Girlhood, but make it NYFW: How Sandy Liang has transformed the runway.

Bows, ballet flats, and suburban softness are suddenly high strung, high fashion.

In a fashion week that often prides itself on spectacle and razor-sharp reinvention, Sandy Liang’s Fall/Winter 2026 show oddly felt like a warm exhale in your hometown neighborhood. Cozy, nostalgic, and delightfully suburban, Liang once again proved that comfort doesn’t have to mean compromise — and that whimsy, when handled with sincerity, can be quietly radical on a New York runway.

The collection opened with her signatures: ballet flats reimagined in furry textures, bows perched unapologetically on everything from sweaters to outerwear, and coats so oversized they could double as tarps. However, her unabashed embrace of domesticity was the standout for expectations with this collection. Imagine muted pinks,  pastel cardigans layered over silky nightgown-slips, wide headbands paired with corporate-gray trousers, and quilted jackets that look straight from a childhood snow day in suburban Albany— sensible, safe, yet brow raised?

Liang has always mined memory for inspiration, pulling from school uniforms, mall culture, and Y2K teen-girl aesthetics. But in 2026, the references feel less like irony and more like reclamation, maybe even recreations of Pinterest boards with soft girl tags on them. Where some designers chase futurism, Liang leans into the familiar. In doing so, she reminds us that coziness is not the enemy of fashion’s edge — it’s the counterpoint.

Callbacks and eclectic trendspotting were woven throughout the collection, not as kitsch, but as quiet reinvention for the designer’s new season. The models, with flushed cheeks and soft hair bows, could have been walking straight out of a family photo album. Yet the tailoring — sharp blazers, pleated skirts with unexpected slits, satin dresses spliced with athletic stripes — kept it from tipping into costume. This balance between memory and modernity has become Liang’s signature, and it’s what cements her as one of NYFW’s most distinctive voices.

More importantly, Liang’s work is carving out space for sensibility in a landscape that often

demands shock. In a week where metal hardware, dystopian silhouettes, and conceptual deconstruction dominate the conversation, Sandy Liang dares to say: what about softness? What about the suburban girl in ballet flats who never felt represented in the pages of Vogue?

Countrification: The New Wave of Fashion?

If you adhere to the yeehaw agenda, 2025 is your year — which is why I’m having my hay day (pun intended). If you have eyes or an Instagram account, you’ve surely noticed Western wear on the rise, from last year’s runway looks forecasting 2025 to the current New York Fashion Week trends. Big-name brands like Ralph Lauren, Miu Miu, and Prada have all put their boots on the ground, subscribing to the country-inspired wave of fashion now hanging on racks across the U.S.

So, who (or what) is responsible for the “countrification” of designer and showroom outfits? Perhaps it’s the fact that Western wear has always balanced affordability and history — a style equally at home on the farm or in the club, where a bolo tie feels just as welcome as a cocktail dress. Utility may be its biggest flex: denim providing both functionality and flair; flannels offering weather-proofing and layering options; and cow-sourced leathers or furs functioning as protectants and statements.

Across Southern, Western, and Midwestern subcultures, these staples have evolved into aesthetics that now feel elevated, urbanized, and freshly provocative. Some have even dubbed the trend “cunt-ry” or “flex-patriotic” — catchy but accurate descriptions for a look that feels both traditional and subversive at once.

Provocative yet traditional all at the same time, how could we begin to talk about Western wear without the mention of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour, which has featured some of the most iconic concert costumes. From a studded, floor-length denim gown that braved torrential rain in New Jersey, to an all-white, fur-accented leather ensemble at her Christmas halftime show during the NFL’s so-called “Beyoncé Bowl.”

This album, and the resounding effects it has left beyond the Beyhive, seemed to be one domino that fell in a string of pop culture moments with Western inspiration. Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” single leaned into honky-tonk beats and Dixie-inspired desert visuals, while Chappell Roan’s “The Giver” gave sapphic reinvention to the archetypal working man, pairing two-step sounds with cheeky, everyday Americana visuals.

