Alexander Wang last hosted a show on the New York Fashion Week calendar in February 2018. But with new leadership, new product innovation, a mysterious new project and a brand anniversary to commemorate, the draw this season was too real to ignore.
“There’s a rumor that I left Fashion Week as a rebellion. But we really just wanted to reassess the business and [ensure] we came forward with a [strong] story every time we showed,” Wang told Glossy, “It was always about more than showing a collection down a catwalk, and being locked into the calendar was difficult.”
With 2025 marking the 20th anniversary of Alexander Wang, however, returning to the calendar that helped launch the brand plays into its seasonal narrative.
“It’s a milestone year — plus, there’s a much bigger story that’s been brewing in the background,” Wang said. “It makes sense to come back to New York Fashion Week and introduce this new project in a special and meaningful way.”
Wang was secretive about the details of the “bigger story” but confirmed that his plans involve the former HSBC building in New York City’s Chinatown that he reportedly purchased for $9.5 million last month. He also clarified that it’s a family project, rather than a brand project, and that the brand’s connection will read like a collaboration.
“[The project] started with my mom, her vision of what she wanted to build and her legacy,” he said. “She’s been talking to me about it for decades, and it finally started to come to fruition in the last couple of years. … She has always stood for bridging cultures, [namely] East and West.”
The September 12 show — held in the new building at 58 Bowery — will serve as a preview of the project, which will officially launch in 2026. It builds on the brand’s support of Chinese communities, having shown in Chinatowns in L.A. and NYC in recent seasons. And it plays into Wang’s “support of creative arts in the Asian diaspora,” he shared.
“In opening this building, we’re opening what the future looks like,” Wang said. “It ties to how we communicate as a brand, who we work with and what we stand for — and it’s going to open up a lot of purpose.”
He added, “As we’ve matured as a brand, we’re not just looking at the Asian diaspora as a consumer market. They’re also shaping what this brand represents and building an alternative luxury brand that isn’t just Western European — it [incorporates] the vision of our ancestral roots.”
The brand’s Spring 2026 collection will be titled “Matriarch,” as a dedication to both Wang’s mom and “the alpha female that has been the driving force behind my inspiration since day one,” he said. Wang hinted that a campaign tied to the “mother” theme will simultaneously roll out.
For the first 11 years of the brand, Wang’s mom, Yin Wang, served as its chairman, while his sister, Aimee Wang, was its CEO. In 2016, Wang himself took over these positions while his mother and sister stayed on as board members and shareholders. In 2022, the company took outside investment for the first time, selling minority stakes to two Chinese investors: the fashion conglomerate Youngor Group and the VC capital firm Challejers Capital.
“The new project and the collection feel right for the moment; it feels like we’re saying the right thing at the right time,” Wang said. “We’re bringing the customer to the forefront of telling the story, and we’re committing to this community in many ways — not just through product, but also by giving back. We’re showing a side of the brand that people haven’t been able to see.”
Among those who have followed Wang’s career, the move could be regarded as damage control. The designer faced multiple sexual misconduct allegations starting in late 2020, tarnishing his reputation and leading some one-time fans to disassociate with the brand, if only temporarily.
“You can’t enjoy the peaks if you can’t navigate the valleys,” Wang said. “We’ve had low moments, and we’ve had high moments, but you’ve got to always move forward. That’s what I focus on.”
Immediately following the show, within the new space, the building will host an “Encore” afterparty where “local members of the community will help tell the story of what the space will eventually invite,” Wang said. It will feature a Mahjong tournament, plus artists and performances from the Asian diaspora, and some surprises.
As for what’s to come from the brand, specifically, Wang said its new leadership is set to bring new energy. In July, Alexander Wang announced former Marc Jacobs chief merchandise officer Robert Rizzolo as global brand president. And in April, Anna-Karin Loureiro, Calvin Klein’s former head of global creative, strategy and innovation, signed on as CMO. Industry veteran Paula Sutter was the brand’s acting CEO for five years,
Wang stressed that both he and the brand are growing up. “I’m in my early 40s; I’m not the ‘New York downtown kid’ I was always called,” he said.
