Joyful dressing and the trends that took over New York Fashion Week

NEW YORK (AP) — Across the runways this New York Fashion Week, designers reimagined spring dressing by shaking up the season’s staples of florals and pastels, opting instead for more modern and irreverent trends.

From legacy brands to emerging talents, designers including Tory Burch, Ralph Lauren and Eckhaus Latta brought joy back to dressing with sartorial twists on color, movement and contrasts that could easily transition off the Spring/Summer 2027 catwalks and into New York’s busy streets.

While New York Fashion Week is only the first stop for celebrities and fashion editors before seeing what London, Milan and Paris have in store, the celebratory tone is bound to be contagious.

Designers had a lot to celebrate, with many marking career milestones: Rachel Comey notched 25 years, Michael Kors and Carolina Herrera reveled in 45-year anniversaries for their brands, and Coach hit a storied 85 years.

Coach sent models down the runway in party hats, glittering gowns with colorful large bow trains, and gift-wrapped present accessories for its anniversary.

InStyle Fashion director Kevin Huynh said designers are waving goodbye to the quiet luxury era and leaning into vibrancy.

“We’re really stepping into like, more is more,” he told The Associated Press, “but not in that dopamine dressing where everything feels haphazardly put on, but like a real sense of vibrancy and excitement.”

At Eckhaus Latta, designers Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta feted their J.Crew collaboration with confetti. Guests were told to open envelopes on their seats at the sound of laughter during the second half of their show and toss rainbow confetti onto the runway.

“Designers are really trying to kind of have fun and show the power that fashion can have in uplifting and inspiring people,” Matthew Velasco, ELLE’s fashion news editor, said.

Tory Burch embraced joyful dressing as a sense of escape, with models in color-blocked embellished looks strutting around a circular indoor catwalk that surrounded an outdoor garden with fountains. Burch said she wanted to contrast opulent femininity with utilitarian sportswear. Her collection featured embroidered cardigans with brightly colored skirts, boa-like thin scarves and a turquoise coat with a matching bag.

“I think when things are a bit more rough in the world you need to dream,” Burch said.

Ralph Lauren opened New York Fashion Week by bringing romance and a celebration of style to the runway.

“It’s about ways of dressing that celebrate ingenuity, originality, and character — the freedom and fun of creating a style that is truly personal,” he said in his show notes.

Michael Kors had the optimism to stage his show outside in the garden at the Museum of Modern Art, where a bright orange trench coat and sunny yellow shoes popped against his black and white looks.

Thom Browne, who often leans into whimsy, created a show inspired by “A Bug's Life,” with a giant indoor garden and models dripping in green crystals that hung from layered suiting. Some channeled actual ladybugs and butterflies with giant colorful hoop skirts, and jackets that looked like cocoons, eliciting smiles from the crowd.

Designers may not be feeling blue this season, but the color was certainly interwoven throughout their collections.

Ralph Lauren played with a palette of blues — from his classic denim to satin and lace gowns, to suiting and blue fur and feather collars. Tommy Hilfiger said he often takes his inspiration from nautical flags, so primary colors — including navy — were prevalent on classic and oversized blazers and rugby shirt stripes on his runway at The Plaza Hotel. Tory Burch styled turquoise and navy, and Henry Zankov delivered teal on the runway this season for Diane von Furstenberg.

After a decade-long gap, the Diane von Furstenberg line returned to New York Fashion Week with Zankov unveiling his first collection as artistic director for the brand. Known for his namesake knitwear brand, Zankov highlighted animal prints on von Furstenberg’s signature wrap designs, while incorporating sheer blouses and dresses along with fluid suiting.

“You want to feel alive,” Huynh said, “like we’re coming out of the cold of winter, and color is such an easy way to accomplish that.”

“Chartreuse had its moment, but teal is something that feels really refined,” he added.

Cobalt blue or Klein Blue — made famous by artist Yves Klein — also took over the runways with Proenza Schouler and Sergio Hudson including the color in their collections.

All eyes were on waistlines this season as designers sent models down runways in cummerbunds, scarves and chunky belts.

For Daniella Kallmeyer of Kallmeyer, the designer added a cummerbund to a buttoned-down blue top over trousers, as well as a white cummerbund embellished with white beading over an all-black suited look.

“It’s that injection of androgyny with a cummerbund in womenswear that feels exciting and edgy,” Huynh said.

At Ralph Lauren, the designer wrapped fringed scarves around the models to break up an all-white look or add a pop of color to the waistline.

After shedding the constraints of winter coats and layers, designers introduced a freedom of movement and fluidity to their collections with fringe.

Asymmetrical dresses swayed with fringe at Jonathan Simkhai while shimmering fringe peeked out from an all-black look at Rachel Comey.

In a twist on tailoring, jackets dripping with fringe made their way down the runway at Monse.

“I always am a firm believer that with the Spring/Summer shows, designers really flex their prowess a little bit more than fall,” Huynh said. “You’re really getting the full spectrum of a woman and a man’s wardrobe.”

A model walks the runway during the Ralph Lauren Spring/Summer 2027 presentation as part of New York Fashion Week on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway during the Ralph Lauren Spring/Summer 2027 presentation as part of New York Fashion Week on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway during the Thom Browne Spring/Summer 2027 presentation as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway during the Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2027 presentation as part of New York Fashion Week on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Vincent Alban)

Models dance during the Thom Browne Spring/Summer 2027 presentation as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A TV news helicopter used by NBC and Telemundo crashed in Los Angeles and burst into flames, killing three people while covering the fatal collision of an SUV and a city bus.

