From pre-show prep to post-runway resets, the actress and producer opens up about Fashion Week must-haves, favorite trends, and the look that made her feel most herself.

Since her breakout role in Sunrise in Heaven back in 2019, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cayleecowan/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caylee Cowan</a> has been booked, busy, and steadily carving out her place in Hollywood. The actress and producer has kept the momentum going with a slate of exciting projects ahead, and this season, she brought that same energy to New York Fashion Week. We joined Cowan as she got ready for the Fall/Winter 2026 Carolina Herrera show, letting L&rsquo;OFFICIEL tag along for the full GRWM moment.
With NYFW comes a certain level of beautiful chaos, and Cowan knows exactly how to ground herself through it all. Her week essentials? A good book (she&rsquo;s currently deep into The Secret History&mdash;excellent taste), a tightly curated beauty routine, and a commitment to carving out moments of calm when she can. She also opened up about the trends she&rsquo;s loving right now&mdash;think monochromatic looks and natural fibers&mdash;and the ones she&rsquo;s happily leaving behind (hint: it's polyester).
What keeps Cowan coming back to Carolina Herrera is the brand&rsquo;s deep-rooted heritage, something that resonated strongly with her when it came time to choose her look for the show. &ldquo;That sense of layered identity is what this look reminded me of,&rdquo; she shared. &ldquo;There are elements of Latin heritage woven into something that still feels classically American and unmistakably New York. It&rsquo;s refined but soulful, timeless yet personal.&rdquo;
From pre-show prep to post-fashion-week resets, keep scrolling for our full conversation with Caylee Cowan ahead of the Carolina Herrera Fall/Winter 2026 show.

L'OFFICIEL:&nbsp;Walk us through your GRWM for the Carolina Herrera show. What&rsquo;s the very first thing you do before Fashion Week glam even begins?
CAYLEE COWAN:&nbsp;I wake and the first thing I do is hydrate. Then, I take a moment to ground myself before the day starts. The Carolina Herrera show is at 10 a.m., which meant we had a 6 a.m. glam call time. While my eye patches were still on, we started with hair and I ordered breakfast. We wanted the glam to feel very true to Carolina Herrera &mdash; classic, feminine, and timeless. We went with soft, side-swept curls, a clean winged liner with minimal eyeshadow, and a red lip that leaned subtle rather than bold.
L'O:&nbsp;How does your personal style intersect with Carolina Herrera's aesthetic and sartorial codes?
CC:&nbsp;The Carolina Herrera as a brand has such a beautiful balance of strength and femininity. I&rsquo;m drawn to their timeless silhouettes. I particularly love when there&rsquo;s softness or subtle sensuality beneath the structure. Their choice of color on the painted walls reminded me a lot of this duality &mdash; the baby pinks, yellows, and blues beside their dark brown and deep reds. Carolina Herrera is not afraid for color or pattern and their creative director, Wes Gordon, demonstrates how these colors and clean lines all live harmoniously together. It&rsquo;s elegance that feels intrinsic and not rigid.
L'O:&nbsp;When dressing for a Carolina Herrera show, do you give yourself more room to experiment than usual? How do you decide when to push boundaries versus keep things grounded?
CC:&nbsp;For Carolina Herrera, I gave myself a little more room to experiment, especially with color. I loved everything at the fitting, and it was hard to choose. There was a dark green look we all kept coming back to; it had an interior belt that cinched the waist beautifully and fit perfectly. Since it was a cold February, I loved the idea of wearing pants. It felt elegant but practical. We paired it with a taxi-yellow purse, which added a playful contrast and balance to the richness of the green.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s fun to play and push boundaries as long as it still feels authentic.&nbsp;

L'O:&nbsp;Was there a specific reference&mdash;fashion, art, or a past Carolina Herrera moment&mdash; that influenced today&rsquo;s look?
CC:&nbsp;Absolutely. I was really inspired by the heritage of the brand. How it carries such a strong sense of classic New York elegance while weaving in layers of culture and history. Carolina Herrera has always felt rooted in that idea of a global woman in a very specific place: New York as a true melting pot.
That resonates deeply with me. I&rsquo;m culturally mixed. My maternal grandmother was from south of the border, from Guadalajara, and she was French-Mexican. My grandfather&rsquo;s family came from England and settled in Maine, and they met in California, where my mother was born. On my father&rsquo;s side, my family is Russian Jewish. So I grew up feeling like a blend of all these different histories, geographies, and traditions.
That sense of layered identity is what this look reminded me of. There are elements of Latin heritage woven into something that still feels classically American and unmistakably New York. It&rsquo;s refined but soulful, timeless yet personal.&nbsp;
L'O:&nbsp;What&rsquo;s your favorite part of getting ready for runway shows?
CC:&nbsp;My favorite part is seeing the look come together with all of the finishing touches. Arriving at the show and being able to see all the other looks everyone&rsquo;s wearing and how those interact with the new collection is truly special. There&rsquo;s something really exciting about that moment when it all clicks and you feel the full energy of the show.

L'O: Every ItGirl has a signature. What&rsquo;s the one thing you do, wear, or swear by that makes people say, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s so you&rdquo;?
CC:&nbsp;Maybe it&rsquo;s my side-swept hair with a winged liner and a cinched silhouette? I love anything that feels feminine and a little timeless, but still strong. It&rsquo;s simple, but it always makes me feel like myself.
L'O:&nbsp;Are there any aesthetics or trends you&rsquo;re loving&mdash;or ready to retire&mdash;right now? What are you excited to see from fashion in the coming seasons?
CC:&nbsp;I&rsquo;m loving monochromatic looks with mixed textures. I&rsquo;m a big fan of natural fibers &mdash; cottons, silks, linens.&nbsp;
Polyester. It&rsquo;s time for it to go. I&rsquo;m excited about a real return to &ldquo;less is more&rdquo; &mdash; cleaner lines, thoughtful fabrics, and pieces that feel intentional and built to last.&nbsp;
L'O:&nbsp;What are your must-have fashion week essentials? The few products you can't go without during a week like this?&nbsp;
CC:&nbsp;During fashion week, I need a good lip that can double as a blush. Especially when it&rsquo;s cold out and my lips tend to get chapped. My current obsession, Bisou Balm lipstick from Violette_fr. Trust me, you need to try it.&nbsp;
I also need a bag and inside that bag, a portable charger, headphones &mdash;I like the ones with wires &mdash; sunglasses, and a good book. Right now I&rsquo;m reading The Secret History, which I&rsquo;d also highly recommend.&nbsp;

L'O:&nbsp;After a hectic Fashion Week, where&rsquo;s your go-to place to unwind&mdash;spa, salon, coffee shop, bakery, or somewhere else?
CC:&nbsp;I love getting a massage or facial to unwind. Before the shows started, I actually got a five-minute express facial at CONTŌR Studio in SoHo, which is just a few blocks from The Bowery Hotel where I&rsquo;m staying. It&rsquo;s perfect when you&rsquo;re constantly on the go.&nbsp;
Home is always my favorite place to return to. Home, for me, is a person. After fashion week, I can&rsquo;t wait to get back home.

Caylee Cowan Does NYFW the Carolina Herrera Way

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