Driven by Design

Who: Me, again.
Where: BMW of Long Island City
What: Driven By Design, a presentation pairing the work of NYC designers César Galindo and Ema Savahl
When: September 9, 2026
Why: To kick off NYFW 2026

What always surprises me about a double billing is how rarely two wholly individual artists actually feel like they belong together. Pairing designers is a delicate exercise: find two voices with enough interplay to create a conversation, but enough distinction that neither gets swallowed by the other.

Thankfully, César Galindo and Ema Savahl understood the assignment.

I’m someone who likes to take things one step at a time, so I’m going to break down both collections on their own. But first, it’s worth acknowledging the curation. Celia Evans, host and producer of Planet Fashion, managed to bring these two designers together without allowing either to get lost in the mix. It’s remarkably easy to create dissonance in fashion. When you find harmony instead, it’s that much sweeter.

Ema Savahl

I spent much of Savahl’s presentation baffled—in the best possible way—by the cuts of the clothing. I kept coming back to the idea of intentional exposure. This was wearable temptation.

The clothes felt organic and alive, as if they had been pulled directly from some glossy, slightly surreal ecosystem. Scales, flowers, water and skin came together in pieces that seemed to exist in conversation with themselves. It was nature, but nature after dark. Nature with a very good publicist.

Savahl doesn’t design utilitarian clothing, and thank God for that. These are clothes for being remembered in. You don’t simply wear a Savahl piece; you wear it knowing exactly what kind of night you’re about to have. There’s no second-guessing the woman walking into the room in one of these creations. She’s having fun. Probably more fun than you are.

And while the clothes have an unmistakably organic quality, there’s something distinctly otherworldly about them, too. They feel almost impossible—dreamlike in a way that makes you look twice just to confirm that what you’re seeing is actually real.

Savahl creates fantasy, but she gives you the option of wearing it.

César Galindo

That’s about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on.

I found myself caught between the excitement of wondering what was coming down the runway next and the genuine anguish of watching each look disappear. Everything was sensual and glamorous. The clothes had texture, movement and flavor. They were, frankly, chewy.

Don’t laugh. I’m serious.

Photographs don’t quite do Galindo’s work justice. Seeing the clothing move is essential to understanding it. The textures shift, the silhouettes change with the body, and suddenly what might look beautiful in a photograph becomes something much more alive in person.

But beyond the glamour, what struck me most was how clearly Galindo loves his client.

These are clothes born from a reverence for the women who will wear them. Galindo wants his woman to feel sexy, powerful, intimidating and, most importantly, important. There’s an emotional generosity to the work that makes the glamour feel less like performance and more like permission.

And despite all that drama, the clothes remain wearable. They aren’t relegated to some imaginary “special occasion” wardrobe. Galindo makes pieces for the woman who wants to feel extraordinary on an ordinary Tuesday, too.

It’s clothing for a night out, a dinner, a party, a meeting—or frankly, whatever the hell you want it to be. That, to me, is the magic of Galindo: the clothes are exciting without becoming precious. They ask you to have fun with them.

And after all, isn’t that what getting dressed is supposed to be?