Are We On The Verge Of A Rockstud Renaissance?

At long last, the collective roar of our inboxes is dying down, OOOs are being set, and ludicrously expensive flights are being booked to escape the city cold. The last two weeks of the year promise a reset before we dive head-first into a packed Q1 of 2026: We’re already thinking about the Golden Globes, Men’s Fashion Week, Couture Week, and whatever else awaits us in the new year. For now, though, there are a few important year-end trends and discoveries to catch up on before you switch on airplane mode. An unlikely street-style duo cosign the same trend, another unexpected shoe might be on the rise again, and the messy game of fashion-designer musical chairs gets ugly right before we all double-cheek kiss 2025 goodbye. Catch up on your timeline’s most important dispatches below.

Valentino Smartly Updates Its Hero Shoe

Any club or hot new dinner spot in the early 2010s was full of not only A-line miniskirts and Hervé Leger bandage dresses, but the inescapable Valentino Rockstud heel. They’re still, to this day, in some corners of the world, the go-to going-out shoe, but Alessandro Michele has yet to make them his own — until now. His Pre-Fall 2026 collection gives them a slightly gothic ‘80s fashion-girl update. These, paired alongside the heels Miranda Priestly wore in The Devil Wears Prada 2 trailer, point to an unavoidable return to what could be the cool-girl reclamation of 2026.

A New Bag Shape Has Entered The Chat

Harris Reed’s latest handbag for Nina Ricci is Le Bal, an oblong-shaped shoulder bag that capitalizes on the east-west trend in funky fashion. If you need further convincing, just check out Miley Cyrus rocking the Large snakeskin-print style. Shop the whole range here.

Scarves! For! Spring!

Rihanna is doing Christmas shopping the only way she knows how: in full runway looks. In the last week, she’s been spotted in three different Celine looks by new creative director Michael Rider. While the cropped red leather jacket paired with a Yankees cap is perfection, we’re most interested by her multiple-scarf look (one on her head, one on her handbag, and several around her neck) and the trench-scarf one-two punch. Timothée Chalamet also agrees, pairing his baby-blue Marty Supreme tracksuit with a custom silk scarf.

Does Versace Have A New Creative Director Already?

Reports came out this week that, just a few days after the firing of Dario Vitale, Versace might hire Pieter Mulier of Alaïa to take over the brand. There are several layers of pettiness here: Versace was acquired by the Prada Group, and shortly thereafter Mrs. Prada let go of Vitale, who had left Miu Miu to design at Versace. Raf Simons — who codesigns Prada with Mrs. Prada — is a close friend of Mulier’s, making the deal feel like insider trading in the best way possible. As ever, do not take sides against the family.

A Well-Priced & Calm Pop-Up Among The Madness

Soho during the holidays can feel less like a leisurely shopping trip and more like a Hunger Games-style survival experience. In the middle of the fray lies ASOS’ Winter Wonderland pop-up at 182 Spring Street, complete with a café, a recently revived line of Topshop and Topman, and the tightest edit of both holiday and snowy-trip clothing in the city.