For London-based designer Conner Ives, New York Fashion Week has always been more than a homecoming—it’s been a guiding star. “The thought of doing a show in New York has always been there, and people would kind of make fun of me because I saw New York as my Paris,” Ives tells Vogue ahead of his stateside debut. But does this change of location make him a British designer? In the strictest sense, Ives might say maybe. He was born and raised in Westchester County, New York, where he first fell in love with art and costume design. But it wasn’t until he moved across the Atlantic in 2014 to attend Central Saint Martins in London that his career truly took off. Over a decade in the UK, Ives has become a beloved name on the London Fashion Week schedule, where fans and industry insiders first took notice of his upcycled, ruched sports-jersey dresses. It was from London that Ives launched the wildly popular “Protect the Dolls” slogan T-shirt, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the US-based Trans Lifeline nonprofit. It’s also where he won the British Fashion Council Foundation Award in 2023 and the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund in 2025; most recently, in 2026, he was one of six designers to receive the BFC Fashion Trust Award. The result of his dual design identity is a mix of fashionable, transatlantic party designs: “In London, I’m an American designer, and in New York, I’m a British designer.” Just look at his February fall collection, which blended decades of American glamour with a subtle British twist. If the move seems sudden, coming right after his BFC grant win, it’s not quite. The idea to guest-star in New York finally began to take shape at the end of 2025, when Ives returned home for an extended trip during his British visa renewal process and caught the American bug again. When he started developing February’s show in London, he brought this American idea to BFC CEO Laura Weir and eventually the CFDA, both of whom helped make it happen. “I’ve always loved this idea of a lifestyle designer, of a person who has enough conviction to sell you a world and bring you into it—that’s what I love about Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Paul Smith, those heroes in my book,” he explains. Ives’s American homage wouldn’t be complete without leaning into the tongue-in-cheek nature of his own dichotomy—he’s even titled the collection “Across the Pond,” and there are plenty of New York references to match. The show, taking place this Saturday, is partly inspired by its setting: New York’s hallowed time-capsule power-lunch restaurant, The Grill. Ives, who introduced menswear last season, plans to pay homage to the institution by continuing in the category, this time with two men’s suits, semi-ironically made in collaboration with Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes. Likewise, Ives nods to the 60th anniversary of Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball with sardonic costumed glamour: one of the mint green finale gowns, also inspired by Parisian dressmaker Callot Soeurs, is affectionately nicknamed “Lady Liberty.” On the more casual side, of course, this will include some new viral T-shirts too. Always one for archetypes, this season’s bridal look tips its hat to a lesser-known New York film, Jonathan Glazer’s Birth, starring Nicole Kidman. “I think that is just such a perfect piece of cinematic New York,” he explains. “The original husband dies in Central Park in the opening scene as it’s snowing, Lauren Bacall plays her mother on the Upper East Side—it’s like you couldn’t write a more New York story, and I think that, to me, was really the kind of crown jewel of what we’re doing here.” Though Ives doesn’t technically classEven if this show feels like a homecoming, there are still emotional moments that, for him, only a show in the States can create. His parents will be there, along with his high school art teacher—the one who let him take an independent fashion design course at such a young age—and some of that teacher’s current students. Ives says, “I feel like I’m now at a point in my career where I exist in both worlds, which for the longest time I maybe thought wasn’t possible.”

Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of frequently asked questions about Conner Ivess New York Fashion Week debut and his New York Is My Paris collection

Beginner Questions

Who is Conner Ives
He is an American fashion designer known for his upcycled patchworkstyle clothing He gained attention after graduating from Central Saint Martins in London

What is New York Is My Paris
It is the title of Conner Ivess collection shown at New York Fashion Week It refers to his feeling that New York City is just as inspiring and important to him as Paris is to other designers

What is New York Fashion Week
It is a major fashion event held twice a year in New York City where designers show their latest collections It is one of the Big Four fashion weeks along with Paris London and Milan

Was this Conner Ivess first show in New York
Yes He had previously shown his collections in London This was his debut at New York Fashion Week

What does showing across the pond mean
Across the pond is a casual way of saying on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean It usually refers to the relationship between the US and the UK In this case it means Ives moved his show from London to New York

Intermediate Questions

Why did Conner Ives move his show from London to New York
He wanted to show in his home country and connect with the American fashion industry He also felt that New York not Paris was his personal creative home

What is upcycling in fashion
Upcycling means taking old or discarded materials and turning them into new clothing Ives is known for using vintage fabrics deadstock and secondhand items in his designs

What makes Conner Ivess design style unique
He mixes American nostalgia with a patchwork handmade aesthetic His clothes often look like they were made from carefully arranged scraps but with a highfashion finish

What is the significance of the title New York Is My Paris
It is a statement of pride Paris is often seen as the top fashion city Ives is saying that New York holds that same top spot for him

How did the fashion industry react to his New York debut
The reaction was mostly positive Critics praised his personal storytelling and his ability to bring a fresh