The Last Human Fashion Show: NYFW Runway Recap

On September 12, 2026, during New York Fashion Week, we headed to Bogart House in Brooklyn for The Last Human Fashion Show, hosted by Heavens Gate NYC.

The show was billed as "a runway experience celebrating what remains raw, imperfect, emotional, and human." Eight designers showed experimental collections, and a techno afterparty with @discharge.nyc ran late into the night.

The lineup was loveumissuwantuneedu by Tori Rosenthall, Mannino, Yejin Han, Morte Della Vita, Human Juices, TwntyTwo30 by Rockabobby, Restate by Rafay, and SDN Brooklyn.

Below are our notes on some of the collections, along with our post-show conversations with Mannino and with Vita Mazza of Morte Della Vita.

Mannino: "Sexy Bunny"

Mannino opened their "Sexy Bunny" collection strong, with the first model walking in the Bowery Bow Mink White, a $26,000 piece made to order in NYC. It's done in hand-cut intarsia: black mink bows are inlaid into silk-lined white pelts with exact symmetry, which took a team of artisan furriers nearly 300 hours.

The music was upbeat, and every model strutted out in cuffs and pointed heels. Bows showed up on almost every look, most of them big and flowery.

In Mannino's words:

"Every Sexy Bunny needs her cuffs 🐇💘 Our latest collection, 'Sexy Bunny', is inspired by 1960s Playboy and its iconic portrayal of the ideal woman. Re-interpreting pieces of insignia from the original uniforms (cuffs, bows, lace up corsetry), Sexy Bunny is a playful take on how our desire to project an image through dress and glamorous self-expression is exactly what makes us human in an increasingly uniform digital world."

The collection drops October 23, 2026.

Mannino Sexy Bunny look at The Last Human Fashion Show

Interview: Mannino

We spoke with Mannino after the show about Sexy Bunny, building a brand in New York, and what it took to go from sketches to runway in 30 days. Their answers are below, lightly edited.

The Collection

Interviewer: Describe your collection in three words.

Mannino: Glamorous, sexy, subversive.

Interviewer: What was the story you wanted to tell on the runway?

Mannino: The original concept for Sexy Bunny started because I was enamoured with the branding and aesthetic of 1960s Playboy. The costumes, the clubs, it was all so beautifully executed, with special details. As a Libra and a lover of glamour and beautiful things, I fell in love with its archaic yet stunning portrayal of an "ideal woman."

When I learned about Heavens Gate's Last Human Fashion Show, which had a more nihilistic theme, it made me realize that how we choose to present ourselves to the world, and the playfulness of that self-expression, is really one of the last things that makes us human. I wanted to tell the story that humanity has vigour, life, expression. We are not homogeneous, even when the digital world tries to make us so.

Interviewer: What piece from the collection are you proudest of, and why?

Mannino: Choosing one piece is so difficult! I'm most proud of the Bowery Bow Mink, a true couture-level work of intarsia art that took a team of artisan furriers and nearly 300 hours to construct. It's the most elevated piece I've ever designed.

I'm equally proud of the Sexy Bunny cuffs, though. They're a much simpler design, but they're an accessory I've never seen brought out of the Playboy Mansion and reinterpreted for nightlife wear.

Interviewer: What materials or techniques did you experiment with this time?

Mannino: I really wanted to bring fur into this collection, particularly rabbit fur, which is soft and fluffy like the girl Sexy Bunny represents. Pairing it with sequined velvet, mink, and silk dupioni and shantung created a textural contrast that's quite lovely.

I handmade all the appliqués, and the pleating on the prize ribbons took some revisions to get right. I actually remade them all after the show so the pleats would be crisper and more precise.

Getting Into Fashion

Interviewer: How did you first get into fashion and eventually start designing?

Mannino: I've wanted to be a fashion designer since I was 7 and saw Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead! It's a cult classic, so fun if you haven't seen it. From there I joined my high school and college fashion clubs and taught myself to sew. That led to internships and summer programs in NYC, at Parsons and with Anna Sui and Zac Posen.

After interning, I realized I preferred designing my own vision over working under someone else, and I launched my first ready-to-wear label, DEIVIE, at 25. It was a beautiful and fun learning experience. I call it my "grad/business school" because it lasted four years and I learned a LOT.

Interviewer: How did the opportunity to show at The Last Human Fashion Show come about, and how was the process?

Mannino: I've followed @heavensgatenyc for a while because they do cool things! When I saw the post about a designer call, I jumped on it. The process was pretty simple. I didn't have a collection yet, so I sent Ella my sketches and mood board, and I'm thankful she trusted me to bring it to life!

