What Are All the Cool Girls Wearing Next Fall? Just Ask Sandy Liang

For the past few seasons, NYFW has been a sea of bows — bows on clothes, ribbons in hair, bow prints, tied-up ballerina shoes, and even bow-on-bow stacking. The trend felt downright inescapable in 2023. You couldn't attend a runway show without tripping on an extra-long ribbon in the hair of some influencer, It girl, or even A-listers like Sarah Jessica Parker. And while bows may no longer be the accessory du jour in 2024, many of the fashion folk have doubled down on the coquette look, swapping or styling their bows with other girlish styles like stockings, satin ballet flats, and rosettes. Everywhere, it seems, the cool girls are channeling their inner school girls — and we have one downtown designer to thank: Sandy Liang.

After a decade at the helm of her namesake brand, Sandy Liang knows who she is and who she designs for. She calls her customers “princesses” in her collection notes (a nickname I'm sure they love — I know I do) and has the uncanny ability to quietly predict and create trends that echo throughout the industry at large with subtle grace. She even nails her fans' influences (Sailor Moon), likes (pale pink), and dislikes (anything self-serious) because she shares those predilections herself.

"I just like what I like," says Liang, dressed in a navy turtleneck sweater and expensive-looking slacks, from backstage after the debut of her Fall 2024 collection. "Regardless of what age I am, I always gravitate towards certain things from my childhood, and that, I guess, evokes girlhood for a lot of people."

Her grip on the downtown set is so strong that "the Sandy effect" tends to hit all at once when the seasons change. When she debuts a collection featuring, say, sexy bra tops and demure matching skirts, which was a sensation at her Spring 2023 show last fall, a few months later, you'll wake up to a city full of girls wearing (and mimicking) her styling choices on dates at Casino and drinks at Le Dive. Case in point? Her past three collections have gone hard on the bows, and as a result, so has everyone else, with knockoffs and riffs on her signature style proliferating faster than you can say in the name of the moon.

Her most recent collection, which debuted Sunday, February 12, could be called a departure if you're a fashion bean counter — or rather, bow counter. Gone were the luscious, giant bows of seasons past, replaced, instead, by sophisticated separates embellished with just the hint of a ribbon on the back. Cozy knitwear with rosettes and varsity details ("for my New England college girls," says Liang) replaced sexy little pinafores. Even the setting, a pared-back studio on the west side featuring only a pale yellow curtain as decor, was less of "a vibe" than her previous collections shown in storied locales like the American Academy of Medicine.

"I was really nervous about showing a collection that is, let's say, the least decorative," she says. "I was worried about people being like, is it just a matching jacket and a skirt? But for me, that's what I'm excited about right now." Judging by the wide smiles and enthusiastic murmurs from the crowd after her show, Liang's fears are unfounded. To know her is to love her, and this latest collection featuring highly wearable essentials imbued with just a sprinkling of her signature magic will read as more of a progression than a divergence.

Standouts from the group include a highly covetable pair of ballet-flat-inspired boots featuring the perfect tiny bow at the toe (Why has no one thought of this before?), a play on '90s suiting that includes a subtle bow surprise on the back, and bubble miniskirts galore in various lengths and prints. Plus, a gorgeous lady-who-lunches set of dresses in pale pinks and luscious creams delivered retro glamour that still felt modern — and which will inevitably find themselves on It girls like Blackpink's Jennie Kim and Olivia Rodrigo in the months to come.

The crowned jewel of the collection? A Sailor Moon-inspired mirrored star clutch, which marks the designer's first foray into leather bags, is the must-have follow-up to her much-talked-about and perpetually sold-out Baggu collab. It's the sort of statement accessory that makes girls lose their minds in its pursuit and will no doubt be all over street style photos and FashionTok this fall.

You see, Liang's magic touch isn't just knowing her way around a bow. It's her ability to straddle wearability and statement-making with her designs. "Comfort is such an important thing. If I'm designing for myself, and I live in New York, and I'm walking around...it has to feel very real." Sandy's girls, both the models she sends down the runway and the people who wear her, carry their purses wearing gloves in the fall. They get creative with layers when it starts to chill, opting for a skirt over pants, socks, and a hoodie to stay cozy. They need windbreakers and big pockets and sweatpants come autumn just as much as they do little skirts and sailor dresses.

So, if you're predicting what all the fashion influential will be wearing next season, expect not a cacophony of girlish ruffles and ballerina bows but rather a sophisticated mix of luxurious essentialism and elements of the unexpected. Because after 10 years in the game, Sandy Liang is all grown up.