In Houston, Nashville, or Santa Fe, cowboy hats and Ariats have always been closet staples. But now that these elements are marching down New York, LA, and even London streets (gasp), Americana feels more radical than ever. You may point to rebranded patriotism as a big cause of what’s been a long-standing trend on both ends of current politics in the U.S.: the pride of hyper-traditional American-isms, and the response of raised, authentic ideas of what country really means.

Whatever the significance, as a Texan-turned-New Yorker, I declare my pride for this movement into the 2026 fashion season, and as an ill-fashioned American, I intend to hold on tight to the aforementioned yeehaw agenda until every item is checked off.

MARZWRLD: A Multidisciplinary Artist

MARZWRLD is a multidisciplinary artist known for blending visual art and fashion into a beautifully chaotic creative universe. Based in New York City, MARZ has spent the past few years building a body of work that spans photography, modeling, fashion design, event curation, and now—drag. With a background in photography and self-expression through styling, MARZ has modeled for notable brands like Snipes USA and Sprayground, just to name a few. Through their brand PLANETMARZ, they repurpose thrifted clothing into one-of-a-kind wearable art, often incorporating their own original photography and mixed media techniques.

As an event curator, MARZ most recently launched ‘Promiscuous’ , a space for community, artistry, and liberation. Now stepping into the world of drag, MARZ is embracing their full creative identity. Rooted in vulnerability, authenticity, and fearless self-expression.

I had the privilege of chatting with them and trust me, their world is one you’ll want to take a look into.

Diamond Durant: So, first and foremost, what does fashion mean to you personally and creatively? 

MARZWRLD: Fashion. I guess I didn't grow up in the fashion world and knowing anything about fashion until I just ran and we dived into it. It's just like with everything that I do, it's part of freedom of expression. It's just like another part of me being able to be me authentically. It's [fashion] just expression and self-expression and authenticity.

Durant: You work with mixed media in your designs. Can you walk us through your process and what drew you to mixed media, and how has it shaped your voice as a designer? 

MARZWRLD: I like mixed media because you never know what's going to happen. You work with different materials and react differently to different things.I feel I'm more connected with my art when I  just kind of black out in a way, and just let my body just do its thing and just be in a whole flow state. I don't really have a process of making things. I just see these different materials and these different objects and I'm just like, “what if I put that and this together”, “what if I add water to this?” “What if I glue this, let it dry and then chip away at it?”I just have these what if questions and so that allows me to explore a lot more. And what was the second question? 

Durant: How has it [mixed media] shaped your voice as a designer? 

MARZWRLD: Yeah, I've definitely tried to learn Photoshop and, you know, online, like editing software. Like I love doing videos. I love, you know, editing photos. I also think that it's rooting my inner child and connecting with that because, you know, growing up, we did a lot of arts and crafts. And so I just loved touching things and making things with my hands. I would say just by experimenting, and now being at the place I am and seeing my work throughout time. I definitely see the connections to everything. It's just helped me get my story across better by doing mixed media, adding these extra elements.

Durant: So you're a model, a designer and a newly formed drag artist. How does your self-expression shift or stay consistent across those identities, or do they feed into one another? 

MARZWRLD: I think they feed into one another, but they're also their separate entities. I definitely think, if you do more than one thing, it helps with the other thing. I haven't done photography in a minute and I've been kind of creatively blocked there, but drag recently has opened that up for me again. I love doing weird shoots and creating these drag looks. Just having that creative energy flow back into that part of me, while also finding this new creative outlet. Drag has allowed me to express myself in such a different way. Modeling in a way is kind of like acting. You're becoming this kind of persona. You're just posing and you're there and then not. But like with drag, you're in, you're in it. Like you are this person for however long your performance is, at least for me. I love dancing. I love letting my body move, so just letting the music flow through me. I think that's like what my art is, essentially just being in a constant flow state and seeing what comes from that. But yeah, it's all connected and it all has helped me with my other creative endeavors and definitely get it better at each one. 

