theater.
Europe may be buzzing with a game of musical chairs, but New York has its own intrigue built less on drama and more on designers cementing their legacies. American designers enter Fashion Week with momentum driven by red-carpet dominance and celebrity endorsement. The shows ahead feel less like “what’s next” and more like “what’s lasting.” It’s a different kind of thrill: not a shake up, but a steady rise of dynasties. Time will tell which ones last!