{"id":55,"date":"2026-10-27T22:21:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T19:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/?p=55"},"modified":"2026-10-27T22:21:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T19:21:13","slug":"designer-henry-zankov-is-one-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wom.beauty\/?p=55","title":{"rendered":"Designer Henry Zankov is One to Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tSlow and steady wins the race.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s the process designer Henry Zankov has been following since founding his own label in 2020 after designing and consulting across the fashion industry for over 15 years for the likes of DKNY\/Donna Karan, Edun and Diane von Furstenberg. And it\u2019s certainly working.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHelmut Lang said this back in the \u201990s \u2014 \u2018Everything I do is a work in progress.\u2019 I feel that\u2019s kind of how I see it. I would never admit to say I know everything right away. Rather, I\u2019m always learning something every day,\u201d Zankov told WWD.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI feel really grateful that from when we started until now, things have been growing really steadily and in a meaningful way, and that\u2019s always been really important to me,\u201d Zankov said, adding that while he\u2019s certainly a business person and designer simultaneously, since launching his label it\u2019s been about going \u201cslow and steady. Where every day informs the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Zankov<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tZankov Spring 2027 ready-to-wear collection at New York Fashion Week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGiovanni Giannoni\/WWD<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tOver the last six years the Russian-born, American founder and creative director has grown Zankov from an eye-catching, colorful emerging knitwear label into a fully fledged fashion brand that sits within New York\u2019s new vanguard of designers alongside the likes of Rachel Scott, Christopher John Rogers, Willy Chavarria, Raul Lopez and more. In September 2025, Zankov made his runway debut with his spring 2026 collection, filled with new categories of tailoring and evening, during New York Fashion Week after seasons of standing presentations. His designs continue to delight and inspire through his use of pattern, textures and color that now goes beyond signature knitwear.<\/p>\n

\n\tLeading up to that, Zankov collaborated with the likes of Selima Optique, Troye Sivan\u2019s lifestyle label Tsu Lange Yor and DVF, and won the Google Shopping American Emerging Designer of the Year Award at the 2024 CFDA Fashion Awards. This month, Zankov brought his \u201cexpressive sensbility\u201d to Banana Republic\u2019s timeless dressing with a cocreated, limited-edition, 27-piece capsule collection of men\u2019s and women\u2019s clothing and accessories.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat\u2019s been really interesting to see is how the collections evolved aesthetically and in size, and how even though the brand was established very specifically aesthetically, that has changed. The core hasn\u2019t changed, but it has evolved,\u201d he said of his own label, priced $675 to $2,200, comparing his design process to cooking or painting. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou add colors that you feel are missing,\u201d he added, noting the brand also introduced shoes produced by Luis Onofree, a member of the Portuguese Footwear Association, for spring 2027.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tA look from the DVF x Henry Zankov collection.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tFollowing his highly successful capsule for DVF filled with a fringed knit cardigan, an Infinity geo merino wool turtleneck, a Bali floral garnet sequined mesh dress and more in 2025, Zankov was appointed its first artistic director in April, ushering in a new era for the iconic brand. In September, Zankov unveiled his first runway collection for DVF with a spring 2027 collection that met with strong praise and promise for his mix of familiar codes reworked into a, \u201cwardrobe that feels lived now rather than archived,\u201d WWD\u2019s Thomas Waller said.<\/p>\n

