Fresh Independent Brands Kallmeyer, Elena Velez, And Aubero Close NYFW

The final walk at the Kallmeyer Spring 2026 show.

Matt Borkowski/BFA.com

Still waters run deep, often disguising complex internal thoughts, feelings, and outlooks. It could also describe Daniella Kallmeyer’s approach to her design philosophy, which is rooted in a calm confidence that doesn’t need to raise its voice. Rather in its subtle execution of craft and décor, the Kallmeyer woman bears a confidence that speaks for itself. For the label’s Spring 2026, the designer expressed its offerings in a manner that spoke volumes without screaming.

To start, Kallmeyer chose the song stylings of female crooners Dinah Washington, the American Jazz and Blues singer, and Shirley Bassey, the Welsh performer most famously known for her James Bond theme songs and an original score by Richard Sears. Opening the show was Washington’s song “This Bitter Earth,” which had a melancholic overtone, which isn’t to say it was sad—instead, the calm, powerful mood aligned with Kallmeyer’s vision of elegance and ease.

Whether in the louche hang of a drawstring pants or draped collar wrap jacket, or the soft drape of shirred jersey, a roomy polo-collar sweater, or knitwear with extended scarf-panels, the relaxed attitude exuded throughout the collection. Even in tailored styles such as crinkled blazers or a tunic collar jacket, nothing materialized as rigid, tight-fitting, or too formal. Long, lean dresses in jersey, a lone floral pattern, or a brown pinstripe linen demonstrated the same tension; a softness in an otherwise slim silhouette.

Backstage, an exuberant Kallmeyer explained the almost haunting vocals accompanying the collection, which was shown in the Crane Club, which was a part of The Venue Collection, supported by KFN.

“I’ve been referring to this collection as ‘Spring in Three Acts’. The Kallmeyer woman is so complex and layered, and she contains multitudes. She feels happy by the water, on the beach, and with rolling hills, as well as in the forest. She also enjoys pitching a tent. Everything is simple,” Kallmeyer explained.

Though Patagonia gear, this was not. The designer was referring to the simplicity of a great pair of jeans, in this case shown with a red and fuchsia fitted sweater, the rare pop of intense color in the collection.

“It’s a sense of freedom, something that’s so hauntingly beautiful and elegant, but that same woman can be rugged. She can be in jeans; she can be her most elegant self, still in that version of herself. Some of the most beautiful, sexy women I know strapped on a pair of boots and a pair of jeans, and they’re so gorgeous,” she added.

The models carried oversized bags, a sign that the brand is getting bigger both figuratively and literally. “With having two stores now, we’re dressing our customers head-to-toe. It felt like a natural progression that was almost essential this season. I wanted to make sure that we controlled the ease of this collection, which stands for some super sandals and the most simple, perfect, goes-with-everything loafer, our first shoe offerings done in collaboration with Portuguese craftsmen,” the designer noted. With a boldface name guest list such as Sandra Oh, Julianna Marguiles, Sarita Choudhury, Ilfenesh Hadera, Lauren Santo Domingo, and Renee Stubbs, among others, it’s clear that the Kallmeyer women run deep, too.

Fashion industry newcomer Julian Louie is proving to be one of the breakout designers of the Spring 2026 NYFW collections. Louie founded his label Aubero in 2022, and this year was named both a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist and nominee for the CFDA Emerging Designer award.

With his premiere show, Louie teamed up with his friends at Apparatus, a NYC lighting and furniture gallery that has doubled as a fashion show space lately. It has just the high-brow art and design feel that further elevates a collection like Aubero. His architecture background also lend itself to such an environment.

Louie’s Santa Cruz upbringing leads his Northern California design inspiration; thus, the quintessential surfer archetype informs yet doesn’t overwhelm; in other words, Louie’s aesthetic doesn’t read 80s rad a la Jeff Spicoli but more like Buddhist spirit guides channeling his creativity.

The show’s soundtrack was a drum circle, with varying musicians dispersed throughout the seated guests to serenade the models who looped around the red room’s central console. The low platform was bedecked with weather-worn artifacts that ranged from shells, ancient-looking pottery, and a well-loved pair of checkerboard Vans. Bare chests on several looks recall the parking lot dress ritual common among the surf crowd.

Though save for several sarong-style skirts smattered throughout and a peppering of tunic-style tanks and long robes, the collection was rooted in tailoring with an emphasis on creative layering. The designer further explores and fashions garments as if they were a canvas for fine art.

Louie’s creative genius lies in applying décor and embellishment onto and from within garments with a form of construction that melds them to become a part of the garment. Lace remnants, a fringed scarf, buttons, and textile scraps as elements of an elaborate quilted design serve to adorn styles. He balances and grounds the looks with pieces made from crisp poplins, hand-crinkled poplins, cotton jersey, and slubbed silks in a mostly earthy palette.

Show notes speak to lifelong memories that inform Louie’s creations, and his pedigree, being born to two writers, lends itself to visual storytelling. Like the books his parents wrote, Aubero preserves textiles and their language through clothing to a breathtaking result.

Elena Velez nearly closed the Spring 2026 on Tuesday evening with a show called “Badland” whose name ostensibly borrows heavily from the iconic 1973 Terrance Malick film. Though instead of murderous, wayward 1950s teens, Velez looked to Great Depression Dandyism and a dust-bowl era detachment; perhaps drawing a parallel to those in today’s society who prefer to check out rather than follow the nefarious headlines dominating the news.

Velez created a cast of the era, reflecting a certain “folkloric escapism”. Thus, box-car vagabonds, beatniks, prospectors, and dirt-poor gypsy mystics were portrayed in sunbeaten, oil-stained get-ups reminiscent of Old West saloon girls (the prevalence of corsetry, garter belts, and other lingerie staples was courtesy of a partnership with Ukrainian lingerie label, Zhilyova). A multi-element petticoat-inspired skirt is layered with satin, ribbons, ruffles, tulle, and lace, distressed as if dragged through a dusty street. Mutton sleeve tops, more Victorian than 1930s, are paired with a miniskirt made from various shirt hems, perhaps a nod to the ingenious spirit in the decade that was lacking; while a weathered cotton button front dress with a puff-sleeve princess-style neckline, perfectly recalls the era, a la a Walker Evans photo.

Show notes further defined the show’s message, reading, “Nihilism, nostalgia, and naturalism define the Badland universe. In keeping with the brand’s inspirational pull from literary legacies of apocalyptic America, the new season centers around the themes of prewar discourse: crumbling social orders, quandaries of individualism vs collectivism, and the elusiveness of the American dream.” Though she looked to the 1930s for inspiration, Velez captured the 2020s in a nutshell.