Every New York Fashion Week season brings with it the return of the city’s stalwarts—Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Thom Browne et. al. And it is, of course, always exciting to see what the veterans have in store. But if you’re just focusing on household names, you will surely miss out on the real magic of NYFW: the rookies. Beginning February 6, four labels will present their contributions to the fall/winter 2025 season, their first time on the official CFDA calendar. Some of the brands you may have heard of, like Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen—a favorite of Rosalía’s and style insiders alike (especially after its buzzy dinner party last season, when the eponymous designer literally served up her newest offerings). Others have remained under the radar, including LeBlancStudios, created by Santo Domingo-born duo Yamil Arbaje and Angelo Beato, who just recently brought their label to the United States.
From sculpted art pieces to Roman body-hugging dresses, graphic streetwear to colorful hand-knits, this season’s four debuting brands provide an incredible glimpse into the future of American fashion. Before the chaos of fashion week begins, familiarize yourself with them—before they take over both your social media feeds and the fashion conversation.
Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen
Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen has a hard time choosing a label. “I joke that I’m a fashion designer whose medium is art,” the 30-year-old tells W. Over the past few years, Whalen has made a name for herself among the pantheon of artistic designers, like Susan Cianciolo—now a mentor of Whalen’s—and Eckhaus Latta, where Whalen worked prior to getting her MFA. She’s right in the cranny between art and fashion, producing wearable sculptures created from deadstock material for her collections. Still, Whalen often eschews designations altogether. “I feel most comfortable just saying that I make clothing,” she says.
Born and raised in the suburbs of Boston, Whalen grew up in a household of teachers and writers,. She devoured fashion magazines and sewed in her free time, but still felt unprepared when she arrived at the Fashion Institute of Technology at the age of 18. Whalen sees clothing as a tool for a deeper form of expression, not a piece created for consumption. She struggles with the industry’s obsession with accumulation. “The current model of wholesale and retail devalues the individual labor and work that goes into each garment,” she says. With her brand, Whalen is attempting to bring awareness back to the creative process. “We should put more emotional value into each garment we own, which will lead to a lot less overconsumption and discarding.”
Because of her views, Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen is a small, DIY operation. The brand is carried by a handful of retailers, those that “have the same mentality” as the designer. As her star continues to rise, she’s having to reckon with her place in the industry. “I’m still trying to figure out how I can fit into this space without compromising my values,” she says, and she admits she doesn’t yet have the answer—though she believes it lies somewhere in “a new system of manufacturing and consuming fashion.”
Whalen will stage her first runway show as part of NYFW on February 10, three years after Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen was officially launched in 2022. The brand looks back to the pre-industrial age—with silhouettes that invoke the Medieval and Victorian eras—but with an eye toward that sustainable future. Whalen’s collection will focus on new forms of materiality, adding some heavier details to her usual ethereal work. The designer has also stepped back slightly from her go-to color palette of whites and ivories, dyeing fabric with tea and iron to create shades of gray and brown. Whalen admits she is hesitant to call the unveiling of her new collection a runway show. “I want to leave a little bit of mystery and room to see how it actually unfolds,” she says. “But there will be 15 to 20 models processing in garments.”
LeBlancStudios
From the start, LBS was inspired by Arbaje and Beato’s surroundings. There are not many brands that come from the Caribbean or Latin America—Oscar de la Renta, who the men both admire, is the only household name from their hometown. The designers set out with a specific goal to place Santo Domingo and the surrounding area on the fashion map. The pair focused on the local market for the first few years after the label’s inception. Eventually, Arbaje headed to New York for school, and the pair decided it was time to take things global.
Currently, Arbaje lives in New York, while Beato remains in Santo Domingo; much of their creative process takes place on WhatsApp. Over the past decade, the pair has mastered the division of labor and successfully found a balance between the co-creative directors. “We both know what we are good at, and we respect each other,” Arbaje says. “Neither of us have egos, so if Angelo designs something better than I do, we go with Angelo.”
Gabe Gordon
Gabe Gordon wears many hats. He is a designer, of course—the creative director of his eponymous brand showing at New York Fashion week for the first time on February 6. He is also a weaver, specializing in a mix of hand and machine knitting. But most importantly, Gordon, 26, is a storyteller.
“I always picture them as little worlds,” Gordon tells W of his collections. While designing spring/summer 2025, for example, Gordon created an impressive tale involving a horseback riding competition, the “hot girls” he looked up to in high school, and the jocks who bullied him. The result was “Horseplay,” an exploration of Americana sportswear, rendered in hand-dyed knits and woven leather. A perfect weave is contrasted with a frayed edge, symbolizing the decay of cloth, a common theme that runs throughout Gordon’s work. And then there is the topic of grief, another constant.
Gordon first picked up hand-knitting after his father passed away. At the time, Gordon was studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. “I found catharsis in it,” Gordon says about knitting. Those feelings remain within the weaves of each of his creations. Recently, Gordon has been expanding on the idea, considering the tension between grief and queerness within the context of America. It’s certainly a relevant time for such exploration, but Gordon is largely inspired by the past, not the present. For fall/winter 2025, Gordon looked to both the ’50s and ’80s—and, once again, he has a feature-length film-worthy narrative to share along with the clothes.
Gordon understands if not everyone grasps the intricacies of his stories. He knows they’re far-fetched, but that’s partly the point. “I struggle with direct references sometimes,” he admits. “But that’s because I want the clothes to feel somewhat ambiguous and confusing.” He places these narratives on his designs, but he encourages the wearer to create their own story as well. “Each piece can have its own life after it leaves my hands,” he says. “That’s often the coolest part.”
Vettese
Kari Vettese’s namesake brand comes from a very personal place. “It’s an extension of me and how I see things,” the 29-year-old tells W over Zoom. “I’m a first-generation Italian and I was raised very true to my culture. Vettese represents the intertwining of those experiences and my American lifestyle.”
Born and raised in San Diego, Vettese imbues her designs with a sense of laid-back, Southern California cool. Draped dresses hang off the body while conversely, corsets provide Instagram’s favorite body shape: the hourglass. It’s no surprise the brand has been worn by some of the most popular It girls of the moment, like Kylie Jenner and Charli XCX.
The Italian sensibility is undoubtedly in the clothes as well. In fact, there’s an ancient Roman influence in Vettese’s work—especially her tube creations, which she has riffed on throughout the seasons. Born from an initial desire to make use of scrap fabric, the designs consist of individual tubes that can be adjusted based on the wearer’s desired fit and coverage. “The tube dresses are very much inspired by ancient Rome,” Vettese says. “I use a specific technique and a special Roman cotton blend that took a while to source.” When worn, the pieces resemble a modern take on a Roman toga, perhaps what an L.A. influencer might have worn to an event at the Colosseum.
