Why Heritage Brands Are Returning to Fashion Week Calendars: NYFW, LFW, Milano, Paris

The city, the calendar slot and the first collection under a new creative direction can turn a long-running transition into a clear public story. Audiences are not asked to decode a gradual repositioning across a dozen campaigns. They see a before-and-after chapter take shape in one event.

Image: Courtesy of McQueen, via AnOther. Used for news and research coverage. A return makes the next chapter visible Diane von Furstenberg returned to the New York Fashion Week runway for the first time since 2017, opening the September schedule with Henry Zankov’s debut as artistic director.

The move placed new creative leadership inside a familiar house name, with the calendar itself marking the handover. Alexander McQueen returned from Paris to London for Seán McGirr’s first London show as creative director.

The choice was meaningful because London is not neutral territory for the house: it reconnects the brand’s current direction with the city that shaped its founder and much of its visual language. Mulberry staged its first runway show since 2017 as Christopher Kane introduced his first collection for the house…