Show Day

Interviewer: What was the hardest part of getting ready for the show?

Mannino: Timing! I signed on 30 days before the show and hadn't even started my collection yet. I'm mostly a one-woman show. I work with a factory in the Garment District, which absolutely helps, but only for a few pieces. I make most of the initial samples myself, so that was INTENSE!

Interviewer: Best reaction you got from someone after the show?

Mannino: It's always exciting when you hear that someone wants to wear a piece NOW. I'm still working on press (we just shot my lookbook, so I'm so excited to get that out!), but on set the other day my MUA said my Jackie O. Jumpsuit was so sexy it made him want to be a woman. And I LOVE that!

Looking Ahead

Interviewer: What advice would you give an emerging designer trying to get their first runway?

Mannino: Focus on the storytelling behind your collection. Make sure you love every piece. Make sure there's cohesion, because repeated elements are important for conveying your message. For me this season, that came down to styling decisions like the cuffs, the corset lace-up detailing, and bow appliqués throughout, plus some repeated silhouettes.

Interviewer: If you could show anywhere in the world next, where would it be?

Mannino: I'm an NYC brand, and I want to bring more vibrance to NYFW, so I'd absolutely pick somewhere here. Right now my dream venue would be the United Palace. I went to a Beck concert there years ago and was so enamoured with its glitzy decor.

Interviewer: Are there any independent designers, artists, or other creatives whose work you're particularly excited about right now?

Mannino: There are so many independent designers whose work I love! Elizabeth Shevelev is a friend, and she does stunning things with fabric manipulation. Cult Form is the coolest fitness-meets-going-out brand I've ever seen. I also absolutely adore what Ottolinger, Kim Shui, Rowen Rose, and Blondita are doing.

Interviewer: Veyra is built around helping people discover independent designers, shop their work, and connect through fashion. From a designer's perspective, what could platforms like Veyra do to better support emerging brands?

Mannino: I think platforms can help with promotion (like you're doing with this interview, thank you!) and with the barrier to entry. Having a fashion brand is extremely expensive, time-consuming, or both. You either pay for help, and that's $$$$, or you do it all yourself, which takes endless hours, or some mix of the two. At the end of the day, costs are really what make it hard to make it in this business. Standing out without PR isn't easy, even with social media, and the more help we can get with exposure, the better!

Yejin Han

Yejin Han's collection starts with a story. In Eou Yadam (어우야담), an old Korean book of tales, there is a mermaid who looks almost identical to a normal human being, with two legs and two feet. That idea of something not quite human passing as one fit the theme of The Last Human perfectly.

The collection focused on animal-based materials, with yarn fringes as the through-line. Tops were finished in animal-based yarn fringe, and white denim pants had the same fringe attached along the pocket openings. One dress was built entirely from Angora and cotton yarn fringes. Another pair of white denim pants was dyed with Sumi ink, giving the outfit a soft gradient.

Born and raised in Seoul, Yejin moved to New York to study fashion design at Parsons School of Design. Her work draws on traditional heritage, everyday human experiences, and personal memories. Attention to detail is central to how she designs: even the smallest elements are carefully considered, whether or not the audience can see them. Her aim is to make high-quality pieces built to last that connect with the people who wear them, both emotionally and practically.

Yejin Han look at The Last Human Fashion Show

Human Juices

Human Juices was a fresh palate cleanser. The collection leaned hard into theatrics and high-energy whimsy, and it felt like a circus: brightly coloured outfits, with the models acting more than modelling.

From the opening look the models were playful and expressive, often interacting with the set and with each other. It was one of the most fun stretches of the night, and a reminder that a runway can be a performance as much as a presentation.

Human Juices look at The Last Human Fashion Show

Morte Della Vita: "Abyssal"

Morte Della Vita, the label run by Vita Mazza, presented Abyssal, a collection about vulnerability and armour that turns fragility into a fortress through clothing. Vita says it was inspired by Panic! At the Disco's Pretty. Odd.

The collection opened beautifully, with a model in an open navy coat who commanded the room. Navy carried through the whole collection, paired with thin, sheer ivory drapes that floated over corsetry and structured tailoring. The opening look was crowned with a feathered hat, which turned out to be the first hat Vita has ever made (more on that in the interview below). Long navy coats, layered skirts, and lace-up boots gave the looks an old-world, almost seafaring feel, fragile and armoured at the same time.

Morte Della Vita Abyssal look at The Last Human Fashion Show

Watch the full Abyssal runway: