Romeo Hunte Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear

“I’m from Brooklyn, so that New York attitude is within me,” said Romeo Hunte backstage right before his show debuted at New York Fashion Week tonight. You could say, then, that the designer was feeling a tad spicy this season—disruptive even—though you wouldn’t know it from glancing at his wearable new collection. For fall, the designer zeroed in on subverting American classics, reworking tailored suits and jeans with a subtle, modernized twist. The clothes may have seemed tame, but that New York attitude shone through via off-kilter silhouettes and juxtaposed fabric pairings. “The main inspiration was playing off of tailoring and prep,” said Hunte, “and giving it elements of street.“

He zeroed in on traditional American wardrobe staples like jeans, suiting, dress shirts, and varsity jackets, but gave them unexpected updates. The double-breasted suits, for instance, were designed in sweatpants materials (cozy-chic!), and straight-leg jeans were spliced at the waist and given an extra waistband for a more surreal finish. Boldly, real furs also made several cameos, including on fox fur jackets and shearling-trimmed letterman jackets.

The most interesting play, however, came when Hunte paired unlikely materials together—like his timeless khaki trench that had a tulle overlay on it. “I wanted to soften up men’s fabrics and make them a little more romantic and cool,” he said. “Pairing gaberdine with organza or tulle over tailoring.” It was a nod to why he first fell in love with designing. “When I first started, I would use a lot of classic men’s silhouettes and fabrics, and feminize it,” he said.

In a crowded contemporary market, Hunte certainly brought forward the fresh ideas, though they could have been pushed much further. If he were intent on playing with traditional design cues, with a little twisted seam here or cutout there, he could—and should—have taken it to the extreme, especially given his placement as one of New York’s rising design stars. Many of the looks were too reminiscent of what many other brands on the market are doing. Still, his more daring offerings—like a white dress shirt with several collars pasted onto the front or a slouchy-shouldered wool jacket which could be worn as a cape—certainly looked fun to wear. More of that, please.