There are certain hallmarks of every Tory Burch fashion show — a spectacular venue, relaxed American sportswear, and a message of female empowerment — and the designer’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection at New York Fashion Week delivered all three.

Burch’s consistent desire to celebrate New York City fuels her motivation to find its hidden gems and landmarks to set the stage for her shows. Monday night’s presentation was at an old bank in Brooklyn, which looked more like a giant church than a former financial institution. Marble floors and extremely high vaulted ceilings created a dramatic backdrop, and giant pillars and arches stretched up to a sparkling gold and silver mosaic ceiling.

Burch champions women in her designs

“Women are the answer,” the designer said with a smile, as she described which ideas inspired her latest collection. “I wanted to think about femininity and strength and so there are a lot of things that went into that, and I wanted sort of uber luxe, but mixed with worn and familiar,” Burch told The Associated Press in an interview after the show.

She said the collection had “a lot of focus on proportions, dropped waist, and the hip-slung pants and the skirt, and dresses with the dropped waist.”

Models passed bank tables as they strutted the runway in Burch’s muted tones of brown, blue, cream and gray. The most notable design was, indeed, the low waists on pants and skirts.

Pops of color and body-hugging jersey in new collection

Skirts hit below the knee — some in leather, others pleated in wool chambray — and swayed under tailored blazers. In her nod to sportswear, more casual looks included fitted silk knit shirts with pointed collars paired with wool pants.

While the palette leaned toward earthy, there were moments of bright colors like a turquoise blue canvas trench coat, and a sunny yellow canvas jacket with a hood. “I wanted optimism, and that’s where the colors came in,” Burch said.

Viscose jersey dresses hugged the body but also were light enough to have movement and popped in bright red and cotton candy pink. “We spent a lot of time thinking about jersey and using it a bit differently, where it celebrated a woman’s body, rather than actually just being about the garment,” Burch said.

Pieces like a hand-beaded cotton and linen top and hand-beaded cashmere sweaters showed off the craftsmanship Burch has said is important to the brand. The show closed with hand-beaded mesh dresses and a hand-pleated silk chiffon and lace dress in dramatic black and gold.

“I wanted it to be about pieces that were so beautifully made and tailored, that you would keep forever,” Burch said.

A stacked front row

Celebrities in the front row included Ciara, Naomi Watts, Tessa Thompson, Mindy Kaling, Jessica Alba and Chloe Fineman.

Emma Roberts said she has been “obsessed” with Burch since before she was a teenager. “I remember the feeling of just dying to be able to buy my first pair of Tory Burch flats. So, to now be sitting … front row at her fashion show, this is kind of surreal,” the actor said. “Twelve-year-old me is freaking out!”

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By BROOKE LEFFERTS Associated Press

NEW YORK （AP）