NBC4 Los Angeles reported that two people aboard the helicopter — reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw — were killed when the chopper went down Tuesday in the Chatsworth neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley north of downtown. Another person was killed on the ground, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

The crash happened as news crews were reporting on a collision involving an SUV that slammed into a city bus, killing at least two people and injuring six others.

There were no immediate details on what caused the helicopter crash, but an alarm could be heard sounding inside the helicopter's cockpit as it lost altitude in the final seconds of video the crew broadcast before the crash.

Just after the beeping noise starts, a woman’s voice says “uh oh.” The helicopter moves quickly away from the bus crash site and starts losing altitude. The woman says “You can’t pull up?” before the video stops as the chopper nears the ground.

The helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350, went down near a large storage facility. At least four cars and two storage containers burned after the helicopter caught fire. NBC4 reporter Robert Kovacik was at the bus scene and saw black smoke and rushed to the helicopter crash site.

The station identified the helicopter crash victims as Moreno, a familiar voice for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 during the station’s aerial coverage, and Marciniw. Both were employees of Angel City Air, which operated the chopper for the station.

Moreno, born in Orange County, joined Angel City Air in 2010, the same year she earned a broadcast journalism and political science degree from Chapman University. She reported for several news outlets and began flying with Marciniw in 2023, the NBC4 website said.

Marciniw grew up in Southern California and graduated from Burbank High School in 1974.

“I think a lot of us are still trying to process what happened, this terrible loss,” NBC4 reporter Lauren Coronado told viewers early Wednesday as she stood near the crash site. A hazmat crew was cleaning up jet fuel, she said.

In a tribute to Moreno and Marciniw, the newscast referred to them as “the team in the sky,” saying Moreno would often post videos from her job and was in awe of the view. Anchor Lynette Romero held a colleague’s hand and wiped away tears after hearing Moreno’s voice when one of her posts was played.

In an interview with the station, Esteban Jimenez, a pilot, said he had known Marciniw since the 1990s. He said Marciniw had been his instructor.

“I just talked to him on Sunday. We were talking about the aviation business and retiring,” he said.

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said the alarm sounding in the helicopter’s final video sounds like the low rotor RPM warning horn that signals the main rotor is no longer spinning enough to keep the helicopter in the air.

“It just has all the earmarks of a potential loss of engine power and a dangerous decrease in the main rotor speed,” said Guzzetti who used to investigate crashes for both the NTSB and FAA.

Guzzetti said the pilot appeared to be trying to perform an emergency maneuver to use the wind to force the rotor to spin again much like a breeze turns a windmill. Doing that can create a bit of lift that could help cushion the impact, but Guzzetti said there would have been little opportunity to do that because the helicopter had been hovering at a low altitude beforehand.

There are risks to news helicopters particularly in a major city like Los Angeles where multiple helicopters respond to an incident, but the pilots all coordinate closely over the radio to ensure they maintain a safe distance from each other. The industry also shares best practices to help keep these news flights safe.

“It’s a very unique form of flying. And the community is very good about lessons learned," Guzzetti said. “And so because of that, you don’t hear about too many of those accidents. So they’re rare, but they do occur, just because the mission is a risky one.”

NBC4 and Telemundo 52 Los Angeles said in a statement they “are deeply saddened” and extended “heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives.”

“Losing five Angelenos is very painful,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. “And I know this community of Chatsworth, hit hard, will be grieving for some time.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked the emergency crews responding to both crashes and said in a post on X that “our hearts are with the victims and families.”

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said personnel will arrive Wednesday to begin an investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash.

The station said this is the second aviation tragedy in its history.

In 1977, a KNBC news helicopter crashed when it ran out of fuel while returning to the station after covering a wildfire in Santa Barbara, killing the pilot and camera operator. The pilot, former U.S. Air Force officer Francis Gary Powers, had been in the news years earlier when he was shot down and captured while flying a U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union for the CIA, an ordeal portrayed in the movie “Bridge of Spies.”

There have been at least eight fatal crashes involving news helicopters in the U.S. since 2000, killing 16 people, according to a review of federal accident records and news accounts. They include a 2023 crash in a New Jersey forest that killed the pilot and a photographer aboard a helicopter used by Philadelphia station WPVI and a 2022 crash beside a Charlotte, North Carolina, interstate that killed a pilot and meteorologist during a training flight for WBTV.

This story has been updated to correct that Marciniw, not Moreno, graduated from Burbank High School and to correct the spelling of Jeff Guzzetti's last name.

Golden reported from Seattle. AP Transportation Writer Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.

In this aerial view, people investigate the aftermath of a news helicopter crash in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026.(AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A police officer works the scene after a helicopter crashed near a bus crash in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

An aerial view of the aftermath of a news helicopter that crashed in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

An aerial view of the aftermath of a news helicopter that crashed in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

An aerial view of the aftermath of a news helicopter that crashed in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attends a news conference at the scene of a helicopter crash in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

First responders work the scene after a helicopter crashed near a bus crash in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined by other officials walk to a news conference near the scene of a helicopter crash in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Two people hug each other behind police lines at the scene of a helicopter crash in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass talks during a news conference at the scene after a helicopter crash in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

In this still image provided by KABC-TV shows first responders work the scene after a helicopter crashed near a bus crash in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (KABC-TV via AP)

In this still image provided by KABC-TV shows First responders work the scene after a helicopter crashed near a bus crash in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (KABC-TV via AP)

In this still image provided by KABC-TV shows firefighters respond to a deadly bus crash, in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (KABC-TV via AP)

In this still image provided by KABC-TV shows a helicopter that crashed near a deadly bus crash, in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (KABC-TV via AP)

First responders work the scene after a helicopter crashed near a bus crash in Chatsworth, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)