\n\tNow Zankov is being recognized at the annual WWD Honors gala with the WWD One to Watch Honor.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlthough the designer isn\u2019t shy about the sheer amount of hard work and dedication it takes to juggle both of his roles at Zankov and DVF, he\u2019s certainly up for the task.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNot to sound clich\u00e9, but I feel very lucky and able to do what I love,\u201d Zankov said. Since his appointment, his Zankov operations, now made up of five employees, have moved into DVF\u2019s Meatpacking District headquarters.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Zankov<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tZankov spring 2027 ready-to-wear collection at New York Fashion Week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGiovanni Giannoni\/WWD<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\u201cAs I go, I don\u2019t have a goal at the end as far as what it needs to look like, but I have a sense of it. I\u2019ve been very much informed by the creative process. I\u2019ve learned a lot about the differences between the two, and where I need to lean more into for each brand. Again, it goes back to the same philosophy of everything is a work in progress,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAs far as Zankov, it\u2019s much smaller, it\u2019s not a huge household name, and it\u2019s definitely more experimental. I would say it\u2019s a little bit more subversive whereas I think DVF is more sensual. I think there\u2019s definitely a crossover between, you know, the two brands as far as when it comes to color and pattern and the ease of it, but I would say that\u2019s kind of where it ends,\u201d Zankov said. \u201cDoing both, I\u2019ve been able to experiment with things here that I wouldn\u2019t be able to do without Zankov, and vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe designer explained that coming into DVF, one of his main goals is to uphold von Furstenberg\u2019s brand legacy while making it desirable again, not only to those in the fashion industry he\u2019s surrounded by but customers who like the brand but haven\u2019t necessarily seen themselves in it or related to it in recent years.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThose girls are also Zankov girls. They buy Zankov, but they don\u2019t buy DVF. There is definitely a crossover, but I think a lot about the existing customer and the new generation of women. I also think that DVF could be more than just for dresses,\u201d he said of their potential shared consumer, including DVF\u2019s multigeneration, established one.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Diane<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tDiane von Furstenberg spring 2027 ready-to-wear collection at New York Fashion Week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGiovanni Giannoni\/WWD<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tAs seen through DVF\u2019s spring 2027 runway collection, he\u2019s taking the right steps to do so not only by livening up the brand\u2019s iconic wrap dress with his energetic prints and intriguing color combinations, but also rearranging its core of easy, print, sensuality and a rebellious streak through playing with the idea of wrapping via a wrapped ballerina top, skirts and scarf-like panels that cocooned the body, and draped T-shirts.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother step in bringing the DVF consumer back and widening its reach comes through the brand\u2019s return to wholesale after taking the business back in-house from its Chinese licensee and distributor Glamel in February 2025. In addition to dvf.com, they are selling at Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale\u2019s, Nordstrom, KaDeWe in Berlin and Breuninger in Germany, with additional partners to be announced for the spring 2027 season.<\/p>\n

\n\tZankov said he also envisions the brand, priced $198 to $1,598, at specialty stores and small boutiques. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat\u2019s interesting is DVF is such a big name, but the product itself is very unique. It has a very singular, unique point of view, and I think it\u2019s very, very much positioned to be in really special shops as opposed to it being everywhere,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Diane<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tDiane von Furstenberg spring 2027 ready-to-wear collection at New York Fashion Week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGiovanni Giannoni\/WWD<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tAmid all the hard work, Zankov said he finds joy through the people he works and collaborates with, and their conversations along the way, which often evoke specific feelings that result in collection inspirations. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEvery time I finish a collection or I finish a project, I don\u2019t worry about where the idea is going to come from. It does somehow. Not to sound too woo woo, but I think you have to stay open to possibilities and stay open to information coming to you. I might walk down the street and go into a bookshop that I\u2019ve never been to and find something there that might be really inspiring, like a book. I\u2019m a really big sponge, and so I\u2019m always absorbing and learning, and then certain things resonate, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Wait, that\u2019s interesting. I\u2019m going to explore that,’\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s for both brands, but a lot of it is connected to instinct and a type of feeling. So it\u2019s usually a feeling or a song, film or conversation with a friend that would evoke a feeling, and it feels interesting enough, then I pursue it and I build a whole story around that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Zankov<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tZankov Spring 2027 ready-to-wear collection at New York Fashion Week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGiovanni Giannoni\/WWD<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tLooking to the year ahead, Zankov said there\u2019s \u201cmuch to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m really excited about carving out the next steps for my brand. We have a new chief executive officer [and business partner], Jack Tobin. I\u2019ve been working with him for two years, and he joined recently on a more official basis. It\u2019s a lot to do on my own. I\u2019m more creative leaning. Of course, I\u2019m a business-minded person, otherwise I wouldn\u2019t still be here. But I need a partner in crime, and so I\u2019m really excited to have someone at my corner, someone who can support me,\u201d Zankov said of appointing Tobin, who continues to run his own luxury brand development and sales consulting agency, Jack Tobin Agency, in October.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt takes a village, and I could never do this without the two of them,\u201d he added of working with Carolyn Batista for public relations.<\/p>\n

\n\tSince partnering with Jack Tobin Agency two years ago, Zankov has grown his brand\u2019s international business more than tenfold and doubled its global stockist network, strengthening its foothold across Europe and North America. According to the company, new business has expanded into the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Greece, securing key retail partnerships with Selfridges and Harrods in London and Galeries Lafayette in Paris. The brand is also stocked at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale\u2019s, Nordstrom, Moda Operandi, Ikram, McMullen, A\u2019maree\u2019s, Kirna Zabete, Absolutely Fabrics, Chapters and Fondaco di Roma.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m excited to discover where Zankov can really go as far as breaking out of just knitwear in the last couple of years and building out a wardrobe. I think now for us, it\u2019s really about growing a serious business, so I\u2019m really excited about exploring that,\u201d Zankov said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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