plenty of spectacle

Carolina Herrera, Campillo, Giannina Azar and more Latino fashion brands had some of NYFW’s most memorable moments

Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from Spring 2027 was just how different these moments looked from one another

SEPTEMBER 23, 2026 6:56 PM EDTSEP 23, 2026, 6:56 PM EDT

New York Fashion Week Spring 2027 delivered plenty of spectacle, but some of its most memorable moments came with a distinctly Latino point of view. Across Manhattan, Mexican, Dominican, Puerto Rican and Venezuelan influences appeared in collections that approached heritage from very different directions.

There was Mexican craftsmanship and equestrian inspiration, Dominican glamour, Puerto Rican provocation and a major celebration of Carolina Herrera’s 45-year legacy. And the locations were almost as memorable as the clothes. Designers took over a downtown Manhattan helipad, Lincoln Center, the Plaza Hotel and Grand Central Terminal, turning New York itself into part of the fashion story.

Patricia Herrera Lansing, Carolina Herrera and Emilie Rubinfeld at the Carolina Herrera fashion show as a part of RTW Spring/Summer 2027

Here are the Latino fashion moments from NYFW that deserve another look.

Wes Gordon Celebrates 45 Years of Carolina Herrera

For Carolina Herrera’s 45th anniversary, Wes Gordon brought the house back to where its story began: New York City. The Spring/Summer 2027 collection was presented at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater, where nearly 28,800 yellow tulips transformed the promenade into a dramatic floral installation.

On the runway, Gordon revisited signatures that have defined Carolina Herrera for decades, including crisp white shirts, polka dots, ruffles, statement eveningwear and unapologetic color.

But the milestone was about more than revisiting the archives. Gordon described the collection as a tribute to New York, the city where Venezuelan-born Carolina Herrera presented her first collection in 1981 and built the fashion house that would become synonymous with polished glamour.

“I come to work every day, and I love what I get to do. I have the greatest job in the world,” Gordon told HOLA! in an interview surrounding the show. Reflecting on the anniversary, he added that the collection was “a love letter to New York City.”

That connection could be seen throughout the collection. Gordon collaborated with the Andy Warhol Foundation to incorporate Warhol’s famous portrait of Herrera into a dress and handbags, while the image also appeared on banners outside the building. The collaboration carried a personal stamp of approval from Herrera herself.

After seeing the Warhol dress, Gordon recalled Herrera telling him, “Andy would have loved that dress.”

Carolina Herrera and Wes Gordon at the Carolina Herrera fashion show

The Warhol connection was particularly fitting for a collection looking back at the house’s beginnings. Gordon has said that the artist’s vibrant portrait of Herrera helped inspire his own embrace of color since becoming the brand’s creative director in 2018. The Spring 2027 palette moved between graphic black and white, taxi-cab yellow, soft pinks, pistachio green, salmon and baby blue.

“I love color,” Gordon told HOLA!, explaining that one of his goals has been to make Herrera “a house of color.”

For Gordon, however, the house’s connection to Latin America goes deeper than its founder’s birthplace or its famously colorful aesthetic.

Carolina Herrera fashion show during New York Fashion Week on September 14, 2026 in New York City.

When HOLA! asked why support from Latin America and Spain remains so important to Carolina Herrera, Gordon pointed directly to the history and identity of the brand. f“Mrs. Herrera comes from Venezuela,” he said, adding that “the Latin community is such an important part of who this house is.”

He also spoke about what continues to inspire him about that community: “There’s an energy and an embrace of color and of getting dressed and celebrating life and living beautifully.”

That perspective helps explain why Carolina Herrera occupies such a distinctive position within the Latino fashion conversation. Herrera founded the company after moving from Caracas to New York, showing her first collection in the city in 1981. Forty-five years later, the house is an international fashion powerhouse, but its Venezuelan roots remain part of the story Gordon says he wants to carry forward.

The donation will support Save the Children's emergency response, which focuses on assisting children and families affected by disasters through the delivery of essential supplies — Fashion designer Carolina Herrera is seen leaving the Carolina Herrera fashion show during New York Fashion Week

The anniversary show also connected generations. Carolina Herrera attended alongside her granddaughters Olimpia Báez and Carolina B. Lansing, while Gordon interpreted familiar house codes for a new era rather than simply recreating archival looks.

And despite producing six collections a year, Gordon told HOLA! that finding inspiration is not the difficult part. Traveling, meeting clients and watching how women actually wear Herrera continually gives him new ideas.

Ultimately, he said, the mission remains creating beautiful clothes that make women feel beautiful.

Patricio Campillo Brings Mexico to a Manhattan Helipad

Patricio Campillo delivered one of the week’s most visually striking settings, presenting his Spring 2027 collection on a downtown Manhattan helipad.

