An upscale evening at 3 West Club set the scene for Diana Mahrach Couture to present her Fall/Winter 2026/27 collection. The event was hosted by Mahrach alongside H.H. Dr. Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe, and together they opened the night by declaring that the looks about to grace the runway were designed to “make every girl feel like a princess.”
To celebrate the start of a new fashion week in New York, NYFW Backstage launched its 5-day pop-up for fashion enthusiasts. The multi-day event ran from Friday, February 9 – Tuesday, February 13 at 21 Greene Street with tickets available to the public and doors opening at 11 am daily.
At the helm of this immersive experience is Creative Director Ethan Tobman, whose artistic vision has illuminated stages around the world, including Taylor Swift’s iconic Eras Tour. With Tobman’s guidance, NYFW Backstage became more than just a showcase of fashion; but rather a canvas for storytelling. Guest had the opportunity to hear from top designers like 3.1 Phillip Lim, Eckhaus Latta, Jason Wu, and Sergio Hudson as they shared insights into their collections and creative processes.
Some of the immersive activations included:
TRESemmé Style Studios
TRESemme’s expert stylists pampered guests at the DIY station with free touch-ups and styling appointments
Front Row Livestreams
This activation allowed guests to witness the excitement of designer shows live on a big screen. They got to see the latest trends and designs fresh from the runway.
IMG Models Photo Studio
IMG Models Photo Studio offered a chance for guests to have professional photos taken and leave with three images to kickstart their modeling portfolios.
The Anatomy of a Look
The Anatomy of a Look provided insights into the creative process behind runway-ready outfits. Guests explored sketches, fabric swatches, and more, gaining a deeper understanding of how fashion comes to life on the catwalk.
Women’s History Month has come to a close but at The Knockturnal that doesn’t mean the celebration stops here.
Fashion designer Rachel Zoe styled people at the Tanqueray Damn Fancy Styling Station. She described her custom drink recipe as ‘crisp.’ In an interview with The Knockturnal, she dished on her partnership with Tanqueray and her fondest New York Fashion Week memories.
Exact Publicity Agency, based in Los Angeles, produced the fabulous recent fashion extravaganza: the Noble X Addison Guerra Showcase. Based on the designs of Addison Guerra and Lazar Hayward’s Nobel, the invite-only, exclusive event, held at Los Angeles’ Sneakertopia, brought out celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, YouTubers, fashion insiders, and various entertainers to view the collections.
Non-leather doesn’t have to mean non-chic. Luxury vegan brand GUNAS was created with both animals and the environment in mind, and founder Sugandh Agrawal continues to lead the handbag industry in using leather alternate materials.
“We were friends in High School of Art and Design and then we parted ways,” explained Scott Chester. “We went to different colleges and didn’t see each other for 15 years,” Evelyn Luna adds, completing her partner’s sentence perfectly.
Scott and Luna beamed on the red carpet after the completion of their show which presented the summer/spring collection from their clothing line ACID at Nolcha Shows.
The business partners turned couple spoke in sync and completed each other’s sentences as they explained how they reconnected after 15 years before deciding to build a brand together. Scott studied industrial design during his college career, while Evelyn stayed in NYC to study fashion at the Parsons School of Design; before beginning a 13-year position on Diane Von Furstenburg’s design staff where she became Director of the Textile Department.
“Somehow, we ran into each other again,” Evelyn says. Scott recalls, “Two days before 9/11. I remember when it happened, all I could think about was her and her parents. When we got back together it was more about us working well together and taking advantage of that.”
Evelyn concludes, “We started out working together and eventually that lead to more.”
ACID stands for Arielle Chester Industrial Design, named after Scott’s daughter, and was originally a company that specialized in designing custom furniture in 1990. Clothing came into play after Evelyn reached out to Scott to help with a graffiti project under DVF. After continuous collaborations, the two began to create their own vision.
“We didn’t want to design prints that everyone else did, we wanted to look outside the box. One of our mottos is ‘beauty in our surroundings,’ they’re the things you see but don’t acknowledge to be something you could wear,” Evelyn says. She continues, “They are statement pieces but if you look at the make of them, they are classic pieces you could wear for a very long time. It’s taking a classic piece and adding the prints.”
