LoveShackFancy Returns to the Cooper Hewitt with a Study in Modern Romance for Fall/Winter 2026

For Fall/Winter 2026, LoveShackFancy once again transformed the historic Cooper Hewitt mansion on Fifth Avenue into a world entirely its own. Founder and Creative Director Rebecca Hessel Cohen returned to the Gilded Age landmark, trading spring’s airy florals for something moodier and more introspective. The setting felt like stepping inside an archival dream, where heritage and modern femininity met in quiet, romantic tension.

This season’s muse looks to lineage and literature, but also to the social codes of Gossip Girl. She is feminine yet opinionated, romantic yet ironic, dramatic yet fully self aware. That duality shaped a collection where soft pastels were grounded in espresso and chocolate tones, where powder blue and blush met bordeaux and gunmetal lace. Beaded mesh corsetry sculpted the waist with restraint, while precise tailoring balanced delicate florals and airy layers. The result was a wardrobe that felt both storied and self possessed.

LoveShackFancy’s signature codes remained present throughout. Bows, lace, and fluid silhouettes were reimagined with a cooler, wintry edge. There was a sense of ease to the tailoring and an undone quality to the romance, as if the girl wearing these pieces had just wandered out of a museum corridor and into the city streets.

Beauty complemented the mood rather than overpowering it. Lead hairstylist Brent Lawler, alongside Batiste as the official hair sponsor, created an undone yet polished look that echoed the brand’s DNA. Hair was styled into low, lived in ponies with soft movement and texture, finished with a bow. The effect was effortless and slightly rebellious, like the girl who loves poetry as much as a late night party and wakes up with her bow still in place.

Lawler described the look as clear and cohesive, rooted in the bow as a core element of the brand but interpreted in a more casual, winter ready way. Texture was key. Loose waves were created with a long barrel curling iron, roots were lifted with dry shampoo for airy volume, and sections were gently pulled back into soft ties to maintain that sense of ease. The final touch, a bow placed just above the tie, felt nostalgic yet entirely current.

Lead hairstylist Brent Lawler, alongside the Batiste team, served as presentation's official styling hair sponsors, creating an "undone-yet-polished" look. Using Wet Brush Frizz-Free Detangler for gentle detangling, Goody ComfortFlex Hair Ties to hold the low ponies, and Bio Iconic Long Barrel Curling Iron to add movement, Lawler relied on Batiste dry shampoo to build texture and airy volume. “We wanted the hair to feel very chic but relaxed—heritage, reinterpreted,” Hessel Cohen shared. “As if she’s been dancing through the halls of Versaille, yet also entirely of the moment.” 

"I wanted a concept that is clear and cohesive. I love a bow and bows are part of the DNA of the brand. I wanted to give a look that is more lived in, more casual, more wintry, and natural. It's the girl that loves to party but also loves poetry. so if she wakes up in the morning with the bow still in her hair, she just throws on her ballet flat and heads out the door for coffee.” 

LoveShackFancy’s Fall/Winter 2026 show was not just a presentation of clothes. It was a fully realized atmosphere, where history, femininity, and modern self awareness intertwined. In a season defined by contrast, the brand delivered a reminder that romance can evolve without losing its essence.

Photography: LoveShackFancy