Selena! Charli! Taylor! Oh, my!
They may be hard to book to perform at your ceremony, but you can still channel all three pop stars through your choice of wedding dress. That was the prevalent message at New York Luxury Bridal Fashion Week where celebrity nuptials continued to drive trends for fall 2026.
For example, Selena Gomez appears to have given the otherwise demure halter neckline heat with the custom Ralph Lauren version she wore to wed Benny Blanco in September, which is sure to be copied imminently. A few weeks prior, Charli XCX, in a Danielle Frankel slip and Vivienne Westwood corset dress, made the case for uptight brides to let go of their pursuit of perfection and just let loose. Hence, similarly disheveled designs with wrinkles, uneven draping and frayed edges, all signs of a wedding night enjoyed to the fullest, were plenty, encouraging a spirit of reckless fun.
And while everyone is still eagerly anticipating which designers Taylor Swift will choose to marry Travis Kelce, a few at NYLBFW threw their hats in the ring, offering their own interpretations of Art Deco and flapper styles that might just catch the “The Life of a Showgirl” singer’s eye, or at least that of a committed fan.
Turning the pop trio into a quartet is this season’s other star: Marie Antoinette, who was not a musician by trade, though she was known to play the harp. After the Victoria & Albert Museum’s exhibit charting her legacy throughout fashion history bowed in London, panniers, poufs and Rococo-style embellishments dominated spring ready-to-wear runways and it only seems too easy a task to incorporate those same elements into bridal. After all, every girl deserves to feel like a queen on her special day.
For these and more of the standout trends from NYLBFW fall 2026, see below.
Hanging On by a Halter
Halter tops may carry a whiff of Y2K, but Selena Gomez, in a gown designed by Ralph Lauren, proved they can be timelessly elegant too. Judging by the array of halter styles at NYLBFW from silky and slinky at Alexandra Grecco to more ornate at Francesca Miranda, Gomez ignited a new neckline trend that will certainly be walking down many aisles soon.
Perfectly Imperfect
Why spend all that time and effort to be perfectly turned out just to start coming undone once vows are exchanged at the altar? This season, the likes of Monique Lhuillier, Ines Di Santo and Sept showed there’s beauty in embracing dress mishaps. Just play them off as if they were intentional. Skirt wrinkled? Forget the steamer in the bridal suite. Straps falling down? Ruching gone awry? Quit fretting and let them — it only allows you get more boisterous during the reception.
Showgirls
Wedding after parties, look out! Next year’s brides can channel Taylor Swift’s popular “The Life of a Showgirl” aesthetic with ample feathered, fringed, sequined and bejeweled mini dresses. A perfect example? This crystal beaded knockout from the 10th anniversary runway show of Nicole + Felicia, a favorite of Swift who performed in three gowns by the brand during her “The Eras” tour.
Rococo Revival
The guillotined queen currently has fashion in a chokehold and the story is no different in bridal. A modern Marie Antoinette might splurge on Galia Lahav’s $1 million ruby and diamond dress made in collaboration with Leibish (seen here) or choose among Honor’s “Let Them Eat Cake” collection, full of 18th-century inspired confectionary delights. But beyond the gowns, plenty of designers shot their look books either inside palatial homes or on the grounds of Versailles-style gardens, furthering the theme of extravagance.
Get Back
Brides love nothing more than to make a grand entrance, but for fall, designers provided them plenty of ways to match it with their exit. Ranging from an absence of fabric (see Gilles’ seductive cutout ) to heaps of it (Nardos’ mille-feuille bustle), gowns often followed the mullet principle of “business in the front, party in the back.” A standout was this one from Nadia Manjarrez with a bow-like deep-V, which exposes the shoulder blades and extends into a sweeping train.
Nontraditional Lace
While lace continues to prevail as a leading trend in modern wedding dresses, brands like House of Gilles, Markarian, Kyha and more took the classic, romantic look one step further by whipping the fabrication into unexpected silhouettes including bomber jacket and two-piece ensembles to wardrobe their 2026 brides’ entire wedding weekends.
Budding Brides
Next year, brides will not only be carrying their beautiful blooms à la wedding bouquets, but also wearing them. Across the latest New York Luxury Bridal Fashion Week, brands like Viktor & Rolf Mariage, Justin Alexander Signature and Nardos proposed romantic florals as 3D appliqués and laser-cut decorations to add texture, intricacy and dimension into their fall 2026 wedding dresses.