Vettese Contemplates Life, Death and What Charli XCX Would Have Worn in 'Titanic'

For millennials who came of age in the ’90s, few sounds are as instantly identifiable and iconic as those eery, sorrowful Irish flute notes that serve as the opening lick to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” The moment I heard them at the start of Vettese’s Spring 2026 runway show, which Creative Director Kari Vettese presented at New York Fashion Week on Sunday, I knew we were in for quite a dramatic presentation.

And dramatic it was: The theme was “Titanic,” though whether that meant the 1997 smash hit film or the historic real 1912 tragedy upon which it was based wasn’t entirely clear. (Either way: Too soon?) Models wore wet-looking hair, walked slowly with sad expressions on their faces and carried creepy little dolls that will forever haunt my dreams. One model/dancer even punctuated the show with a lovely dance interlude halfway down the runway. And the setting — The American Irish Historical Society on upper 5th Ave., a converted Gilded Age mansion — only upped the drama even more.

“The inspo came from the underlying concept of Titanic and teetering on life and death,” Vettese told Fashionista in a post-show interview. The designer wanted to honor “this era of dressing” via “a lot of tailoring and craftsmanship,” done in her own atelier. “It’s really highlighting my own production and abilities. I focused a lot on the blazers, corsetry, the pants, the tailoring,” she elaborated. While the designer liked the idea of creating suiting for women, she kept some of the jackets oversized and baggy in areas, giving them a true menswear fit.

The collection itself is heavy on Vettese’s signature body-con aesthetic — beloved by celebrities like Charli XCX and Lady Gaga — albeit reimagined for the era of Titanic. Think 2010s clubwear (booty shorts, exposed bras, mini skirts) meets 1910s shipwreck formal (jaunty little hats, tattered corsets, men’s evening coats).

By melding the two time periods, the designer hopes to “get people thinking and feeling a little uncomfortable [about] how it kind of translates into the times,” she said. “I just hope that it gets people thinking about something deeper.”

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Keep scrolling to see every look from the Vettese Spring 2026 collection.