The Tamesis
What are you doing this Valentine’s Day? Cooking a romantic home-cooked meal with your partner? Enjoying cocktails at the bar where you first met? For some New York Fashion Week attendees, brushing the thighs of the person sitting next to them on a backless bench will be the most intimate feeling they’ll enjoy all day.
This isn’t a new problem for coupled fashion professionals—fall often overlaps with the Hallmark holidays. In a 2009 episode Rachel Zoe Project, The stylist’s last-minute work commitments derailed her plans with then-husband Rodger Berman. “Valentine’s Day turned into Valentine’s Day morning, and what you didn’t see was that our wedding anniversary was the next day,” Berman wrote at the time. “I think we spent it on ‘fashion dinners.'”
Still, this year is a special hit for all lovers: Valentine’s Day falls on the Saturday of the long weekend. When the calendar officially drops for fall 2026, anyone hoping for a romantic getaway will be in for a rude awakening. “My boyfriend keeps asking me when I’m free,” said Emily Freedman, a publicist at Lede. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to have a proper Valentine’s Day this year, but it’s his fault for dating a fashion PR girl.”
Photo: Getty Images
Nicole Phelps, FashionGlobal Fashion Features Director has her Valentine’s Day fashion week down to a science. “I’m going to be writing a bunch of reviews that night, so we’re going to order our favorite pizza from Motino’s East Village,” she said. Still, the romance isn’t lost: “On Valentine’s Day, they traditionally make the pies in the shape of a heart.”
For designers who hold shows on or after Valentine’s Day, the holiday will be used to put last-minute touches on their collections. “Our show is on February 14th, so I’ll be in the studio with my team all day,” says designer Joseph Altuzarra. Although the 11 a.m. show only lasted long enough for him to eat dinner and watch a movie, Altuzarra knew he would be exhausted. “By the time it’s all over, I’m usually too exhausted to do anything. My husband and I will celebrate a few days later. We’ll go out for a nice dinner – I’d also like to sneak in a movie this year, preferably Wuthering Heights“.
Some Valentine’s Day lovers have started their plans early. “Even Hinge’s marketing department doesn’t love Valentine’s Day as much as I do,” says Chloe Malle. FashionHead of editorial content. “Knowing that Valentine’s Day falls in the middle of New York Fashion Week, my kids and I start planning our Valentine’s Day gifts in mid-January. By the time the actual Valentine’s Day rolls around, I think we’ll all have forgotten about it.”
