Hey, Upper East Siders: Rebecca Hessel Cohen dropped Marie Antoinette into the Gossip Girl cinematic universe for LoveShackFancy’s fall 2026 collection, staged at Cooper Hewitt—a Gilded Age mansion on Blair Waldorf’s home turf. An explosion of lace, bows, and sparkles ensued. “She’s a little Blair Waldorf meets Marie Antoinette—if she had an iPhone,” said Hessel Cohen.
Vintage always serves as a jumping-off point for Hessel Cohen, who trawls the Paris markets for inspiration. Here, Edwardian-inspired silhouettes lived alongside a dusty pink John Galliano-era Dior bar jacket. “I collect all the Galliano,” she said. There were also more modern touches. Right on time with the recent (albeit short-lived) 2016 cultural obsession, one model wore a brown taffeta high-low skirt with white lace tights and a white lace tank top embellished with rhinestone-encrusted bow brooches.
Fall 2026 proved a showcase for Hessel Cohen’s growing remit. She’s betting big on corsetry, much of which was made and embellished in New York’s Garment District. “The beading for us is really, really new—so much more intricate,” she said. The focus on craftsmanship allows Hessel Cohen to push the LoveShackFancy price point up to the $3,000 range for highly embellished pieces, she said. “In this collection, we really have much higher prices for the first time,” she added. “Our customers will pay a price if it’s really beautifully constructed.”
Hessel Cohen obviously cares about aesthetics—right down to the waiters presenting attendees with trays of blinis with caviar, all dressed in matching pink velvet blazers. But does all of the gilding matter when the foundation needs work? Take a corset, embroidered with flowers and festooned with rhinestones and antique pearls. When the model turned around, she revealed an exposed metallic zipper running down the corset’s spine. If Hessel Cohen is asking her customers to pay luxury prices, she should consider concealed zippers just as critical as antique pearls.
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