Carolina Herrera Brings Women in the Arts to the Runway for Fall/Winter 2026

You’d be hard-pressed to name a New York City institution that has not borne witness to a crowd parting for a well-coiffed woman wearing Carolina Herrera. In fact, much of the front row at the label’s Fall/Winter 2026 runway show—Ivy Getty, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Nina Dobrev, and Martha Stewart, among them—are also step-and-repeat regulars at the benefit galas of the city’s biggest performing arts centers and museums. Of course, at the center of it all is artists themselves and a supporting ecosystem of curators, dealers, and exhibitors.

It was here that creative director Wes Gordon found his inspiration for the house’s Fall/Winter 2026 collection, which saw Amy Sherald, Anh Duong, Eliza Douglas, Flora Currin, Hannah Traore, Ming Smith, and Rachel Feinstein walk the runway. “The collection is a celebration of women in the arts,” Gordon affirmed in conversation with Galerie ahead of Thursday morning’s runway show. “Everyone from the actual artists themselves to the curators, the muses, the collectors, the gallerists—and that creative spirit and how it can express itself through wardrobe and clothes.”

True to that sentiment, Gordon shared that his initial muse for the collection was the late Peggy Guggenheim and “her eclectic way of dressing.” There was a whisper of Guggenheim’s sartorial influence across several looks: the cocoon coat that opened the show, embellished with textural loop embroidery; the puff-sleeve tailored wool jackets whose gilded calla lily fasteners and coordinating skirt sets punctuated a procession of crystal and paillette-embroidered eveningwear.

As any Carolina Herrera runway regular knows, floral motifs play a pivotal role in each collection. Pink peonies and magenta ranunculus have featured prominently in the past, but this season, a hand-painted, vibrant red calla lily print set a bold tone. “I’m very excited about this collection,” Gordon said. “There’s a lot of sheerness and transparency, a mixture of beautiful prints, whether it’s an all-over flower or a leopard print, to really create something that feels personal, creative, and New York.”

All of the runway revelry unfolded amid scenographic design that more readily evoked an artist’s studio than the raw-venue energy often associated with fashion week. An atmospheric mural commissioned from painter and set designer Sarah Oliphant enveloped the presentation in geometric abstraction and hues of mauve, soft yellow, turquoise, and vibrant red that forged moments of connection with the collection’s color palette.

Since stepping into the role of creative director in 2018, Gordon has demonstrated his skill creating, within each collection, touchpoints between the house’s heritage, present, and context for the Herrera collections in the larger cultural landscape. “You have to be able to see the past, present and future of a house, and you have to love all of those things,” he says of his position. “This is a house that’s always celebrated creative bold women, since it was founded in 1981 by an amazing, creative, bold woman: Mrs. Herrera.”

For Hannah Traore, the 31-year-old founder and director of Hannah Traore Gallery, it was the combination of the house’s roots as a woman-founded brand and its legacy of sculptural silhouettes. “Their shapes are always unique and beautiful,” she reflected in a conversation with Galerie. Gordon’s well-established respect for the arts has also left a lasting impression.

“The mood board, for example, was littered with paintings, including several by Amy Sherald, but I could really see it wasn’t only artwork that inspired him. It was the whole culture of the arts—the studios, the galleries—and you can see that in the set design and in the clothes,” Traore said. It also wasn’t lost on the gallerist that the fashion house occasionally commissions one of the artists she represents, the photographer Camila Falquez. “That was really exciting, and then I saw the list of other artists involved. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe that I was going to be walking with Ming Smith and Amy Sherald,” she said.

Reflecting on the presentation, Gordon said, “I’m so lucky to work with the most amazing team of people who have really put a lot of thought and work into creating this character and this woman this season. It’s a fresh proposition for the Herrera woman for fall. She feels very New York. She feels very cool, confident and creative. I’m excited for people to get to know her.”