Rockefeller Center Becomes the Only Place to Watch New York Fashion Week — For Free, On a Giant Screen
New York Fashion Week runs September 11–16, 2026, and for those six days the only place — physical or digital — where the public can watch the runway shows live is Rockefeller Center. The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), the industry body that organises the American fashion calendar, has partnered with Rockefeller Center and presenting sponsor Genesys for the third edition of NYFW Live, a free outdoor screening of the collections. WWD
The screenings take place on a 27-by-28-foot screen mounted at the Rink at Rockefeller Center, the famous sunken plaza best known for its ice-skating rink in winter. Genesys, a customer-experience technology company, is footing the bill as presenting sponsor. Fashion weeks have historically been trade-only events — buyers, press and stylists seated behind a velvet rope — and NYFW Live is the CFDA's bid to hand a front-row seat to anyone walking through Midtown.
The designer lineup is long. Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein Collection, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors Collection, Tory Burch, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, Carolina Herrera, Diane von Furstenberg and Sergio Hudson will all stream their shows, alongside newer or smaller labels including Khaite, Altuzarra, Ulla Johnson, Willy Chavarria, KidSuper, TWP, Aisling Camps, Aknvas, Kallmeyer, Bibhu Mohapatra, Anna Sui, Seven for All Mankind and Zankov. WWD
Singer Becky G, DJ Honey Dijon and singer Sebastián Yatra will serve as official ambassadors for the event. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday kicks off the programming, with CFDA chairman Thom Browne, CFDA chief executive Steven Kolb and Genesys senior vice president of global brand Danielle Kieschnick joined by designers Joseph Altuzarra, Stacey Bendet, Raul Lopez, Christian Siriano, Rachel Scott and Todd Snyder. A cocktail party follows. WWD
Kolb called NYFW Live "an important extension" of fashion week, one that brings American collections "beyond the traditional fashion audience and into the heart of the city." EB Kelly, senior managing director at Tishman Speyer and head of Rockefeller Center, said fashion is in the building's DNA. "This partnership with Genesys and CFDA gives New Yorkers and visitors a front row seat to American fashion," she said. Kieschnick framed the streaming project as a reflection of what consumers already expect — direct contact with the brands they follow. WWD
This is the third year of the arrangement. The CFDA's own newsroom confirmed the initiative's return for 2026, and last season the partnership closed out with a dinner at Le Rock co-hosted by the CFDA, WWD, Rockefeller Center, Tishman Speyer and Genesys. CFDA · CFDA
For anyone who has wanted to see a runway show without an invitation, the door is open. The screen goes live Thursday and runs through September 15.
