New York’s kick-off to September Fashion Month included a slew of European brands coming Stateside, with Off-White, Alaïa, and Toteme hosting large-scale runways throughout some of the city’s most iconic landmarks. But for us, what trumped all of the “best” superlatives—whether it was the best runway, best collection, or the best performance—were the Americans. Luar presented its biggest show yet at the Rockefeller Plaza, Willy Chavarria landed an anticipated collaboration with Adidas, KidSuper sold out a comedy show at the Apollo Theatre, and US Olympians took over both the catwalks and street style. Scroll on to see all that you may have missed this Spring/Summer 2025 New York Fashion Week.
The Best Runway Overall – Luar
Luar may not be the last show on the official New York Fashion Week calendar, but for us, the Bronx-hailing brand is the true finale that ties everything together with a bow and a bang. Its runway, held at the iconic Rockefeller Plaza against the city’s skyline, was as star-studded as always, this time with the likes of Ice Spice, Asap Ferg, and Madonna sitting front row and Offset actually strutting the catwalk. For the night, Luar had replaced the world flags at 45 Rock with black flags donning the brand’s cursive ‘L,’ literally planting its presence in the ground.
Spring/Summer 2025 marks a significant milestone for Luar in terms of scalability and growth. With heavy-hitting sponsorships from American Express and JBW Watches, designer Raul Lopez showcased a total of 53 full looks that expanded on his footwear and accessories assortment in a major way. Luar’s first-ever venture into shoes included clogs, kitten heels, oxford loafers, and knee-high boots that went perfectly with the brand’s signature Ana bags, some outfitted in metallic gold, silver, and rose gold colorways to match American Express credit cards. Luar even debuted an all-new bag silhouette, the Yaihara, an evolved sister to the Ana. Big brands want to align with Luar, and Lopez is successfully building on his signatures while balancing his point of view with being commercial. It’s clear from this season’s runway that he no longer is, or wants to be, an “emerging,” niche designer anymore, and that was palpably felt in the overall energy of his show.
With the apparel, Lopez honed in on his inner dark side growing up as a gay Dominican man in New York. Aggressive suits and animal prints nod to “the primal instincts and ferocity” he needed to cultivate to survive in the city. Cocooned hoodies signify his ongoing metamorphosis, both as an individual and a brand operator. We look forward to Luar breaking out of its cocoon and spreading its wings. –YJ Lee
Best Collection – Willy Chavarria
Willy Chavarria’s runway show was split into two parts: his mainline collection, and his Adidas collaboration. His Spring/Summer 2025 ‘América’ lineup centered immigrants, specifically Mexican farmers that Chavarria grew up around in California. The United Farm Workers organization founded by Mexican laborers in the 1960s had helped balance agricultural wages, and Chavarria honored their efforts by featuring their eagle motif in some of his pieces.
The designer’s unique Chicano sensibility shined through durable, raw-edged workwear, worn fluidly across both men and women. Female models donned micro-cropped versions of denim pants, and male models wore skirts, both knee-length pencil skirts and mini cargo ones. Chavarria also presented his own version of power suiting, constructed with fade-washed fabrics in oversized, slouchy silhouettes. His masterful blend of work shirts, sports jerseys, bomber jackets, baggy trousers, and oversized bags made his collection one of the most balanced in terms of both wearability and cool.
On the Adidas side of things, Chavarria leaned into a mostly black color palette accentuated by red roses and stripes. Standouts of the collaboration were neon-hued track jackets with the same exaggerated shoulder padding seen in his mainline collection.
In an unprecedented move, Chavarria also made some of his Spring/Summer 2025 garments and Adidas collab available for purchase online immediately after the show, though unfortunately the Adidas tops are already sold out. –YJ Lee
Best Performance – KidSuper
Never opting for a traditional runway, KidSuper brought the third rendition of its Funny Business comedy show to this season’s New York Fashion Week. Volume III was held at the iconic Apollo Theatre in Harlem—founder Colm Dillane’s hometown—and hosted by none other than Marlon Wayans, who opened the show featuring fellow comedians Earthquake, Sam Jay, Dean Cole, Sam Morril, Kevin Herrara, and more. The likes of Jaylen Brown, Joey Bada$$, Kordell Beckham, and Westside Gunn were in attendance, the last of whom was also on screen as a cartoon character in the show’s opening animation, SCRAM!
