Cult Gaia Fall 2026 Ready-to-Wear

It’s surprising that Cult Gaia has never shown during New York Fashion Week, given just how far designer Jasmin Larian Hekmat has scaled her brand in the last 14 years. But today marked her first time on the official CFDA calendar, and she now plans to make it a more routine occurrence. Of course, doing a proper show came with some added pressure for the designer: Mainly, she knew she had to find new ways to elevate and innovate her signature vacation-ready pieces. “I don’t need to do shows—managing the business with three kids is crazy enough—but doing it makes the collection so much better,” she said backstage. While the stakes were high for her first New York runway, the collection’s theme was decidedly more intimate and personal. Hekmat found inspiration in the strong women within her Persian community. “It really honors my heritage and the women who came before me,” she said. “I really learned about beauty through the women around me, and that beauty is power. That embodies the Cult Gaia woman: She is fearless and powerful.” To match the sentiment, the show opened with a recording of Hekmat’s grandmother singing a song by the Iranian singer Marzieh. (The collection, titled Shirzan, is the Farsi word for “lioness.”)