The lights of New York were doing the most on Saturday night at One World Observatory—glittering below the glass walls, threatening to upstage the runway. Kim Shui wasn’t having it. 40 looks came storming through for Spring/Summer 2026, each one playing with the idea of what we show the world, what we keep keep hidden, and the tension between the two.
"SS26 explores concealment, distortion, and the act of peeling back layers," Shui says in her show notes. And she meant it. When I last spoke with Shui, she told me how her collections often pull from her own story—growing up in a Chinese household in Rome before moving to the U.S.—and how designing feels like a way to be seen on her own terms. This season, you could feel the shift from last season’s bolero ties-meets-Qipao collars moment; the silhouettes were less literal, the message more personal.
Her starting point: Artemisia Gentileschi’s Allegory of Inclination, a 17th-century painting that was censored for centuries. The woman in the painting was originally painted in the nude, only to have artist Baldassare Franceschin paint drapery over the figure because the nudity was considered "improper"—even though that was in line with Renaissance and Baroque traditions at the time. It was only recently uncovered in its original, unfiltered form. That story hit home for Shui, with themes rich for exploration: erasure, cloaking, reclamation, power, to name a few.
MOMENT DEPT
MOMENT DEPT
But make no mistake, this wasn't some quiet art-history dissertation. Shui's shows are known for being raucous, and this one was no exception. The room was dimly lit in a blue light when I first walked in, abuzz with editors trying to find their seats in the dark and influencers trying to find the best place to take photos (luckily, 103 floors above Manhattan, skyline glittering below, the options were plenty). I spotted Jordan Chiles chatting with someone afar, and Love Island's Amaya Espinal in an oversized fuzzy white hat and burnished red suit from Kim Shui FW25 (later, I interview her after the show, and can now attest she's as likable and fun to watch in-person as she is on TV). When everyone sat down and the bass-heavy electronic music started to play, a woman's voice speaking Cantonese wafted through the speakers.
Kim Shui grew up in Rome, and her Spring/Summer 2026 show was a love letter to the city. The clothes told the story in layers (quite literally): sheer panel skirts over opaque satin pants, neck-high ruffles poking through tailored jackets, and trousers that, upon second glance, are actually thigh-high boots. In true Kim Shui form, every look was attention-grabbing—celebrity Shui girls (Kylie Jenner, Cardi B) don’t wear her clothes for subtlety. Yet, this season, things felt softer, more romantic.
MOMENT DEPT
Yes, there was plenty of Shui's signature lace-up corsets and birthday party-worthy mini-dresses. But look past the snakeskin boots and thumping bass and flashing strobes, and you'll find a collection that's surprisingly soft and nuanced, full of unexpected moments, like swingy fringe dripping off black lace woven over a olive-green dress, or silk chiffon tops and dresses where the fabric seems to float, not drape, unfurling like soft wisps of fog. The clothes felt like they were stretching, peeling back, breaking free, and at its heart, this collection seemed to celebrate the joy that comes when you no longer have to hide.
Almost 10 years into her brand, Kim Shui seems less interested in the noise and more in the reveal. Like Gentileschi’s muse holding a compass, the Kim Shui woman isn’t waiting to be told she what she can do—she's drawing the map and charting the course.
