At New York Fashion Week, Women Designers Are Redefining Career Clothes

It’s easy to get caught up in the theatrics of New York Fashion Week—troves of street-style paparazzi, Kendall Jenner cameos, and social media overload. But beneath all of the performance lies real pragmatism via an unprecedented number of working women designing clothes for other career women. In a world where we make up nearly half the workforce, it makes so much sense that the industry prioritizes real-world dressing for those of us who actually live—and work—in these clothes day in and day out.

It’s a subtle but significant evolution led by female designers who know what it’s like to multitask. They have deadlines, commutes, and unanswered emails, but they're also supportive partners, moms, and friends.

Ultimately, and especially now, amongst declining luxury sales and the threat of tariff-inflating fashion, the secret to keeping the industry in business isn’t about stunts and showmanship. The actual math is in remembering who’s wearing the clothes. Men perched in ivory towers telling women how to dress for “success” feel especially tired and out of touch.

And that’s the story you won’t see on the paparazzi wires: many female designers understand that fashion should work as hard as the woman who hangs her 9 to 5 hat up in exchange for her 5 to 9 job back home. From Frances Howie at Fforme to Khaite’s Catherine Holstein, the eponymous Colleen Allen, Marina Moscone, and Kallmeyer, and newly-installed Veronica Leoni at Calvin Klein, these designers are quietly rewriting the rules of “workwear.” They’re making pieces that actually reflect how women move through the day—without resorting to tired power tropes or stuffy corporate clichés. Think of them as your new go-to names for clothes that respect your time and your good taste.

Calvin Klein practically wrote the American sportswear playbook—and nailed “quiet luxury” long before TikTok got its hands on the concept. Now, newly minted creative director Veronica Leoni is set to revive the brand’s signature ease this fall with what she calls a “24/7 wardrobe”—think crewneck sweaters, crisp button-downs, sharp tailoring, and more coats than an East Coast winter could ever demand.

Frances Howie’s first show after Paul Helbers’s sudden exit signals a clear pivot toward craftsmanship from a distinctly female-first perspective—her guiding inspiration for the new collection. Fringe takes center stage, richly layered textures dominate, and vibrant pops of color animate even the simplest silhouettes. For Howie, dressing practically doesn’t mean dull; it means finding that perfect balance where function and personality thrive.

Another relative newcomer to the fashion month circuit, Colleen Allen trusts her instincts to shape a collection rooted in Victorian references but with clothes that are still distinctly modern. You may not wear her crinoline undergarments to the office, but you will find pencil skirts and jackets that celebrate the female form in ways a male designer could only guess at. She also creates beautiful but wearable V-necks, and favors draping, ruching, and even a few ruffles, all of which are distinct parts of her magic touch.

Catherine Holstein infused Khaite’s latest collection with a moody, darkly romantic undertone that makes the brand’s cult-favorite ready-to-wear and accessories all the more tempting to imagine in your closet next fall. She remained faithful to the anti-basic denim that put Khaite on the map but upped the drama with thigh-high (nearly waist-high) boots, edgy opera gloves, and orderly black berets. Though some accessories skew more ornamental, her signature leathers, cable knits, investment furs, and shearlings ground the collection in real-world practicality—even if it's an aspirational price point—so even one standout piece can do the heavy lifting for your entire wardrobe.

Stepping into Marina Moscone’s showroom is like receiving a personal invitation into her creative sanctuary, where early ideas and long hours converge into a living workspace. And then you get to see the collection out in the wild. For her Fall 2025 preview, it was set within a sleek, modern penthouse with expansive city views, perfectly framing the city-slicker sentiment that fueled the capsule. Signature feminine cape dresses mingle with masculine pinstriped suits—slightly oversized yet impeccably tailored—to capture that elusive essence of soft power that so many designers strive for but rarely achieve.