Veronica Leoni, who has been leading Calvin Klein for the past two years, has been reshaping the brand by moving away from its traditional focus on jeans, boxer shorts, and prominent logos. Instead, she has emphasized minimalist designs, such as slip dresses, simple coats, slim skirts, and crisp T-shirts. Leoni refers to this design philosophy as the “discipline of removal,” highlighting her focus on stripping away excess to reveal clean, elegant lines. This season’s inspiration came from Georgia O’Keeffe, an artist admired by Calvin Klein’s original founder. In 1983, Klein purchased one of O’Keeffe’s paintings, Summer Days, for $1 million, later donating it to the Whitney Museum. The collection featured a checked pattern inspired by O’Keeffe’s practical wardrobe, seen in a wrap coat with no buttons or hardware, and a slip dress reminiscent of the late Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, who recently reentered the fashion conversation through the TV series Love Story. At the Michael Kors show, held in the courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art, the first model wore glossy black disc earrings that echoed Alexander Calder’s large mobile, Lobster Trap and Fish Tail. Kors acknowledged the influence of Calder, noting he had traveled to Paris for a major retrospective of the artist’s work. Modernism became the central theme of the collection, with pieces inspired by famous artists such as Henri Matisse, Carmen Herrera, and Ellsworth Kelly. A dress with crescent-shaped shoulder details was inspired by Matisse’s cut-out art, while a pencil skirt featured black and white zigzag stripes reminiscent of Herrera’s work. A banana-yellow ribbon trailing from a black dress was a nod to Kelly’s abstract compositions. Kors described the collection as a tribute to the resilience of New York City, noting the show coincided with the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. He said, “We keep going. Everyone said that no one would ever want to live downtown again. And now look at us.” Tory Burch has rebranded her label, which was once known for logo-heavy ballet flats and a polished Upper East Side aesthetic, into one of the most forward-thinking names in New York fashion week. Her latest show featured an eerie, unsettling soundtrack from The Shining, which she described as “quite dystopian for all of us right now.” The clothing, however, offered a cheerful contrast, starting with a lavender silk dress paired with a golden silk feather boa. The collection included jewel-toned pencil skirts, embellished cardigans, and ballerina necklines, all evoking a midcentury elegance. Burch explained that the collection was inspired by the need for joy, dreaming, and finding bright spots in difficult times. Each designer’s collection reflected a different approach to contemporary fashion, whether through minimalist restraint, modernist references, or a call for optimism in uncertain times. Together, they showcased the evolving landscape of fashion week, where art, history, and personal expression continue to shape the industry.