The prints being referred to range from plant cells, a reflection in a puddle, a transmission print from a car, and so much more. Scott and Evelyn are able to capture these prints through photography and zoom in or flip the images any which way to create the design they desire for a piece of clothing.
Sony Records artist Nick Hissom, known for his music promoting equality, approved this seasons collection. “I think it’s important to stay cool and current when it comes to your fashion, your image, and your styling,” Nick stresses, “the designer took a lot of risks and it paid off. It was colorful and exciting. I really enjoyed it, it was fun.”
Head to the ACID website to check out the latest pieces from the SS’18 collection, and be sure to use your 10% discount for first-time orders.
One of the most highly anticipated films of the year is without a doubt Marvel Studios’ Black Panther.
“I just started thinking more about the issues that are surrounding the idea of black cinema and black designers having more representation.” – Aurora James
If you know anything about the designer brand Chromat, you know that they are always serving up superhero vibes. Each collection explores the idea of merging architecture, fashion and technology, with a special focus on empowering women. So when it came to teaming up with Disney and Marvel to make a one of a kind look, inspired by the film Black Panther, it was a perfect match. Chromat was founded by Becca McCharen-Tran in 2010 and has taken off with superhero speed since then. We had the opportunity to sit down and speak with Tran alongside fellow Chromat designer Tolulope Aremu. Check out what these two unapologetic women had to say in our exclusive interview below.
Can you tell us about collaborating on this project with Disney and Marvel’s Black Panther?
Tolulope Aremu: When we got this project, I immediately thought okay, Black Panther, super hero, African, Chroma babes … And the first person I thought of was my mother. I’m 100% Nigerian, so growing up in our household, seeing her cultural garbs and her Ankara fabrics fill the closets from like brim to brim; it seemed very natural to put this Ankara into the look. Then when we finally saw the film and saw the technology behind it, it seemed like we had to add a tech element to it. So, we added neoprene, as well as a bonding fabric. Then to kind of wrap it all into the chroma babe world, we added the cages to the dress, as well as the halo piece behind me. Adding all those three things into one look seemed very natural. Then putting that look inside Wakanda was very fluid and it just kind of worked.
Do you feel like this look could be a part of your collection or is within the same realm with the message your brand portrays?
Becca McCharen-Tran: I would say definitely one unique thing about this piece is that we made it for plus size models specifically, and that’s something that we are always trying to encourage more of in fashion. Not only diversity in race and ethnicity, but in body size and shape. So we’re always about highlighting plus sized, curvy models, as well. I would say it’s funny we’ve never worked with a print before for our main line but this project was really special to be able to work with this Nigerian Ankara fabric. But a lot of the other shapes with the neoprene is very much in line with us … it’s super Chromaty.
What dose this experience, being a part of this collaboration, mean to you personally?
Becca McCharen-Tran: The Black Panther project was so major. It’s a huge, huge deal. It’s changing the world, so it’s a huge honor to be apart of it.
Tolulope Aremu: Just to have any small part of this whole thing was really an honor and a privilege. It’s just going to take over the world. Just to have like a little dab … in it, is just amazing.
Do you have an ideal person or celebrity that you would love to see in the look?
Tolulope Aremu: When I thought of designing this look, I thought … I didn’t want it to be tribal. I wanted the look to be for a Nigerian queen, going to this Wakanda event, wearing this piece that she got from Chromat and was like, I’m gonna wear this and slay all day. That’s what I thought of.
What is your super hero piece? When you wake up some mornings feeling blah and you feel like “I need to put this on so I can conquer the day”.
Becca McCharen-Tran: For me it’s eyeliner, cat eye, like liquid liner.
Tolulope Aremu: For me it’s the three dots that I put here (points next to her eye). It feels like war paint and it kind of represents my mom, my dad, and my brother.
Be sure to check out Marvel Black Panther in theaters February 16.
This event was brought to us by Marvel Studios and Disney and sponsored by Lexus, Lancôme and benefits Save The Children.