Anna Bolina's Runway Is a Release

Since 2020, the self-funded brand has cultivated its DNA on true authenticity, standing out from the slew of NYFW brands as the one true gritty New York label that actually has something to say. This extends to the designs themselves, an often obscure and subversive take on the latex stripper look or the oversized hooded challenger. Past shows have been moments that resonate with people, an aggressive and deeply visceral showing of creativity that can only be done by Bolina herself.

As we pack into the modern, matte black venue, guests look for their assigned seats based off the squiggly Sharpie tagged on their wrists at the door. Meditative, spa-like sounds play as people walk around in their meticulously thought out looks and mingle with those that they recognize. Anna Bolina army veterans like Sophia Lamar, Ren G, DeSe Escobar and Bebe Moon Official take their position and prepare for the long-awaited return from their most beloved brand to give them a dose of the fashion they were so hungry for.

What started as a stimulating show unto itself, with guests having their pictures taken by photogs like Anna Bloda and The Cobra Snake, quickly turned into a tension-filled waiting game with attendees manically scrolling their phones and tapping their feet eager for the girls to finally walk the runway.

Anna Bolina is always a show that starts late, but this time it was really late — like, two hours late. Some were visibly agitated, feeling like they were being held hostage as the snow slammed outside the windows, but that’s simply the thing with Bolina: guests are always somehow willing to put in the work to receive the reward. It’s easy to claim that Bolina is anti-fashion, anti-mainstream and wholly human in her designs and visual universe. But the truth is that this label would be limiting. With each show, each look and each model teetering slowly in stripper heels fighting for their life, Bolina finds truth in that she gets to make what’s cool before showgoers may even realize it themselves.

This season was no different. As the mix by Sausha De La Ossa starts to play, models’ shadows appear behind a latex tarp and they reveal themselves before having to inch down a slanted walkway to get to the main runway. As is always the case, some models slip and fall, but there’s a rawness and reassurance in how they get back up like nothing happened.

The looks themselves were simultaneously typical Bolina-core yet entirely fresh and fervent. With bare-faced makeup pairing skin-tight latex gowns, shiny white piping wrapped around girls’ shoulders, and Home Depot-esque kitchen backsplash tiles studded onto heels and industrial garments, the Fall 2025 show proved yet again that the Anna Bolina vision will never die. It’s only just getting started.

Many say that the best part of the show is always when Bolina herself comes out at the end and walks the runway. This time, she was dripped down in a casual hooded body-sleeve and the new black Anna Bolina sunglasses, meandering behind the last tip-toeing model and blowing kisses to her devoted supporters. This is a designer who has made something out of nothing, defined "cool" on her terms and effortlessly impacted culture at large in the process.

When the show ends, guests flock to the open bar and it quickly turns into a party. People digest the looks they just witnessed and smoke cigarettes inside on the bleacher-like steps. Knives DJ’s and the barrier between backstage and the floor is broken. It’s safe to say that an Anna Bolina show always feels like a release.

Photos courtesy of Anna Bolina