3 min read
New York Fashion Week has no shortage of established names, but the real excitement lies with the designers poised to become the next big thing. These emerging talents are rewriting the rules, working with the city’s particular brand of scrappiness, and giving New York fashion its pulse. Here, six to keep tabs on.
Lii
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Lii fall/winter 2026.
Just two New York Fashion Week shows in, Zane Lii’s namesake label, Lii, is already a favorite of the city’s stylish set and perennial cool girls like Jennifer Lawrence and Ayo Edebiri. Born in China and educated at FIT, Lii launched the brand in 2023 after an internship at Proenza Schouler. His clothes rethink ’90s minimalism through architectural, cubist silhouettes, jolting primary colors, and details (like the American Psycho gloves from his fall/winter 2026 collection) that are perfectly strange.
Aisling Camps
César Buitrago / Courtesy of Aisling Camps
Aisling Camps fall/winter 2026.
Mechanical engineer-turned-designer Aisling Camps, featured in ELLE’s 2026 Future of Fashion package, makes knitwear for people who have never been satisfied with a basic sweater. Her hand-knit cardigans, dropped-stitch dresses, and gauzy layers are what she describes as “perfectly imperfect.” Camps, who worked at Polo Ralph Lauren, Rag & Bone, and Proenza Schouler, made her NYFW debut in February 2026, when she showed a lineup of gossamer sweaters and ruched, netted skirts in olive green and jewel tones.
6397
Peter Sutherland / Courtesy of 6397
6397 cruise 2027.
There’s a reason 6397 has become a downtown fashion uniform. Founded by Stella Ishii and now designed by Lizzie Owens, the label takes the pieces women actually wear—jeans, T-shirts, silky slips—and tweaks them until they feel fresh again. Its cool-girl appeal is low-key, yet unmistakable and refreshingly communal in an algorithmic world.
Jamie Haller
Jamie Haller
A look from Jamie Haller’s fall/winter 2026 collection.
Jamie Haller is new to the NYFW schedule this season, but not to the fashion set. Her quarantine-era slipper-loafer hybrid became a cult favorite, paving the way for vintage-inspired shoes, lived-in denim, ready-to-wear, and belts. Haller’s secret is simple: she designs the pieces she wants to wear, like a slouchy Canadian tuxedo with exposed stitching, featured in her fall/winter 2026 collection, then lets everyone else catch up.
Heirlome
Andrew Jacobs / Courtesy of Heirlome
Heirlome cruise 2027.
Stephanie Suberville’s Heirlome, which derives its name from the origins of the word “heirloom” (combining heir and lome, meaning tool), is dedicated to uplifting the craft of her native Mexico, from traditional rebozos to handwoven textiles and artisan-made embellishments. After three seasons of presenting her collections in lookbook format, Suberville is readying for her debut fashion week show this season. It’s a moment when Heirlome’s most intricate pieces can finally be experienced in motion, with all the drama their craftsmanship demands.
Colleen Allen
Courtesy of Colleen Allen
Colleen Allen fall/winter 2026.
Like Lii, Colleen Allen was among the nine finalists for the 2026 LVMH Prize, a harbinger of what’s new and next in fashion. Allen, who spent three years at The Row, launched her namesake label to explore a more instinctive, imaginative vision of femininity. The designer sidesteps the typical runway format for evocative, editorial-style presentations, allowing her growing cult following to fully enter her world of ruffled pantalettes, sculptural jackets, velvet capes—clothes with a little witchcraft woven in.
Ashlyn
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Ashlyn fall/winter 2026.
Ashlynn Park has a way of making minimalist dressing feel anything but minimal. At her label, Ashlyn, tailoring is sculpted, draping is unexpected, and every jacket or dress seems to have a little more going on than at first meets the eye. Founded in 2020, the brand has built a following around Park’s zero-waste approach and clothes that are polished and softly architectural, with neon micro-peplums poking from the hem of a great suiting jacket.
Matthew Velasco is the Fashion News Editor at ELLE. Based in New York City, he previously worked as a News Writer at W magazine and an Assistant Editor at V magazine. Outside of fashion, he enjoys interior design, tennis (both watching and playing), and a jam-packed antique store.