As New York Fashion Week (NYFW) spring 2026 approaches, Fashion Reverie is back with another exclusive first look into the sketches—and minds—of the designers shaping this season. From VERDAVAINNE’s joy for his wearer, to Bishme Cromartie’s cryptic and surreal visuals, to A.Y.O.R.’s nostalgia-infused nods, and Evan Hirsch’s viral fashion for good, this season forecasts individuality, meaning, and elusive excitement. Before you take your seats at the shows, we invite you to take an exclusive dive into what this spring season might bring, through the creative minds shaping it.
VERDAVAINNE
Cyril Verdavainne’s eponymous label VERDAVAINNE is by no means pioneering florals this spring season, but if he’s honest, the real inspiration behind his collection is “the same as it always is—our client.” The VERDAVAINNE woman is the everything woman. She’s a do-er, a mother, a hostess of fundraisers and intimate soirees. She wants to do it all looking and feeling incredible.
“We’ve built a thriving made-to-measure business by listening—truly listening—to these women,” says Verdavainne. “What makes them feel beautiful, what flatters their shape, what makes their lives easier. This season, that translated into updated original prints, new fabrications, and fresh takes on silhouettes our clients really love.”
Bishme Cromartie
Bishme Cromartie’s invite graphic… Green crabs with his theme being “Baroque Clairvoyance.”
Bishme Cromartie teases his collection with an ominous invitation; crabs stacked on top of each other under a greenish hue that evokes night vision surveillance. Eerie, uncanny, and intriguing. “Baroque Clairvoyance” are the two words scribed across the image. “Baroque,” an “artistic and cultural movement from the late 16th to the mid-18th century, characterized by drama, grandeur, and emotional intensity” and “Clairvoyance,” ‘the alleged psychic ability to perceive events, objects, or people beyond the normal range of the senses, often manifesting as “clear seeing” or “second sight.”’ The words used juxtapose the modern feeling of the inspiration image, leaving us full of excited wonder for what Cromartie’s collection might bring.
A.Y.O.R. by Roberto Silva
A.Y.O.R.’s Roberto Silva, was richly inspired this season. The A.Y.O.R. team provided Fashion Reverie with a surplus of inspirational imagery; Silva’s childhood denim jacket from Levi’s, his favorite image; a highly forward-thinking geometric 1940s era Gilbert Adrian look, more geometric references in the form of sculptural art, and a touch of Dandyism found in another vintage photograph.
Show-goers of A.Y.O.R. and fans of the designer alike can look forward to a collection full of nostalgia, as shown by the denim in his designs, (influenced by a certain denim jacket, perhaps), and some geometric flair, as hinted by the sculptural images and stripes one of Silva’s sketches.
Evan Hirsch
Evan Hirsch’s latest collection, “Found Opulenced: Thrifted Beginnings… Couture Endings” was spurred out of a newfound fancy for innovating pre-loved pieces. In partnering with ShopGoodwill.com, Hirsch is upcycling his entire collection from found items from ShopGoodwill.com and reworking them into newly relevant pieces. The collection is sustainable in essence, turning old into new.
Well known for his social media following, where he broadcasts his famously convertible pieces and garners millions of views, Hirsch has found virality again in his most recent foray with upcycling. He takes a pre-loved piece, brings it home, breathes new life into it by making it almost unrecognizable, then returns the garment to the rack for a lucky shopper to come across, in an act of generosity and sustainability.
Images courtesy of the respective brands
Bonan Li
New York and Beijing-based designer Bonan Li is a naturalist in practice. With sustainability at the forefront of her work, her designs reflect nature both in construction and in silhouette. Draping, sourcing deadstock fabric, and abstract sketching are four pillars of her process. Her latest collection includes a zero-waste cut dress, an upcycled tailored suit, and a shrink pleat minimal waste dress.
This season, expect from Bonan Li exquisite craftsmanship, innovative draping and stitching techniques, and beautiful motifs that reflect the world of nature around us.
Here’s to abundant inspiration for spring–groundbreaking!
—Marley Gifford
Speak Your Mind