Luar, Willy Chavarria, Alaïa and More of the Biggest NYFW Fashion Brand Social Media Moments

Every year, New York Fashion Week kicks off the spectacle of the September fashion month by making a splash — whether by making a bold statement on the runway, big-name celebrity appearances or other viral moments. From household name brands to emerging designers, NYFW consistently showcases its unique fashion moments on social media.

Here, WWD looks at the biggest moments from this year’s spring 2025 collection runway shows using data insights from Trendalytics. The list ranks by an increase in engagement or growth in brand mentions on social media throughout NYFW.

Sitting at the top of the list is the Brooklyn-based brand and the unofficial finale of NYFW, Luar — with posts mentioning Luar on Instagram and TikTok increasing by 1,475 percent and engagement with mentions of Luar on Instagram and TikTok skyrocketing to 10,212.4 percent. Madonna, Ice Spice, Tinashe and Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles’ appearances sitting front row in Rockefeller Center made it one of the hottest tickets of the week.

Raul Lopez, founder and designer of the brand, has continued to make waves in the fashion industry including a metallic gold Ana bag collab with American Express. As no stranger to viral NYFW moments, the designer featured Solange’s son Julez Smith who walked the Luar show last season with his mother, aunt Beyoncé and grandmother Tina Knowles all showing up in support. Lopez was selected by WWD to spotlight Latino designers shaping the world of fashion, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Another Latino making waves in the fashion industry is Mexican eponymous designer Willy Chavarria. Dubbing the show “América,” Chavarria’s show was one of many politically minded runways this season — fittingly, given this year’s upcoming U.S. presidential election. Trendalytics found posts mentioning Willy Chavarria on Instagram and TikTok increased by 971.4 percent and engagement with mentions of Chavarria on Instagram and TikTok rose 3,533.4 percent.

Dramatically setting his show with the American flag in the background, Willy Chavarria show notes contained imagery of Lady Liberty and pocket-sized booklets of the Constitution as a nod to the immigrants who built the United States. Guests who flocked to the industrial location in New York’s financial hub of Wall Street included Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles walking the runway for the designer’s Adidas collab and Tracee Ellis Ross.

Per usual, Alaïa passed on a spot on the official Paris calendar but this time ditched the City of Love for the City that Never Sleeps; making it a must-attend show for the who’s who of fashion. Even Rihanna made a rare fashion week appearance in a see-through crystal-embellished gown and went viral for her heart-to-heart moment with Linda Evangelista where she invited Evangelista to sit next to her. Posts mentioning Alaïa propelled the brand with an increase of post mentions on Instagram and TikTok by 975 percent and a 1,185 percent engagement with mentions of Alaïa on Instagram and TikTok.

Alaïa’s creative director Pieter Mulier showcased his technical prowess with his one-thread looks at the Guggenheim Museum — giving the brand stunning visuals of models descending the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright building to kick off the first night of NYFW. Supermodels Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber and Vittoria Ceretti strutted in Mulier’s latest greatest creations with Lewis Hamilton, Edward Enninful, Naomi Campbell and Amber Valletta looking on.

Ralph Lauren’s NYFW shows have continued to get bigger and gain more attention. The American brand brought the likes of Usher, Jude Law, First Lady Jill Biden with granddaughter Finnegan Biden and Kacey Musgraves out to Bridgehampton the night before the official schedule began. These celeb appearances and more helped the brand climb an eye-watering 2,600 percent in engagement on the Ralph Lauren official TikTok and a 370 percent increase in engagement with mentions of Ralph Lauren on Instagram and TikTok.

Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington, who have major ties to the brand, both returned to walk the runway while Lucky Blue Smith’s interview with the runway kids of Ralph Lauren currently has more than 2 million likes. Other celebrities who made their way to the show included Naomi Watts, Colman Domingo, Tom Hiddleston, Laura Dern with daughter Jaya Harper and Demi Singleton, who all enjoyed a one-night-only replica of the brand’s ultra-hard reservation snag in Midtown, Polo Bar.

Meanwhile, fashion designer Rachel Antonoff and jewelry and handbag designer Susan Alexandra joined forces to bring together an amalgamation of part runway show, part comedy show and part dog show in a unique setting for its spring 2025 setting. 

With the help of celeb guests like Busy Philipps, Hayley Williams, Jack Antonoff (Rachel’s brother) and Ella Emhoff, posts mentioning Rachel Antonoff on Instagram and TikTok increased by 933.3 percent and engagement with mentions of Rachel Antonoff on Instagram and TikTok by 4,781.2 percent.

Another Americana designer, Tommy Hilfiger, pulled out all the stops — choosing to stage its show aboard a former Staten Island Ferry boat, now co-owned by SNL’s Colin Jost and Pete Davidson. Between a star-studded front row of K-pop stars Jisoo and Felix, Brooke Shields’ daughter Grier debuting on the runway and Wu-Tang Clan making a surprise performance, the brand’s show made its rounds on social media for several reasons.

Trendalytics data found that social media engagement with Tommy Hilfiger’s official brand pages rose 875 percent, posts mentioning Tommy Hilfiger on Instagram and TikTok increased by 437.5 percent and engagement with mentions of the brand on Instagram and TikTok climbed by 436.9 percent.

As no stranger to all things camp, Christian Cowan took inspiration from a murder mystery at a Viennese ball. Lingerie was a major thematic element of this year’s shows and Cowan was no exception. Jojo Siwa also caused havoc with her eyebrow-raising furry ball outfit, straight from Cowan’s Paris spring 2024 runway show, and going viral on social media. Other notable attendees to Cowan’s star-packed shows included Kristin Chenoweth, Laverne Cox, Justin Theroux, Coco Rocha and Law Roach.

Instagram and TikTok posts mentioning Christian Cowan increased by 683.3 percent and engagement while mentions of Christian Cowan on Instagram and TikTok skyrocketed by 2,201.8 percent.

Yet another brand that ditched Paris for New York this season was Off-White. After officially naming Ib Kamara creative director, the brand staged its first show in New York inspired by Kamara’s recent trip to Ghana as a nod to the brand’s founder, the late Virgil Abloh’s heritage. 

Front-row guests Mary J. Blige, Zayn Malik, 2024 U.S. Open winner Aryna Sabalenka, Flavor Flav, Suni Lee, Ashleigh Johnson, Victoria Monet, Camilla Cabello, Lena Waithe and more flocked to the show’s Brooklyn Bridge Park basketball courts scene, helping the 192.9 percent increase in the brand’s mentions on Instagram and TikTok and its 595.3 percent increase of brand name engagement on Instagram and TikTok.

In a bold statement on reproductive rights, especially given the controversial Supreme Court overturn of Roe vs. Wade back in 2022, Area collaborated with Tinder for its fall 2024 show this year. The brand — which has adopted a see now, buy now model — made its political stance crystal clear by debuting its “Bans Off Our Bodies” T-shirt design and the statement circulated on social media. In turn, this led to the brand seeing a massive surge in engagement (2,244.8 percent increase) on Area’s Instagram and TikTok.

Rounding out the list is Monse, which received buzz after the Hilton family dared Tiffany Haddish to crash the designer’s runway show and walk the catwalk. Designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia posted a post-show video with Haddish, to further add to the conversation, earning an increase in post mentions on Instagram and TikTok by 450 percent.