Book lovers rejoice! While literature is an ever-present source of fashion inspiration, it felt like an especially esoteric season at New York Fashion Week.

Books encompassed every aspect of the spring 2026 season, from inspiration to the runway. Joseph Altuzarra continued his tradition of leaving books on guests’ seats—this season, the 1994 dystopian novel The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa—stuffed with the collection’s references. Meanwhile, Rachel Scott soft-launched her vision at Proenza Schouler with a reading list chock-full of feminist theory.

Others used books as props, illustrating their client’s full life and tastes. At Aubero, designer Julian Louie used books as mise-en-scène, including various field guides to butterflies, flowers, and ferns, as well as his late father, David Wong Louie’s short story collection, Pangs of Love.

Here, we catalogue New York Fashion Week’s spring 2026 syllabus.

Photo: Monica Feudi / Courtesy of Proenza Schouler

The Third Body by Hélène Cixous

The Book of Promethea by Hélène Cixous

Speculum of the Other Woman by Luce Irigaray, translated by Gillian C. Gill

Although Rachel Scott won’t make her official debut as Proenza Schouler’s creative director until February, she left her mark on this collection, thanks in part to her reading recommendations. At the end of her show notes, Scott shared her reading list, entirely comprised of French feminist writings. One of the few women (and few women of color, at that) to helm a major brand, perhaps Scott is offering a preview of what’s to come via her book choices.

Luce Irigaray

Speculum of the Other Woman, translated by Gillian C. Gill

Photo: Su Mustecaplioglu / Courtesy of Altuzarra

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa