There’s always an underlying history lesson with every Anna Sui runway show, and her FW26 collection is a full-blown time machine to the 1980s New Romantics era. Punk and glam rock underscore every look of Anna Sui’s always anticipated presentation at New York Fashion Week. It’s the Anna Sui fans know and love, but turned up on full volume. 

Sui primarily zeroed in on London’s nightlife culture for this collection, presented at the National Arts Club. She chose to take inspiration from the rock stars that she met during the time of the New Romantics, like Steve Strange, Blitz nightclub founder and frontman of the band VISAGE. Strange, along with other musicians like Billy Idol and Boy George, were pioneers for the New Romantics movement while partying at Blitz. The nightclubs of London were the first place where people witnessed the transition from alternative punk aesthetics to fantastical pirate silhouettes. 

According to Sui, side bangs and pussy bows are back in style, and if an item could be made in fur, it was. The color palette aligns effectively with the brand’s past jewel-toned collections, and the leopard print and extravagant tea hats feel reminiscent of some of Sui’s most famous collections from the 1990s. Yet, every look still feels like it would fit right in at the Blitz.

In contrast to last year’s NYFW presentation, this line feels more directed towards a younger audience; perhaps it was even meant for this new generation of club kids. Sui wrote in the show notes that she was creating her fantasy of how she’d like to see people dressing in the present day.