Durant: How did you first get into drag? Was there a specific moment or was it something that you always been interested in but never had the time to do so?

MARZWRLD: Yes. So I've been wanting to do drag for a minute, and I mean, Ive been doing drag makeup for photoshoots, I grew up a theater kid and and I've done plays and I've done like talent shows and I go to the club and I dance at the club, so you know,  I've always had that, and I've always wanted to do drag and put that together, but I've just always had this fear of doing it. The fear of performing, doing drag, and going out in drag, but I'm such a perfectionist that it hinders me sometimes. I’m in my head and it makes me not do things and push it off because I'm like “oh, I really can't do my own makeup that well. So, you know, I'm just not going to do it as a whole” instead of just going and diving in. Knowing it's the first time, you're not going to be good the first time you do something that you've never done before. I just moved into my new apartment. Now I live with two drag queens. So just seeing them do their thing and just having this itch to do it as well. They helped me get into drag. They provided me with makeup or tips and this and that. So they provide me with encouragement. One of my roommates said there was this drag show that happens every month and it's open sets and I should sign up. And so I did. I had my first performance and it was so fun. And now I'm on my third performance and I just remember my first performance and being nervous and now I'm looking back at my latest performance and I just can't remember having any nerves right before the performance. So it's really helping with my confidence and each time I do it, it gets easier and better.

Durant: And um what would you say your biggest accomplishment is so far, whether a moment, a collaboration or a personal breakthrough? 

MARZWRLD: So I've been in New York for under a year and I've done a lot in that time, I feel like, and so I'm really proud of myself for coming here and really pursuing what I said I was going to pursue and, you know, just putting action behind my own words.  Even through the ups and downs. It's fucking hard on top of it being expensive. New York has a way of really chewing you up and spitting you out, girl. and then my [day] job laying me off two times and, you know, dealing with all that, I think I'm really proud of myself for persevering and like continuing to get my shit done and doing what I said I came to New York to do. So I'm really proud of that and a more specific moment, I'm really proud of my organizing, especially my Halloween party. But actually, I'm really more proud of my queer prom, PROMiscuous’  that just happened. 

Durant: In a world that's constantly trying to box people in, how do you stay rooted in your truth while continuing  to evolve? 

MARZWRLD: I get a lot of my inspiration from just like, like life experiences. A lot of my work can do with living life, so just always just allowing myself to breathe and touch grass and know that like there are no limits to anything and that anything is possible. And if I want it, I got it, I can think it. 

Durant: Rejection is a part of the creative industry or creative space as a whole. How have you learned to handle step backs and keep motivated? Would you say your previous answer lines up with how you’d respond to this question. 

MARZWRLD: Honestly, yeah, I mean, with modeling and being creative you always hear ‘no’ but it really is redirection. I look back and I'm just like everything worked out how it was supposed to. It's hard in the moment, but you come to terms with it, but then you see the bigger picture later on and it's like, “wow, you know, that no was actually a yes for me, honey!” 

Durant: And where do you see MARZ as a person and as a brand in the next five to ten years? And is there anything we can see coming soon in the near future from MARZ? 

MARZWRLD: Eventually I would love to see my clothes get bigger. We can expect bigger and better, higher quality, but still sustainable one of one's, but also branching making clothes that everyone can buy. I want to get into a lot of things. I mean, like MARZWRLD as a brand I do so much. And it's just really exciting, but expect workshops, even more performances. Just expect to be like damn this bitch does it all. And that's what's about to come, honey. Especially with doing drag, I feel like I just dipped my toe into what I'm capable of and what is coming from me. And I just feel like in this next year, or two, or however long,  it's about to be a deep dive into this creative world that I've created. I'm just so excited to see where it goes because I really don't know, but I just know it's going to be good and this is me now speaking into existence with you. 

Durant: Exactly. And that shit is going to happen, okay! 

MARZWRLD: It's happening right now!

Written and interviewed by Diamond Durant @diamondurant

Photography by Mark Bluemle @barks.mindd 

Talent: Marz @​​marzwrldbitch