Fashion’s New Rules: Why Is New York Falling Behind?

The CFDA Fashion Awards celebrate American fashion designers, while the CFDA also organises the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) calendar and oversees applications from participating brands. With sustainability becoming a growing concern throughout the fashion industry, many fashion weeks like Copenhagen and Berlin have developed sustainability requirements for brands and designers. What do these standards involve, and why is New York not adopting fashion’s new rules?

New York Versus Copenhagen fashion week: sustainability requirements

Copenhagen Fashion Week, which took place in August, included 19 sustainability requirements that all participating brands must abide by to showcase their work (however, requirement 6 and 7 were excluded from SS27). These rules required no virgin fur, wild animal skins or feathers. If a brand wanted to use upcycled and/or fake alternatives, they needed to report them. Show and backstage productions were prohibited from using single-use props or plastic packaging, and all brands were required to report their code of conduct. Brands were required to report how they evaluate purchasing practices (e.g. lead times, payment terms, order changes) and their potential negative impact on suppliers and workers (this rule was excluded from brands with more than ten employees).

In contrast, NYFW has sustainability recommendations for brands, but no requirements. These include recommendations for the brands’ content, samples, productions, venue, public relations, and transport/logistics. Given the new rules for fashion that other fashion weeks are implementing, is it really enough that the CFDA only implements recommendations for NYFW?

The CFDA’s Responsibility: Environmental and Social Standards

The CFDA acts as the organiser and governor of NYFW. The CFDA organises the fashion calendar, manages applications to decide whether brands can participate, and manages advertisements of NYFW. In a recent report, the CFDA acknowledged that it “has a critical role to play in supporting the sustainability goals of NYFW and the broader fashion industry.” However, the report also argued that “it cannot mandate how its members operate” and can only “establish clear sustainability guidelines and goals, educate its members about how to meet them, and provide the resources needed to do so.” Why is this? If the CFDA organises the NYFW schedule and decides what brands participate, why can’t it enforce fashion’s new rules?

When we reached out to the CFDA to ask if it has plans to enforce sustainability requirements at NYFW, we received no response.

2026 CFDA Winners

While the CFDA and NYFW are two separate events, understanding the brands that the CFDA gives awards to is important for understanding how dedicated they are to sustainability and fashion’s new rules. To understand if sustainability is a key concern of the 2026 CFDA winners, it is important to research the winners’ environmental and social policies.

American Womenswear Designer of the Year: Rachel Scott, Diotima

Rachel Scott aims to “present a seductive and nuanced vision of Caribbean style”, while incorporating her Jamaican heritage into her fashion. Diotima is designed and crafted between Jamaica and New York, and all of the crochet is made in Jamaica. However, there is no information about where in Jamaica or New York, and whether the workers are paid fair or living wages. Similarly, Diotima does not list any certifications, environmental or social policies, or any sustainability progress that the brand has made.

American Menswear Designer of the Year: Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren holds various social and environmental policies through its Timeless by Design approach. Over the last year, Ralph Lauren decreased its emissions by 42% from its base year. The brand holds various certificates for their material use and animal welfare. This includes the Responsible Down Standard from Textile Exchange, for its practices in down and feather production. Secondly, it holds a certificate from the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, and the Responsible Wool Standard certification from Textile Exchange. However, some certificates do not automatically mean a brand is completely sustainable. In Ralph Lauren’s 2026 sustainability report, it claims to have examined unpaid wages of sweatshop workers in the Tirupur region where “unpaid wages and bonuses were identified, SAVE mediated directly with the respective factories on behalf of workers, with amounts credited to individual worker accounts.” However, the report does not state whether the amount was in accordance with the workers’ wages or whether it would prevent workers from being unpaid in the future. Although Ralph Lauren demonstrates some sustainability issues, the brand shows more policies and sustainability progress than the other 2026 CFDA winners.

American Accessory Designer of the Year: Ana Khouri

Khouri is a New York-based jeweller, with a background in fine arts. Although Khouri has been nominated for the CFDA designer of the year three times, Khouri lacks any environmental or social policies on her website. Similar to Scott, Khouri holds no certifications or sustainability recognition, according to her website. Does the CFDA truly care about fashion’s new rules, when their award winners are not holding any sustainability accreditation?

Colleen Allen: Google Shopping American Emerging Designer of the Year

Colleen Allen, a fashion designer based in New York, took home the Google Shopping American Emerging Designer of the Year Award. How sustainable are Allen’s emerging designs? Although Alen lists her stockists, there are no environmental or social policies listed on her website.

The Future of Fashion Weeks: Are Fashion’s New Rules The New International Standard? Why Won’t NYFW Adopt Sustainability Requirements?

While New York and Paris have not adopted sustainability requirements, other major fashion weeks including Copenhagen, Berlin and London have. Will sustainability requirements become ‘fashion’s new rule’? With France’s new law making it illegal to promote ultra fast fashion, is it only a matter of time before Paris adopts sustainability requirements? Is New York falling behind?

In the same CFDA sustainability report, the organisation surveyed NYFW stakeholders, including designers, event planners, production houses, and public relations agencies. More than half of all respondents said that they viewed sustainability as a social responsibility that fashion show organisers should fulfil. Almost three-quarters of the stakeholders said that the companies they work for have sustainability targets, however, almost 40% of those with targets view them only as a consideration, not as a guiding principle. Among those without targets, 38% said that other issues drive decisions about their NYFW operations. According to Fashion Week Online, NYFW generates approximately $887 million annually for New York City. Is it possible that the CFDA doesn’t want to enforce sustainability requirements because stakeholders aren’t prepared, it could lose out on major brands participating, and its income could be reduced? Will NYFW ever develop sustainability requirements, and will it fall behind if it doesn’t?