Brooks Nader NYFW Style: Archival Lace Meets Bold New Heels

Brooks Nader NYFW style once again proved why she’s become one of fashion month’s most photographed arrivals. On Wednesday night at Rockefeller Plaza, the model and television personality opened New York Fashion Week’s CFDA kickoff event in an archival Dolce & Gabbana lace gown, immediately setting the tone for a season already buzzing with anticipation.

The gown, drawn from the Italian house’s archives, played with texture and volume in classic Dolce & Gabbana fashion. Ruffles traced the high neckline, cascaded along the shoulders, and framed the hemline, lending the piece a romantic, almost theatrical silhouette. A sculpted back panel added architectural interest, a detail that has become something of a signature in Nader’s approach to red-carpet dressing — favoring construction and drama over anything predictable.

On her feet, Nader chose Schutz’s Lexi pumps, a closed-back silhouette with a sharply tapered toe and a sculptural, curved heel that broke from the expected stiletto mold. The heel curved inward before flaring subtly at its base, creating a profile that read as broad from the side and slender from behind — an unconventional shape that gave the otherwise minimalist black pump real visual weight. It’s a shoe choice that fashion editors have already flagged as one to watch this season, precisely because it turns a classic silhouette into something sculptural and new.

Styling for the evening was handled by Siena Montesano, who leaned into old-Hollywood glamour to complete the look. Nader’s blonde hair was set in a bouncy, voluminous blowout, while her makeup — soft pink blush, a nude lip, and lashes of mascara — kept the focus on a fresh, luminous finish rather than anything overdone. Diamond rings added a final touch of polish as she posed for photographers ahead of the event.

The CFDA appearance arrives at a particularly busy moment for Nader. The model-turned-actress is set to appear in the upcoming Baywatch reboot, while fans of her Hulu reality series Love Thy Nader are eagerly awaiting its second season. The show, which also features her three younger sisters, has helped cement the Nader family as a fixture of the current pop-culture landscape. Youngest sister Sarah Jane is reportedly being considered for the 2026 season of Dancing with the Stars — a show Brooks herself once appeared on, where she famously began a relationship with professional dancer Gleb Savchenko before their headline-making split played out on her own series.

Nader’s rise in the industry traces back to 2019, when she won the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue’s Swim Search competition. She went on to appear in the magazine in 2020, 2021, and 2022 before landing the coveted cover in 2026 — a milestone that solidified her status in the swimwear and modeling world. She has also taken on select acting roles, including a supporting part in the action film Backtrace.

As New York Fashion Week unfolds, Brooks Nader’s CFDA kickoff appearance is likely to be remembered as one of the week’s defining style moments — proof that archival dressing, when paired with confident styling and a distinctive shoe choice, can still generate major cultural conversation. With Fashion Week just getting started, all eyes will be on what she wears next.

Brooks Nader NYFW style continues to set the bar for archival dressing done right, proving that vintage pieces can feel just as relevant on today’s step-and-repeat as anything fresh off the runway. As Fashion Week rolls on, industry insiders expect Nader’s next appearances to draw the same buzz, with stylist Siena Montesano likely pulling from equally striking archives. For now, this CFDA moment stands as an early front-runner for one of the season’s most memorable style statements.