From silver-haired couture muses in Paris to models of different ages, cultures and body types in New York, the runway is slowly making room for something fashion once too often edited out: individuality. At UNIQUE Fashion Show, that idea became part of the casting itself.
By Brit Olivia
For decades, fashion trained us to recognize a runway model before she ever took her first step: young, impossibly slender, flawless skin, proportions seemingly designed for the sample size.
But lately, some of fashion’s most memorable runway moments have come from people who don’t disappear into a casting formula.
They have age. They have presence. They have different bodies and cultural identities. Most importantly, they have personality.
Paris Has Been Showing Us Something Different
Paris couture offered signs of a changing casting conversation. At Viktor & Rolf, the Fall 2026 couture presentation centered on just two women, while Chanel explored what Matthieu Blazy described as the “story of women today.”
Perhaps fashion’s latest obsession isn’t youth at all. It’s confidence.
New York has been having a similar conversation.
Christian Siriano has spent years challenging narrow ideas around who gets dressed and who gets seen. Size-diversity reporting has repeatedly identified his runway among New York’s more inclusive, and this season 47-year-old model Liris Crosse walked his September 10 show.
UNIQUE Makes Individuality the Point
That idea found a natural home at UNIQUE Fashion Show, which presented its runway show in New York on September 13.
Staged at the historic Park Avenue Christian Church in Manhattan, the international showcase welcomed more than 600 guests and designers from around the world. But the globalism wasn’t limited to the labels.
It extended to the models wearing them.
Olivia Gear, Lucie Gumanová, Mirka Oktavia Hendro, Susanne Schrödter, Elise Brisco, Josie Boulding, Denise Cuccia, Jamielynn De Leon, Sanika Lahane, Marndis Curcija, Iveta Maurerová and Sarah Gross were among the models who stepped onto the runway, bringing different backgrounds, experiences and identities with them.
Among them was Elise Brisco, a model in her 60s who has spent 34 years in clinical experience as an integrative optometrist and clinical homeopath. Lucie Gumanová arrived from the UK bringing her perspective to NYC, while Mirka Oktavia Hendro brought another international perspective from Milan. This group of models was a mix not only of age but also of backgrounds, demographics, culture, ethnicity, and, of course, body shapes.
Each model was UNIQUE.
One Stage, Many Perspectives
The clothes followed much the same philosophy.
Presented by the Unique Fashion Foundation Association of France and founded by Gita Dzhavid, UNIQUE has built its international platform around an idea that feels particularly relevant now: designers don’t have to share the same culture, aesthetic or definition of beauty to belong on the same runway.
Kazakhstan alone offered three distinctly different perspectives. Volskaya Atelier explored youth, freedom and individuality, while TURSUNKULOV, founded by Timur Tursunkulov, brought traditional Kazakh craftsmanship into a contemporary haute couture context. Raushan Anuarbekova looked instead to the Kazakh grandmother as a symbol of elegance, wisdom and enduring grace.
German label Lady Suits by Emmely Roloff brought architectural tailoring and sculptural womenswear to New York, while Sanaz Masoumi’s ARA Art and Design Studio explored handcrafted textiles, experimental materials and cultural storytelling. Chancell Allaiya added another individual creative perspective to the international lineup.
Innovation took another form at Tensengral, where century-old circular lace-making machinery is used to develop the label’s low-waste Textile Tensegrity technique.
Tajikistan Fashion Week introduced Mahin Olimzoda, bringing Tajik cultural influences to the New York stage, while Brazilian designer Ariane Santos of Badu Design transformed industrial waste and discarded automotive seatbelts into fashion accessories.
La Magnetique offered an elevated interpretation of pajama-inspired dressing; ANKU brought African heritage together with modern femininity; and Rwanda’s Matheo Studio, founded by Maurice Niyigena, explored African storytelling through contemporary couture and ready-to-wear.
Different countries. Different cultures. Different aesthetics. There was no expectation that these designers speak the same fashion language and at a show built around the very idea of being UNIQUE, that was precisely the point.
Culture Wasn’t a Theme. It Was in the Room.
UNIQUE’s vision extended beyond fashion, incorporating art, technology, music and sustainability into the same space. Work from Fatimah Hossaini, Robert Vargas and Lilit Gevorgyan appeared alongside performances from New York City Opera, Alisa Sadikova and Tatev Baroyan, while a dedicated showroom connected designers with buyers, investors and media.
For founder Gita Dzhavid, the goal is ultimately connection: “We are bringing these communities together so that creative talent can be seen, supported, and connected with real global opportunities.”
The Confidence Casting
At UNIQUE, individuality wasn’t treated as something casting needed to overcome. It became part of the show.
And there may be something quietly radical about that.
Because when models of different ages, bodies and cultures walk into the same room with the confidence to be entirely themselves, the question begins to change.
It is no longer, Do they look like a fashion model?
It becomes: Can you take your eyes off them? Look at them being UNIQUE. Look at them being, well, themselves.
Bravo to UNIQUE Fashion Show for making space for designers, talent and models to be UNIQUE.
Credits:
Platform: @unique_fashion_foundation
Production:
Founder @gita_dz
Production Team:
Fashion Director @gvantsaa_ international affairs @olgamiro82 Coordination @Linab_18 pr @paulaa.infante
Production team:
@icnwatch @cinettica_fashion_festival
Models Casting: @gvantsaa_ @qk_models @parisrunwayofficial @genesysyacua
PR: Paris Runway Official @parisrunwayofficial
Photography from Paris Runway Team:
Ekaterina Votinova @raskaterina.photo
Writer/Journalist: Brit Olivia @onceuponatimebrit
MUA: @latinasglam @yayamuany @makeup_mary_dego
Hair: @romanksalon @mirna_franco_hair @ericeric__1 @alina_didmyhair
Designers: @tensengral @tefbraids
@badudesign
@brandtursunkulov
@olimzoda_mahin
@ara_art_design_studio
@ladysuitsofficial
@volskaya_atelier
@anuarbekova_raushan
@la_magnetique_official
@ankustudio
@matheostudio
@chancell_allaiya
Partners
@fmensfw
@africanfashionfoundation
@insidefashiondesign
@tfw.official
@sustainablefashionweekus
@runway.to
@fitnyc
@cinettica_fashion_festival
@orangemodels
@newyorkmodelsociety
Goody Bag Sponsors for VIP Guest and Models: @Redken @charlottetilbury
@yisebeauty @simplygum @getgorgie @lovecorn_snacks @smartsweets @eatmisfits