The Cool Drop: The Visionaries of New York Fashion Week
From Maria McManus to Grace Ling — five designers redefining what it means to dress, dream, and create in 2025.
I’ve been drawn to fashion for as long as I can remember. The fantasy of it all felt as thrilling in childhood as it does today. I spent my adolescence designing miniature collections for my Barbie dolls on a tiny pink sewing machine. The idea that you could wear art — that you could carry beauty with you wherever you went — is what still captivates me.
I stepped away from fashion for a time, beginning my career at a fashion house after college before wandering through a winding road of industries and roles. But one thing has always called me back: Fashion Week.
In 2017, I spent a month immersed in the full rhythm of fashion month — traveling from New York to London, Paris, and Milan. I sat in darkened venues staring down the runway as designers from around the world unveiled their Spring/Summer collections. It was stressful, magical, chaotic, transformative — a story I’ll save for another time.
For now, I want to highlight some of the incredibly talented designers presenting this September. Whether you consider yourself a fashion lover or not, I hope you find appreciation in the craft, creativity, and beauty at the heart of their work.
Maria McManus — Maria McManus designed what feels like my personal dream collection this year. Clean, pared-back silhouettes paired with powdered pastels created pieces destined for capsule wardrobes — garments that could be cherished and passed down through generations. Her ethos of sustainability and her decision to cast models across generations reinforced this vision. I’ve always admired simplicity in women’s fashion, the idea that clothes should complement rather than overpower us — to make us feel beautiful, not just look like we’re wearing something beautiful. McManus delivered that balance perfectly, especially in her own words describing this collection as “centered on women, and women coming together and collaborating to man the chaos that’s happening all around us.”
Altuzarra — Raised in Paris by a Chinese-American mother and a French father and beginning early career roles at Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, and Givenchy, Joseph Altuzarra’s brand has continually been a stunning mix of inspired and polished designs since its 2008 launch. His SS26 collection follows suit, referencing different time capsules and creating a collection that juxtaposes aspiration and wearability, and vulnerability and strength.
Sally LaPointe — LaPointe launched her label in 2006 after completing her BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design. Since then, her collections have consistently redefined what “wearable art” can mean, always centering the woman who wears it. Known for her fearless monochrome looks and unapologetic boldness, LaPointe’s work is an emotional experience — one that proves true art doesn’t just please the eye, it makes you feel something.
Grace Ling — Body- and gender-inclusive, Ling’s latest collection — Future Relics — explores the tension between the ancient and the futuristic. Her work reminds us that clothing is history in motion: sometimes culture shapes what we wear, other times what we wear shapes culture. Draped fabrics paired with sculptural metallics created a collection that felt like both a time capsule and a portal, collapsing past, present, and future into a single, powerful narrative.
Christian Siriano — I’ll forever have a soft spot for Christian Siriano after savoring every episode of his winning season on Project Runway in 2008. The reality TV association didn’t always earn him immediate respect from fashion’s elite, but to dismiss him is to miss the point. His designs have always been a rebuke of elitism itself. What matters — and what has sustained him — is his creativity, his ability to make fashion feel like art, and his continued role as an inspiration for the next generation of designers.
As September’s runways unfold, I’m reminded that fashion is less about fleeting trends and more about timeless creativity. These designers each carry their own point of view — bold, quiet, or somewhere in between — yet together they capture the energy of what it means to live, dress, and dream today. It takes me back to that Fashion Month when I chased shows across New York, London, Paris, and Milan — the chaos, the magic, the beauty that felt bigger than me. That feeling has never left, and it’s why Fashion Week will always draw me back: not just for the clothes, but for the possibility they carry with them.
Because in the end, fashion is never just what we wear — it’s how we choose to show up in the world.
Until next time,
Kelly