The new and old code of trends at the 2025 New York Fashion Week
Micro-trends and mega fall/winter moments, all at the New York Fashion Week.
A Fall/Winter season of striking contrasts, where New York Fashion Week came and conquered! Here opulence coexisted with minimalism, and rebellion intertwined with refinement—it was an absolute treat for the FROWers. The runway scene in New York commercially and creatively checked all the fashion boxes, and we were impressed. From the revival of ‘90s grunge to the shimmer of metallics, designers reimagined classic aesthetics with a fresh, forward-thinking approach.
The Fall/Winter season may have felt more restrained this season, but moments of theatre still commanded attention. Marc Jacobs captivated with an off-schedule spectacle, sending doll-like models down the runway in exaggerated, almost surreal silhouettes. Christian Siriano leaned into high-octane glamour, unveiling automotive-inspired gowns and glitzy clubwear that shimmered like chrome on a midnight highway. And in a signature display of conceptual artistry, Thom Browne closed the week with an avian fantasy—besuited figures transformed into otherworldly birds, blurring the lines between fashion and performance.
While NYFW comes to an end, their most influential collections, instagrammable moments, and unexpected statements are still redefining fashion’s next big scene. Here are four prominent trends that came out of the runaway this season.
Lesbiancore Layering
This pants-over-dresses layered approach resonates deeply with the rise of lesbiancore aesthetics, where utility meets individuality. The pants-and-dress pairing nods to a practical, no-nonsense attitude while allowing room for self-expression through fabric play and styling quirks.
At NYFW Fall/Winter 2025, the look took on new life, merging practicality with playful experimentation. Coach embraced the juxtaposition with oversized knits cascading over tailored trousers, while young womenswear designer, Alex S Yu turned up the volume with sculptural dresses layered atop patterned pants—an intentional clash of textures that felt both spontaneous and sharp.
Grunge Redux
Grunge resurfaced at NYFW Fall/Winter 2025—not as a nostalgic nod to the '90s but as a reimagined rebellion for a generation unafraid of sartorial dissonance. The runways pulsed with an anarchic spirit, as designers toyed with the genre’s signature defiance while refining its once-raw aesthetic.
European label Proenza Schouler’s lineup featured distressed knitwear hung artfully off shoulders, deconstructed yet deliberate. Their palette—predominantly charcoals and muddy olives—evoked the muted melancholy of rain-soaked sidewalks, with textures that seemed to tell stories of nights spent in dive bars and mornings on cold city stoops. Fashion names like Alexander Wang and Tory Burch also presented tailored grunge, with sharply cut suits softened by shredded hems and distressed finishes along with muted plaid inserts—an ode to the tension between rebellion and restraint.
Boardroom Fashion
Corporate chic got a subversive twist at NYFW Fall/Winter 2025, as designers leaned into office siren—a sartorial nod to the boardroom, but with a wink. The classic language of business attire remained intact: sharp tailoring, crisp shirting, and subdued palettes. Yet, beneath the surface, there was a palpable sense of play.
Michael Kors led the charge on the runway, with impeccably cut blazers paired with slouchy trousers, evoking a ’90s power-dressing nostalgia—but this time, the power lay in the ease. Nepalese-American designer Prabal Gurung, also introduced asymmetrical hemlines and unexpected fabric pairings, disrupting corporate uniformity without abandoning its essence. While Tory Burch reworked pencil skirts with unexpected ruching, Coach infused the look with youthful nonchalance that spotted loose worn ties, and pinstripes softened with knit layering.
Lacey season
If there’s one fabric that left a lingering impression this season, it’s lace. Sheer has commanded attention for a while now, but lace has emerged as the material du jour—ethereal yet subversive, romantic yet rebellious. But forget the saccharine boho iterations of the 2010s; today’s lace is less flower crown, more femme fatale.
On the runway, Collina Strada’s “Fempire” range was draped in melancholic veils, crafting bridal-esque looks that felt more dystopian fairy tale romance. Off-duty model Alex Consani, leaned into the coquette aesthetic with a knowing wink, while Kesha’s brat ensemble demonstrated lace’s potential as both delicate and defiant. This wasn’t lace for a winter night; it’s lace for a world unafraid to embrace its contradictions— very whimsical but also grounded.
Lead image credit: Getty Images
Also read: NYFW 2025: The shows, the trends, the moments to know
