Meruert Tolegen Fall 2025: Following Her Gut to Make Art

“I just wanted to push more into the sculptural aspect of things,” Meruert Tolegen said backstage after her runway show. “I wanted to stay away from any kind of commercialism, to kind of express the art of it.”

Judging from the show’s guests, many of whom wore her fantastical creations, the appetite for her work is there. “I’ve gone back and forth to creating something that is sellable to the consumer, but then I just didn’t feel fulfilled,” she said.

Shown in a marble ballroom space in New York’s financial district with majestic Doric columns, she leaned into her artistic instincts with dresses with pannier skirts in white and tulle peeking out that showed her sense of craft. Pieces were molded with foam and caging, all by hand. “My team has been incredible, and they’ve been working day and night, creating the sculpting with me.”

The opening look — a chunky black knit with balaclava and asymmetric full white skirt — looked like something out of a fairytale. There is a darkly romantic bent to her work, mixing periods and ideas. Knits that looked hand-spun, cozy and cocoon like, and lace eyelet dresses with a low bustier and puff sleeves were all in black, while an even simpler piece, a slipdress in a bronzy fabric, had ruffles on the hem. She added a few male models on the runway in knit leggings and a super-sized scarf obscuring their faces. “It’s not necessarily fluid in that sense, because I don’t create for both women’s and men’s shapes, per se. But I wanted men to be able to wear some of my pieces too,” she said of the sprinkle of looks.

Suiting made an appearance with a gray shrunken single-breasted blazer and shorts. It’s a category she said she pushes herself to create and hopes to do more of.

Along with her coat and dress pairings there were moments that veered sexy with a bra top and legging baring skin. She topped them with a fluffy white fur top that covered the arms and breast. Post NYFW, editors will mull over trends, but Tolegen stands out as a designer who follows her gut, creating special handcrafted pieces for a niche customer who gets it.