Alexander Wang’s Bold Return to NYFW: S/S26 Collection

Look 10

Alexander Wang debuted his Spring/Summer 2026 Ready-to-Wear collection yesterday at New York Fashion Week, marking his return to the runway after a notable hiatus. The show celebrated the brand’s 20th anniversary, and the guest list didn’t disappoint, featuring Law Roach, Martha Stewart, Cardi B, amongst others.

The collection, titled “The Matriarch”, is a tribute to Wang’s mother and, more broadly, to powerful women - “alpha females,” as he puts it. It was held in a meaningful space in Chinatown, New York, a building recently purchased by Wang and his family, adding another layer of personal resonance to the evening. 

Now let’s get into the show… 

Colour palette: Black, White, Brown, Grey, Blue, Translucent 

Favourite looks: Look 2, Look 3, Look 4, Look 10, Look 15, Look 18, Look 36 

Questionable Looks: Look 11, Look 13 

View Full Collection here: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2026-ready-to-wear/alexander-wang/slideshow/collection#1

Wang’s inspiration was clear: feminine strength, discipline, and defiant elegance. The collection delivered fur, deconstructed tailoring, a bold schoolgirl aesthetic, and flashes of tech innovation, all while using sustainable materials in response to growing industry expectations around responsibility and innovation.

One standout was the opening look: a sculpted suit-dress with accentuated hip bones and purposeful accessories. Structured silhouettes ruled the runway, with a clear emphasis on clean lines and hard edges. Wang wasn’t softening femininity, he was sharpening it.

ABOVE - LOOK (in order) 1,3, 15, 43, 36, 23

Accessories reflected this ethos, too: briefcases, zipper-detailed heels, chunky silver jewelry, watch-face belts, and most notably, 3D-modeled inflatable neckpieces. These balloon-like structures appeared throughout, as neckwear, handwarmers, and statement pieces. My personal favourite was the gemstone-covered versions. Others were minimal in black, and some were even covered in fur adding unexpected texture - which were also really cool!

One of my favourite looks, Look 10 (shown at the top), brought a surprising hit of colour. A striped shirt-dress was layered under a harlequin-patterned knit sweater vest. Simple, yet clever. In a way it reminded me of a school uniform, but in a Gossip Girl cool upcycling way.

Hair and makeup kept things unified and sharp: slicked-back styles, bleached brows, and dramatic black eyeliner turned the models into blank canvases, allowing the clothes to speak for themselves.

Look 13

The only look I had trouble liking was the translucent nude dresses, layered under mini skirts (see Looks 11 and 13). For me, they lacked the creativity and intention found elsewhere, and didn’t contribute meaningfully to the theme of empowered femininity, in fact they devalued it.

As the collection progressed, coats, jackets, and capes dominated the closing looks. One standout was a cape-style coat with a hood and elongated, winged sleeves - perfectly transitional for spring. Laser-cut fabrics mimicking feathers appeared on outerwear, dresses, and bags, adding delicacy to the otherwise bold collection.

The use of shapes was also played with, to add to the structured tailoring. Fun geometric square shapes were used in three identical looks with a squared crop top and squared mini skirt, creating an alien, otherworldly effect. Each look done in a different colourway - studded grey fabric that was the real WOW factor and also plain black and white.

This S/S26 collection feels like more than just a show, it’s a statement of reinvention. After recent controversy, Wang’s return to NYFW with such a deeply personal collection feels like an attempt to reshape both his design narrative and public image. The emphasis on strong women, structure, and heritage marks a shift away from his former “downtown party kid” aesthetic into something with more meaning and maturity.

I’m curious to see whether this signals a full rebrand,or just a brief pivot. Either way, there’s something undeniably special here.

With love, 

Mimi x