A New Generation of Heritage: International Heritage Fashion Week Takes Over NYFW - SS27 Recap
From a 70-model celebration of Indian fashion to more than 50 handmade crochet looks, International Heritage Fashion Week’s fifth season brought craftsmanship, cultural identity and emerging creative voices together in New York.
There are countless ways to interpret heritage in fashion. For International Heritage Fashion Week, the most interesting interpretation may be refusing to leave heritage in the past.
International Heritage Fashion Week returned to New York Fashion Week on September 10, transforming Manhattan’s historic 3 West Club into a meeting point for cultural tradition, contemporary design and a new generation of creatives.
Founded and produced by celebrity designer Prashant Goyal, the Spring/Summer 2027 edition marked the platform’s fifth season, bringing together designers, models, beauty professionals, media, students and creatives from across the fashion community.
His Highness Prince Mario-Max returned as official host, continuing his involvement with IHFW since its inaugural season.
At the center of Season 05 was Heritage India Fashions’ The New York Edit, an ambitious 70-model presentation that placed Indian fashion against the unmistakable energy of New York.
But scale was only one part of the story.
From Couture to Crochet
Season 05 moved deliberately between different interpretations of fashion and craft.
ICON Fashion Magazine opened the afternoon with an editorial runway showcase before Rohan Narang Fashions presented Where Nature Becomes Couture, drawing inspiration from the movement and beauty of birds.
Willow Bean Studio, led by designer Jennie Fear, closed the 2 p.m. presentation with En Pointe, a romantic youth couture collection influenced by ballet.
The 4 p.m. runway shifted the conversation toward handcraft.
Ruchi Goyal Crochet opened with more than 50 handmade looks, positioning crochet not as nostalgia, but as a medium for contemporary fashion.
In a Fashion Week environment defined by speed, the presence of so much handwork created a compelling contrast: garments whose identity was inseparable from the time and technique required to make them.
Bermuda-inspired SteevTeez, owned by Tiffany Whitehurst, followed before Heritage India Fashions closed the runway with Goyal’s The New York Edit.
Indian heritage met New York attitude across a cast of 70 models, creating the defining visual moment of IHFW’s fifth season.
Beauty became part of that storytelling, too. GN Collections, founded by Gayatri Ganeshan, presented Symphony of Colors, with handmade nail art appearing on select models during the Ruchi Goyal Crochet and Heritage India Fashions presentations.
Here, the manicure wasn't simply a finishing touch. It became wearable art.
The Creative Community Behind Season 05
For all its runway scale, IHFW placed equal emphasis on the people responsible for making the production happen.
More than 40 volunteer beauty professionals worked across the Glam Team, while over 50 interns from fashion schools throughout the United States received hands-on experience in backstage operations, production, media, designer support and front of house.
Behind Goyal was a creative and production team including Victoria Nowak, Production Director; April Love, Creative Director; Brenda Jameson, Creative Administrator; Nadia Neubert, Creative Back House; Rachel Lauren, Creative Front House; Evelin Gonzalez, Creative Beauty Director; and Deval Parikh, Creative Media Director.
Returning Heritage House Models included Victoria Nowak, Sasha Bas, Amy Saori Sanchez, Olivia Todaro, Francesca Sadek, Joannie Taveras, Makayla Mechelle, Hailey Bella, Caroline Cartagena, Kate Saucedo and Jaelyani Gregor, appearing alongside the larger Season 05 cast.
Backstage, Doll Face Lashes, Billion Dollar Beauty and JAPONESQUE supported the beauty teams, while Heritage India Fashions continued as a longstanding event sponsor and UNWELL Beverages joined the fifth season.
Returning Heritage House Models included Victoria Nowak, Sasha Bas, Amy Saori Sanchez, Olivia Todaro, Francesca Sadek, Joannie Taveras, Makayla Mechelle, Hailey Bella, Caroline Cartagena, Kate Saucedo and Jaelyani Gregor, who appeared alongside the expanded group of models selected for Season 05.
Paris Runway Official returned as a media partner alongside Fashion X, extending the story of Season 05 beyond the runway.
Heritage Is Only the Beginning
Despite the show's growth, Goyal remains focused on the community forming around it.
“Every season we try to grow... not simply by making the show bigger, but by bringing more creative people into the room,” Goyal said. “It isn't only about a designer or a collection. It's the models, the creative team, the glam team, the people backstage and everyone who gives something of themselves to make the show happen. Season 05 is our biggest yet, but I still want it to feel personal.”
That may ultimately be the most interesting evolution of International Heritage Fashion Week.
Season 05 didn't present heritage as one aesthetic or one cultural idea. It moved from Indian fashion to crochet, ballet-inspired youth couture, Bermuda influences, nature and wearable nail art... allowing each creative voice to interpret identity on its own terms.
In New York, heritage wasn't the conclusion of the story. It was where a new generation of creatives chose to begin.
Credits:
Writer: Brit Olivia @onceuponatimebrit
PR: Paris Runway Official @parisrunwayofficial
Show: International Heritage Fashion Week @internationalheritagefw
Prashant Goyal — Founder / Celebrity Designer — @prashantcgoyal
Victoria Nowak — Production Director — @victorialnowak
April Love — Creative Director — @aprillove
Brenda Jameson — Creative Administrator — @mizbjam
Nadia Neubert — Creative Back House — @nadianeubert_model
Rachel Lauren — Creative Front House — @msmodelmentor
Evelin Gonzalez — Creative Beauty Director — @evelin__gonzalez__
Deval Parikh — Creative Media Director
Prince Mario-Max — Official Host — @princemariomax
Photography: Photographer Marcellus Troy Alexander @troyalexanderphoto International Heritage Fashion Week S05
Comments