How did we get here? We need to rewind a bit. \u201cOne reason New York fashion seems to have lost its way,\u201d says Lauren Sherman, fashion correspondent for Puck<\/a>, \u201cis that by the early 2000s, designers like Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren\u2014who had made a huge cultural impact<\/a> on American style\u2014were now trading on the stock exchange. As their brands got larger, they began to lose the contact and connection with the customers who built their businesses. Other big names, like Calvin Klein<\/a>, would sell their companies.\u201d As for those who came up after them, such as Zac Posen and Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler, \u201cwhile they had the industry support to become famous names, they never had the financial means to become the next big designers.\u201d<\/p>\n There are some who will want to blame politics. But while the current climate would suggest that it might seem unsavory to conspicuously celebrate anything American, when it comes to fashion, at least, the opposite seems to be true. Take the European spring collections, which collectively featured more khakis, Oxford shirts, quarter zips, navy blazers, and sweaters draped over the shoulders than a Nantucket clambake. See also: the \u201980s Gunne Sax florals at Chlo\u00e9; the California color-block denims at Versace that could have been swiped from the student body on Saved by the Bell; the young Ivy Leaguers at Dior Men reminiscent of an Abercrombie & Fitch back-to-school catalog. And then, of course, everyone else who seemed to be borrowing from the Michael Kors playbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t happening because of nostalgia,\u201d says Marcus Allen, founder of Gen Z style mecca the Society Archive<\/a>, \u201cbut because in an era of creative director musical chairs and throwaway clothes, the solidity of American classics\u2014and clothes that are eternal\u2014feels more meaningful. Our generation of designers is bringing a fresher, more eclectic take on the sportswear we grew up on, moving it forward, making it feel of our time and not stuck in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n It was hard not to see whispers of Michael Kors and his signature brand of New York elegance in many a European spring collection. MICHAEL KORS<\/p>\n This was surely what Matthieu Blazy had in mind<\/a> when he presented his second Chanel collection in an abandoned New York subway station last fall, orchestrating a sharply drawn tribute to the magic and energy of Gotham. Each model traipsing out of those subway cars represented a specific archetype: the NYU student rushing to class in her camel quarter zip and jeans. The Park Avenue doyenne off to power-lunch in her leopard print tweeds. The Dimes Square hipster in her trompe l\u2019oeil flannel. Sure, they may have all been wearing Chanel, but these were New Yorkers through and through. (There was a sequined \u201cI \u2764\ufe0f NY\u201d shirt, too, lest anyone miss the point.)<\/p>\n While the show certainly helped inject some verve into this city in supposed decline, let\u2019s not forget a fundamental truth: New York remains the number one incubator of talent. We nurture more young designers than any other city on the fashion calendar\u2014and they, in turn, are brilliantly reclaiming sportswear and connecting with a new customer.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Europe there is too much product associated with a persona or image rather than connection to the person who would wear it,\u201d Nellie Partow says of design houses across the Atlantic. By contrast, her eponymous line, Partow<\/a>, is made for women \u201cwho are living active lives and have a strong sense of themselves. They need clothes that relate to the speed of their lives, not the speed of delivery cycles<\/a>.\u201d Mix-master Henry Zankov<\/a>, meanwhile, appreciates the freedom he has in New York to explore his unconventional ideas. \u201cThere is a casualness that makes it easier for a designer to be original and have a voice,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople here are willing to take more chances on you.\u201d And isn\u2019t it this essentially American ideal of individuality that allows Rachel Comey<\/a> to experiment with loosened-up versions of city dressing; Zane Li of Lii Studio<\/a> to conceive perfect pencil skirts and cocktail dresses from golf bag fabric and double-face cotton twill; and Fear of God<\/a>\u2019s Jerry Lorenzo to deliver a master class in sportswear codes, with suits so supple they feel like your favorite tracksuit?<\/p>\n![\"Model](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/7a3245045e4b66c5b5cfb0f0e08b7eb3.jpeg\"\/)
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