All the New York Fashion Week Moments We Care About

All the New York Fashion Week Moments We Care About

BY Andrew Nguyen | Feb 11, 2025

New York Fashion Week for the Fall 2025 season is here!

As usual, our favorite big-name brands are back like Coach, Michael Kors and Tory Burch. Even Thom Browne is back on the New York schedule again. What's particularly exciting this season are the runways returns of Calvin Klein Collection (under creative director Veronica Leoni) and New York-favorite Christopher John Rogers.

But we've said it before, and we'll keep saying it: What makes New York exciting is that you never really know what you're going to get, especially with fresh talent always popping up. Let's hear it for brands like Gabe Gordon, Jane Wade, 5000 and Tia Adeola who are hustling to make a name for themselves.

PAPER is on the ground, attending the runway shows and presentations and having drinks with your favorite celebrities. Below, see all the moments we care about this season at New York Fashion Week.

Coach Knows What It Stands For

Coach brought everyone to the Park Avenue Armory in the Upper East Side for Fall 2025, showing its commitment to repurposing heritage pieces and reminding us all of the power of self-expression and community. In the intimate space, models walked while Brooklyn-based indie pop band Nation of Language played live in the center of the room.

The collection was inspired by the loved and worn pieces that are personal to everyone's closets, be it oversized jeans, suiting, baby tees, sweatshirts, knits and jackets. Outerwear included a wide variety of coats and jackets: floor-length trenches in leather and shearling, shrunken bombers, peacoats and even a faux leopard coat. Inspired by ones from the 1920s, the collection also had a variety of relaxed dresses, as well as some made from vintage negligees and vintage beaded gowns. In terms of leather goods, the brand introduced the Twin Pocket Bag, inspired by a bag from its archive from 1968.

“My vision for Fall was to ground the collection in all the things that make Coach so distinct as a fashion house: our heritage materials and palette, our commitment to repurposing and 're-loving' secondhand garments through craft, and our belief in the power of community and self-expression,” Vevers said. “There’s a clear, cohesive idea here in terms of materials, silhouette and styling, and that comes from knowing who we are and what we stand for.”

Photography: Isidore Montag

Thom Browne Flies With the Birds

The end fashion week was marked by Thom Browne at The Shed with an otherworldly show presenting his men's and women's Fall 2025 collection. Surrounded by 2000 origami birds, two models playing ornithologists in wool suits set up at their desk in the center of the room to mark the beginning of the show.

What followed was a collection inspired by birds and the hope and freedom that they represent. Classic Thom Browne suiting was reinterpreted with new colors, fabrics and patterns: herringbone, glen plaid, houndstooth and windowpane checks in greens, yellows, pinks and blues. Birds were referenced throughout in the form of embroidery and hand-painting on coats, pleated skirts and blazer jackets. A sequined silver and gold jacket over a shirt and tie with a tulle petticoat and ballgown skirt closed the show.

"Surrounded by 2000 origami paper birds, a symbol of hope, two caged love birds long to be free," the show notes read. "As they peer through the enclosure. A fantastical flock flies past, a representation of dreaming and freedom to be."

Photos courtesy of Thom Browne

Anna Sui's 'Madcap Heiress'

For her Fall 2025 show, Anna Sui showed her new collection of 28 looks at the swanky and historic National Arts Club. Called “Madcap Heiress,” Sui dived into the world of women, like Barbara Hutton and Peggy Guggenheim, who inherited massive fortunes to only spend it on men and jewelry. They lived their lives fabulously and with no inhibitions, a certain kind escape that everyone still desires.

The collection brought the heiress world to life with a plethora of textures, fabrics (tweed-y plaids, washed satin, faux fur trims, lace, tie-dyed crushed velvets and more) in three color stories: teals and greens, magentas and browns, purples and black. Of course, the jewelry had to be opulent, so Sui worked with jewelry designer Erickson Beamon to make costume pieces look like real jade, coral and diamonds. For footwear, Sui worked with longtime collaborator John Fleuvog on custom sneakers in three colorways to mirror to go with each color palette of the clothes, as well as a knee-high leopard print boot and three heel styles. Eyewear brand partner Mondottica also made two frames in four colorways.

Photography: Raul Gatchalian

Michael Kors Gives Nonchalant Chic

Michael Kors brought his audience to Terminal Warehouse, the old location of the famous '90s Tunnel Nightclub, for his nonchalant chic Fall 2025 runway show. Relaxed glamour took form in liquid-y silk dresses and blouses, tailored menswear coats and jackets over pleated skirts and trousers, in rich brown, purple, grey and black tones. There were even more worn-in yet sleek leathers thrown into the mix.

“This show was inspired by the laid-back elegance that imbues the spirit of our homes and our new Michael Kors Collection store on Madison Avenue,” Kors said. “Timeless, warm, modern, architectural yet sensual, I wanted the collection to exemplify cozy modernism and hands in the pockets chic.”

Photos courtesy of Michael Kors

Luar Celebrates Flamboyance

Last September, Raul Lopez of Luar had a historic runway show at Rockefeller Center. This season for Fall 2025, Lopez was feeling more intimate, presenting his newest collection in the lobby of 180 Maiden Lane. Still, Lopez has a lot to say about celebrating queerness in a time when its trying to be silenced.

Titled "El Pato," ("duck" in English), the collection was named after the homophobic slur that's used in parts of Latin America. Although it can of course be used negatively, Lopez was reclaiming the word with an explosive and joyful collection expanding on his signature exaggerated silhouettes and accessories, while introducing footwear.

The show notes read: "Hands like a faggot, life like an ugly swan. Hand gestures gay, flamboyant, pato — just like the clothes he wore."

Photos courtesy of Luar

Gabe Gordon's 'Rubber Boyfriend'

Gabe Gordon went back to the '80s for his fall 2025 collection, called "Rubber Boyfriend." Exploring horror films and homoeroticism, the story behind the runway followed a high-school dance team led by a coach turned cult-leader who helps her team turn the boys wrestling team into rubber sex dolls after one of the dancers caught her boyfriend kissing another guy on his team.

Gordon worked alongside his partner and costume designer, Timothy Gibbons, to make cheerleader turned vigilante-like looks featuring hand-frayed edges, alpaca trims, burnt striped taffeta and chiffon with lacy details. The boys wore rubber wrestling gear of course and collegiate knitwear, making the high school fantasy-slash-horror-slash-drama all come to life.

Photography: Thom Concordia

Collina Strada Builds a Fempire


Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada was thinking about the end times for her Fall 2025 collection, titled "Fempire." It's fitting, considering the state of the world right now. But in Collina Strada's version doomsday, femininity, queerness, and disability are embraced and care is currency. For the clothes, Taymour and her team raided thrift stores in New Jersey and turned vintage wedding dresses and outerwear into new, spliced pieces

"Femininity is not a set of instructions. It’s a mess of beautiful contradictions — fierce and soft, dark and illuminating, private and protective, unapologetically visible and glam," the brand said in its show notes. "Claim your space as a way to make room for others. Be the star that you are."

Photography: Alessandro Viero

Jane Wade Climbs the Corporate Ladder

In "The Merger," Jane Wade dove deeper into corporate culture and the use of technology in professional life, setting her show in a "boardroom" surrounded by live and streamed footage. The narrative followed a fictional company acquiring Jane Wade, with assistants setting up a boardroom before the head honchos (like Lisa Rinna) secured their deal, as Wade continued to put forward workwear and office attire with oversized suits, asymmetrical shirting and crochet armor.

"This show examines how we perform corporate theater across both physical and digital spaces," Wade said in a press release. "Every element, from the circular runway to the streaming cameras, reflects how we navigate contemporary professional life through multiple lenses simultaneously."

Photos courtesy of Jane Wade

Christopher John Rogers Makes His Return to NYFW

After five years, Christopher JohnRogers made his return to NYFW with "Collection 015: Exhale," an expression of gratitude to his customers, partners and chosen family who've supported him all along the way. Inspired by the works of Angela de la Cruz and Hélio Oiticica, Rogers wanted to celebrate joy and autonomy in a time when it's being challenged.

"We haven't been immune to the recent challenges of the industry and are grateful as a brand to be here now presenting this body of work," said Rogers in a press release. "Exhale is a celebration of our roots — expressive occasionwear imbricated with declarative, playful daywear — and a continued effort to give space for our fantasies to flourish."

Photos courtesy of Christopher John Rogers

One Night in Bangkok in New York City

On the very last day of fashion week, a runway presentation, called "One Night In Bangkok," featured four emerging Thai designers who showed eight to ten looks. It was all made possible by The Treasure by DITP, Ministry of Commerce Thailand, and Future Treasure, curated by Tan Sawaddichai and styled by Sarunrat Panchiracharoen.

The designers included Vinn Patararin (known for its innovative use of textiles and experimental production techniques), Matter Makers (a streetwear brand), Merge (the reigning denim brand in Thailand) and Vickteerut (a womenswear brand that leans toward minimalism and tailoring).

Photography: Randy Brooke