What Did The New York Fashion Week Runways Look Like 30 Years Ago?

When fashion people talk about “the golden years” of days gone by, with phone-less shows and intimate parties where they could actually let their hair down, they’re usually referring to the ‘90s. It was a pivotal time rife with change: There was the advent of the supermodel with girls like Kate, Naomi, Linda, Cindy, and Christy becoming first-name-only household names, and the arrival of fresh new talent onto the global fashion scene like Marc Jacobs and John Galliano. In the spirit of nostalgia, we’re taking a look back at the runways from New York Fashion Week 30 years ago, where designers like Todd Oldham and Anna Sui showed their Fall 1995 collections.

It was an era of simplicity both in style and runway presentations: Editors and glitterati didn’t have to fly around boroughs and perform daily logistical feats to get to shows because it all went down at the tent in Bryant Park. Beyond the convenience, the tent and its one runway let the clothes sing. As you would expect, the Fall 1995 shows are a time capsule of ‘90s fashion. Think: pops of red, dramatic outerwear in the form of leather, duvets, and faux furs, skin-skimming, strappy dresses in camouflage and paisley, plus lots of suiting in both sparkly pink sequins (for the downtown girl) and cool grays (for the Madison Avenue broad). The accessory du jour for Fall 1995 (and what we think will be in for Fall 2025)? Oversized bug-like sunglasses, spotted at Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, and Isaac Mizrahi.

Keep scrolling to take a trip down memory lane and see how fashion continues to call back to the understated minimalism of this beloved decade.