Prints and Color Were Highlights for Apparel and Shoes at Coterie

Breezy silhouettes, prints and color pops led the Spring ’26 women’s contemporary fashion trends at Coterie New York, while browns, burgundies and blondes — and even safari looks — highlighted the shoe offerings.

The three-day show held from Sept. 14-16 at the Javits Center in N.Y.C. included nearly 700 brands from 35 countries. Retailers attending the show included Bloomingdale’s, Anthropologie, Printemps, Julian Gold, Hemline, Galeries Lafayette, Monkees, Equinox, Nuuly and Nikki Beach Lifestyle, according to Coterie vice president Purvi Kanji.

She said that between 40 percent to 45 percent of the brands were international, and 20 percent of the exhibitors were new to the show. For , there were 70-plus brands at Coterie, with 30 percent new to the show. Shoe brands showing for the first time include 275 Central, Ateliers, Carrano, Toni Pons, Amie Rafa, Maile World and Alta Shoes.

While buyers were generally on the hunt for newness for spring, some were looking for immediate deliveries to round out their fall and winter assortments.

Sonja McPhail and Hannah Brock, buyers from Fleet-Plummer, a gift shop in Greensboro, N.C., were at Coterie for the first time and said they appreciated the range of options at the show. “There’s plenty of product here and we opened 12 new [accounts],” Brock said.

McPhail said the store’s customers range in age from 30-80. As for any tariff impact on pricing that she’s noticed, McPhail said most vendors appear to be “absorbing some of the increases.” On the trend front, the buyers gravitated to colorful prints at the show.

Brittani Arrigali, associate buyer for Rue Gilt Groupe, was on a different kind of hunt. Her business requires large volumes for its discounted assortment mix.

“We think this is our time to shine. Maybe she’s not shopping full price this year,” Arrigali said. Arriving on the last day to check out the booths, she thought traffic was on the “lighter side,” which she hoped could translate to perhaps better pricing for orders she might place.

Arrigali said she noticed an increase in wholesale pricing, but said it was minimal at “less than 5 percent,” which is “not a significant impact” for Rue.

Exhibitors said traffic at the show over the three days was good, noting that buyers were placing orders. And given the backdrop surrounding tariff uncertainties for the better part of 2025, sales reps at the different exhibitors said they didn’t see any slowdown in the number of orders that were placed.

Reneé Leung, director of sales at Favorite Daughter, described traffic at her booth as “steady and consistent.” While most retailers were viewing spring products, some were buying fill-ins for holiday. “The logo business with sweatshirts that say ‘Mother of the Year’ are great for holiday gift-giving,” she said. Buyers were interested in the baby blues for spring, as well as a items in chartreuse, or what the brand calls “green tea.”

At denim brand Mavi, Northeast sales manager Mary Beth Perrone said buyers were looking at soft fabrications for low-rise jeans, as well as the slouchy look, and the wide-and barrel-leg jeans.

Because the merchandise of the made-in-Turkey brand averages between $55 to $58 wholesale, Perrone said those were “good price points” for many retailers.

Marion Rocha, marketing manager for Brazilian fashion brand CaCay, said traffic was better for the first two days of the show, noting that buyers were showing “heavy interest in prints” made in house in Rio de Janeiro. Fabrications includes blends of cotton, linen and viscose in prints and solids. Four major colorways were shown in green, blue, red and orange. The wholesale average was $100 and the retail average for a dress would be $250.

As for the impact of tariffs, CaCay’s CEO Renato Cohen said the brand has had to raise prices on select pieces, but that the company is also “absorbing some of it.” The brand is known for its use of sustainable materials and ethical production processes.

At Trina Turk, the color options started with pink. That shouldn’t be a surprise for the print and color-driven lifestyle brand, which always incorporate different pink shades — also the designer Trina Turk’s favorite color — for each collection. Brianna Maggi, vice president, head of wholesale, said buyers placing orders were interested in both immediate deliveries and for spring and summer, which begin deliveries in January. She said many buyers who stopped by appear to be “buying closer to season.”

Buyers were interested in dress options, which wholesale on average between $135 to $149, and retail from $295 to as high as $495. Tops retail at $198 to $268, representing 2.5 times wholesale price points. As for the tariff impact on pricing, Maggi said, “We have been thoughtful about providing value for the customer.” She also said that the energy among buyers visiting her booth has been good, which she expects will “provide a nice lift going into fall.”

The designer and CEO of a contemporary brand exhibiting at Coterie, who also requested anonymity, provided a succinct statement on how brands at Coterie are dealing with tariffs: “Everyone is eating some of it.”

She explained that brands want to get their orders in, even if it means accepting lower margins, and are aware that one can increase prices only by so much before those sales start to fall off. For her brand, traffic and order placement was good for the three days and she’s optimistic that the consumer will continue to shop. “Retail therapy is a real thing,” she said.

Footwear orders appear to be strong too.

“We’ve had pretty good traffic,” Phil Pine, vice president of sales for Steven Madden Ltd. “Customers are still writing orders.”

Even with talk about an ongoing economic backdrop of continuing inflation, Pine said, “It doesn’t seem like [retail buyers] are pulling back.”

The company has said on earnings conference calls that it had implemented price increases on select styles. Pine said those increases are “slight and not so high that people aren’t going to be able to purchase our shoes.”

So what are the buyers buying? “Western boots for wear-now,” Pine said, noting that orders were being placed for both immediate deliveries and for spring. He noted that boots remain popular now that women are wearing them with shorts and dresses. The banana color, along with red, is resonating with buyers. And sneakers are still on their radar, although on the rise is women’s dress shoes — a trend that Pine said started in spring 2025. Popular dress shoe colors have been brown, burgundy, and bronze-gold, suggesting these could be the new neutrals going forward.

“Safari items are also hot,” he said, pointing to both an animal printed shoe and also a sandal with “stones, or baubles” decorating the strap across the forefoot that incorporated a safari print.

At Gola Classics, a sneaker brand started in 1905 and is deeply rooted the British sporting heritage, president Steven Weinreb said Gola’s buyers were also gravitating more toward the “more earthy colors, the browns, tans and caramel.” He said that mocha, Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2025, brought attention to the darker shade in December 2024, a trend that’s still resonating with consumers. “It’s been many years since we did brown, maybe 7 or 8 years ago,” he said.

Gola was showing its heritage look featuring its wing-flash logo on sneakers across the color spectrum. The sneaker styles included platform looks and a low-profile silhouette.

“Some of our orders were for fill-ins, but a lot was for spring,” said Christine Fuchs, general manager for Vida Shoes International. Vida last year acquired luxury fashion brand Aquatalia. Vida was also showing footwear from Bruno Magli and André Assous. For Aquatalia, wholesale prices were $203 on average, with retail price points ranging from $295 to $450.

“We try to maintain the prices for our retailers where they had been without any change for orders that were already in place,” Fuchs said, referring to when tariffs were first implemented. The pricing strategy did include some slight increases for new orders post tariff implementation.

“Our shoes are from Italy, so tariff isn’t that much of a problem. The real problem for us has been the [euro-U.S. dollar] exchange rate,” she said. “The exchange rate has hurt more than tariffs. We were 1 to 1, but the exchange rate is now up almost 7 percent. That adds $2 to $3 dollars to the FOB cost,” Fuchs pointed out, noting that the additional cost could be as high as $8 for boots.

FOB, or free on board, is a shipping term delineating when responsibilities transfer from seller to buyer, determining not only liability for damaged goods in transit but also for costs such as freight, insurance and import duties.