Pinterest girls and metrosexuals alike have been awaiting the flood of new, trendy looks that the upcoming New York Fashion Week will inevitably bring. Unlike other fashion weeks, which focus primarily on haute couture, NYFW emphasizes ready-to-wear clothing. It creates a space for emerging designers to display their innovative additions to daily wear, where more established designers rekindle the nostalgia of previous styles and fashion consumers desperately need a vision board for the changing seasons.

At this year’s NYFW, the ’90s will be back. And one designer, scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sept. 13, stands out among the lineup for ‘90s chic: Anna Sui. Sui’s designs — clashing whimsical with grungy — are the perfect balance of club-to-club party girl, traditional luxury and defiant anarchism. She encompasses the chaos yet constant relatability of growing up as a young adult. 

Here are some predictions for Anna Sui’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection: 

Leopard Print

Anna Sui’s leopard-print shirts, skirts and accessories from her Fall/Winter 1995 collection, worn by Michele Hicks on the runway, were iconic pieces of hers. They have heavily impacted the recent revival for animal prints. We all know that a leopard-print mini skirt or tank top is the recent go-to item for a wild night out with the girls, the gays and theys — just right for pissing off a passerby grandmother on the streets. Inspired by both old-money heiresses in the movie “Bringing Up Baby” and the punk rock, party-goer scene of the ‘70s rock era, Sui proved in the ’90s that leopard print can be both classy and nasty. She demonstrated that it can complement a fur coat for either a 1930s-themed ball night or a cigarette-scented outing at a bar. 

Faux Fur

Fur is a controversial material in high fashion, with a history of designers being targeted by protestors for animal abuse. But Sui has long been a proponent of faux fur, preferring its ethical sourcing and economic accessibility to consumers. Fur is also a symbol of status and wealth, and Sui’s recent use of fur in her FW25 collection was a conscious reference to the upper-class style of the 1930s. She saw the status associated with fur as a symbol of generational heirloom — an item handed down the family line. In her FW98 collection, fur was a representation of something passed down historically, as she used fur to create fairytale-esque outfits with animal hats and accessories, to mirror costumes from old Scandinavian folklore. Faux fur to younger fashion consumers is representative of the supposedly better times of the past. It would certainly not be a surprise to see Sui bring faux fur into her new collection, particularly as a way of creating nostalgia towards those vintage times.

Babydoll Slip Dress

Lined with flower lacing and falling just above the knee, the babydoll slip dress is the most scandalous statement piece of Sui’s clothing line. Representing childhood purity tainted with teenage angst, the babydoll slip dress was heavily derived from Kinderwhore fashion: an aggressive take on feminine style popularized by Courtney Love that pushed against hierarchical norms. Inspired by the alternative music scene of the 90s, Sui showed in her SS94 collection that fashion can challenge social standards around clothing and gender presentation, while simultaneously being playful. Sui described her 1994 collection as “dress-up” as opposed to pure political commentary, making the babydoll slip dress an accessible approach to countercultural activism because it is both easy to don and rebellious. As fashion fanatics have likely noticed this year, lace slip dresses have flooded flea markets and thrift shops, becoming a staple layering piece or even a stand-alone one — all thanks to Sui’s jaw-dropping 1994 collection.

Anna Sui remains a major force in the ready-to-wear fashion world. Her most iconic looks, which are currently a large part of the most anticipated trends of the fall, will very likely be adorned by the models stomping down the runways of New York City. So look out for Anna Sui—she may just be your new fitspo for the coming season!

Contact Yuuki Lubin at [email protected]