The Mexico City-based designer looked to a hiking trip with his mother in Chiapas as one source of inspiration, translating memories of landscape, freedom and sunset into saturated reds, pinks and marigolds.

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Campillo also continued exploring equestrian references. Horse bridles became accessories, horsehair appeared as dramatic trims, and sculptural tailoring was balanced by silk, shorts and more relaxed pieces.

Even some of the fabric carried the landscape story. One silk shirt developed its distinctive brown patina after the material was placed on oxidizing metal plates.

The result felt unmistakably connected to Campillo’s Mexican perspective without relying on literal interpretations of heritage.

Giannina Azar Brings Dominican Glamour to Washington Heights

Dominican designer Giannina Azar went big for NYFW. Azar presented “The Life” as part of Fashion Designers of Latin America at the United Palace in Washington Heights, bringing her signature approach to high-impact eveningwear to the New York stage.

The immersive fashion and performance presentation included 42 models and 36 beauty queens, with sculptural silhouettes and intricate embellishment taking center stage.

Azar has built an international reputation around elaborate couture and crystal-heavy statement dressing, with her designs worn by stars including Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé.

At NYFW, that glamorous DNA was impossible to miss.

Elena Velez Takes a Darker Route With “SMITE”

Elena Velez offered a completely different interpretation of Latino-American fashion. The Milwaukee-born designer, who is of Puerto Rican heritage, presented her Spring/Summer 2027 collection, “SMITE,” at Conwell Hall near the New York Stock Exchange.

Velez has become known for bringing metalwork, industrial materials and an intentionally raw sensibility into fashion. For “SMITE,” the designer explored themes involving violence, morality, conflict and the complicated line between aggressor and victim.

It was confrontational by design and stood apart from the polished glamour seen elsewhere during the week.

Lorena Saravia Takes Mexican Fashion to Grand Central

One of NYFW’s biggest Latino fashion moments unfolded inside Grand Central Terminal.

House of Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt & Seewald Global Studio transformed Vanderbilt Hall into the setting for “Makers, Moguls, and Muses,” with Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin helping bring fashion, technology and American history together under one roof.

V&S Global Studio/Lorena Saravia at Vanderbilt & Seewald Global Studio Grand Central Station NYFW

Among the featured designers was Mexico’s Lorena Saravia.

Saravia presented her Spring 2027 collection with a focus on contemporary Mexican identity, female strength and craftsmanship. The designer has spent more than a decade building her namesake label while working with artisans and suppliers in Mexico.

The Grand Central presentation gave that work a particularly cinematic backdrop. The event also experimented with fashion technology, including live shopping and holographic elements, while actor and TV host Mario Lopez served as emcee.

For Saravia, putting Mexican design inside one of New York’s most recognizable landmarks made the moment especially significant.

Alice + Olivia Goes Full Fantasy

Alice + Olivia brought a different kind of spectacle to NYFW with Stacey Bendet’s Spring 2027 presentation.

Inspired by “Alice in Wonderland,” the collection leaned into elaborate florals, embroidery, dramatic dresses and maximalist fantasy. Bendet also revealed that she incorporated AI into parts of her creative process while developing embroidery and print ideas.

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One of the sweetest moments came when Bendet’s 15-year-old daughter appeared in a regal dress with a dramatic train, tying into the designer’s exploration of the transition between girlhood and womanhood.

The presentation also marked the brand’s return to footwear, with pumps, slingbacks, platforms and ballet flats joining the fantasy-filled Spring 2027 wardrobe.

Tommy Hilfiger Returns to the Plaza Hotel

Few NYFW venues came with as much personal history as Tommy Hilfiger’s.

Hilfiger returned to the Plaza Hotel, where he and his wife Dee once lived for more than a decade, to unveil Spring 2027. Gigi Hadid opened the runway in red trousers, a relaxed khaki blazer and navy bucket hat.

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The collection revisited Hilfiger’s familiar American prep vocabulary through oversized proportions, archival references, rugby shirts, plaid and the designer’s signature red, white and navy palette.

Camila Cabello was among the celebrities in attendance, while Slayyyter closed out the event with a live performance.

Camila Cabello is seen at the Tommy Hilfiger fashion show during New York Fashion Week at The Plaza Hotel

It was quintessential NYFW.

Latino Fashion at NYFW Is Becoming Harder to Define, and That’s the Point

Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from Spring 2027 was just how different these moments looked from one another.

Campillo’s Mexican references did not resemble Saravia’s. Giannina Azar’s Dominican glamour occupied a completely different universe from Elena Velez’s industrial experimentation. Carolina Herrera’s Venezuelan-founded legacy, meanwhile, showed how a Latin American fashion story can become deeply intertwined with the history of New York fashion itself.

There is no single Latino aesthetic, and NYFW Spring 2027 made that especially clear.