At this season’s show, the brand’s evolution will be reflected in a bold embrace of emerging technologies, including AI, both within the collection and the show experience. For example, the runway will feature a first-of-its-kind 3D-printed, zero-waste stiletto dubbed The Griphoria, created using machine learning in collaboration with the software and production company HILOS.
“I’ve always been incredibly curious, and I like to embrace change and what’s next,” Wang said. “I don’t believe AI is going to replace creativity — creativity is the only disruptor. And AI allows us to reserve our human mindset for bigger things.”
He added, “We’ve always had a startup mentality. Everyone coming into the company is expected to challenge the status quo and the conformity of luxury; we don’t rest on any laurels, and we think outside the box: How can we shape culture and community through unconventional design?”
Maintaining that mindset is serving the business well amid the current macroeconomic challenges. “With what’s happening with tariffs and the political climate, everyone is just waiting for the pin to drop,” Wang said. “There’s only so much preparation you can do, and then you just have to embrace what’s going to happen, remain nimble, scrappy and resourceful, and focus on the larger mission. Not being part of a massive [fashion] group with so many political layers is our superpower — we can move very fast.”
During its separation from New York Fashion Week, the Alexander Wang brand has successfully transitioned to a majority direct-to-consumer business, going from 25% DTC sales five years ago to 60% today.
“It was painful for a few years, and it was at the time Barneys and a lot of the retailers that had supported the brand were closing,” Wang said, regarding the shift from wholesale. “But, sometimes, you’ve got to take the dive. If you’re the last one to jump off the boat, there may not be any lifeboats left.”
The brand has also significantly grown in regions beyond the U.S., specifically the East, Wang said. In 2021, the brand opened a second flagship in Beijing. It currently has 37 full-price stores globally and will reach 39 stores by the end of the year.
“The industry has changed dramatically, and the audience has changed,” Wang said. “Fashion is a spectator sport now. People are watching [runway shows] online, and people are going around to several shows on the calendar. But for our show, we’re also inviting people from the community who are seeing a fashion show for the first time. We want to create an experience that is democratic and turns the keys over to the viewer, allowing them to tell their own version of the story. We’ve challenged ourselves to rethink our approach to content.”
The community members will include brand fans, who will be invited via an AirDrop at the brand’s Soho store. In addition, members of the Chinatown community will be on-site, “playing hosts.” Wang said.
The brand’s social channels showcase its content focus, with — for example — a video series centered on “Wangovers,” or full-on style transformations to people on the street.
As for the brand’s reputation for outfitting “cool girls,” Wang said, “It’s more about dressing the individual who drives their own decisions and feels most confident when they feel most like themselves — we want to give them the products and tools to do that.”
Wang said the brand’s advanced contemporary is “definitely” an advantage, at a time when luxury sales are declining and consumers are trading down. “I never wanted us to be defined by our price point,” he said. “We want to create the best value proposition for the customer, which means creating something that creates an emotional response — and that gives us permission to do things that are unexpected”
In the near future, that will include the brand moving into categories beyond apparel and accessories, Wang said, though he declined to share more.
Still, handbags and accessories — like the brand’s popular Ricco and, prior, Rocco bags — will remain central business drivers, Wang said. Hardware will also stay a brand signature, though “new technology and innovation will push that DNA into new iterations,” according to Wang.
Collaborations, too, will remain in swing, with multiple currently in the pipeline. “For us, collaborations have to feel like we are saying something new and interesting in a space when there’s a lot of noise, and we have to believe in the value proposition,” Wang said.
As for what he wants to leave behind in the brand’s next 20 years, he pointed to his viral parties that were given a name in 2017. “RIP, Wangfest,” he said.
All in all, building a “meaningful” business is the goal, he said. And replicating the bank building project in other cities is a possibility.
“I’m excited about where we’re headed,” he said. “With age and experience comes clarity.”