Dillane is smart for marketing KidSuper as not just an apparel brand, but a “creative collective that also hosts art shows, records music, and produces films and music videos.” He uses Fashion Week presentations as a way to platform creatives while showing off how his colorful garments move IRL, on real people. His Spring/Summer 2025 lineup truly shined on stage, most notably the mother-of-pearl-embroidered suit sets, pastel Puma tracksuits, and KidSuper’s signature fine art-infused bags and outerwear.
Closing out the jam-packed comedy hour was a surprise finale performance by Jim Jones, who sang ‘We Fly High’ to a standing audience. Jones also starred in KidSuper’s campaign lookbook. –YJ Lee
Best Collaboration
Who Decides War stayed busy during New York Fashion Week with a two-day activation hosted by Complex and an impressive Spring/Summer 2025 runway show. The label also debuted our favorite collaboration of the week.
Designer duo Ev Bravado and Tela D’Amore are the latest to put their spin on classic Pelle Pelle leather jackets. Some styles flipped Pelle Pelle’s Greatest of All Time design with embellished co-branding on the chest and back. They were shown off in striking salmon and pistachio colorways. A black jacket was covered in multicolored stitching that emulated Who Decide War’s signature stained glass window motifs. Cream and brown leather jackets featured a Mt. Rushmore of iconic Black figures (Barack Obama, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr.) across the back, and the Statue of Liberty on the chest. Cash Cobain even donned a special black variation of the design with red, green, and yellow contrast stitching for a special surprise performance at Complex’s activation on Saturday afternoon.
“To have that moment to collaborate directly with them and pay homage to their archival stuff, it means the world,” Bravado told Complex. We love seeing this young New York City brand put a fresh spin on a classic piece of the city’s uniform during its red-hot resurgence. –Mike DeStefano
Best Accessories – Coach Bags
Sometimes, the most exciting part about fashion week is the accessories. Coach delivered its Spring/Summer 2025 collection this past week, and the bags stole the show. The oversized clasp-frame clutch purses in various shapes and colorways were the most eye-catching part of each look. From a giant leather teddy bear to an oversized red heart, Coach presented an incredible collection of new bags that got us drooling for more. –Bree Walker
Best IRL Activation – Justin Reed
If you have an appreciation for vintage, whether it’s high-end clothing, art pieces, or unique accessories, Justin Reed is the brand for you. Notorious for his collection of archive pieces and rare gems, Justin Reed has been dominating in the streetwear space from its LA showroom for some time now. In honor of this month’s New York Fashion Week, Reed and Basic Space brought a taste of his showroom to NYC. The highly-curated pop-up features a roundtable of Chrome Hearts jeans ranging from the mid to high thousands, rare vintage tees, and a selection of runway pieces from Louis Vuitton, Prada, Balenciaga and more. Fashion Week is often filled with hectic crowds, long lines, and everyone swearing that they’re on a list, but Justin Reed’s pop-up was the furthest thing from the usual madhouse circus. The laidback energy, solid playlist, and garments you’ll probably only see once in a lifetime are what made this activation so special. –Bree Walker
Best Celeb Moments – Athletes Takeover
As much as we love seeing Rihanna make a surprise appearance at the Alaïa show or Madonna sitting front row next to Ice Spice at Luar, this season, we were more excited by all of the athletes who actually walked our favorite shows.
Willy Chavarria was the main culprit. BMX rider Nigel Sylvester and UFC fighter Chito Vera both modeled the signature workwear looks of his main line. To debut his Adidas collaboration influenced by NBA legend and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chavarria tapped well-dressed NBA forward Jerami Grant and polarizing track star Noah Lyles. The latter closed the show.
Another US Olympic hero, gymnast Jordan Chiles, made her runway debut by closing out Kim Shui in a floral leotard. NBA vet Kyle Kuzma walked in a matching all-over print black denim set for Sp5der’s debut runway. NFL superstar Justin Jefferson couldn’t make Sunday’s Off-White show to play his season opener at MetLife Stadium, but the brand still made sure to outfit him for his game arrival in an orange camo look from the Spring/Summer 2025 collection that hit the runway on the same day.
The connection between sports and fashion is stronger than ever. It’s cool to see that relationship evolve beyond pregame tunnels and onto actual runways at Fashion Week. –Mike DeStefano
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