The Comfort Watch Era
From Cartier Tanks to AP Royal Oaks to a perfect little Casio, the watches Analog:Shift spotted this New York Fashion Week weren’t chasing the 'next thing.' They were reaching for the right thing: icons, keepers, and classics built for real life. Better yet, they looked familiar — because many of them are the same best sellers and repeat offenders that have filtered through our doors in the last few months. The watches people actually buy. Actually wear. Actually live with.
New York Fashion Week has always been a study in extremes: swagger and anxiety, glamour and grit, fantasy and the MTA. But this season, the City itself set the tone. Shows were scattered across the map, from the Upper East Side to the far reaches of Brooklyn, and all of it unfolded during one of New York’s coldest, most punishing winters in recent memory. You didn’t just attend Fashion Week this year. You endured it.
And maybe that’s why — amid global unrest and a low-grade sense of collective unease — so many designers had comfort, nostalgia, and memory on the brain. The clothes weren’t chasing shock value. They weren’t chasing virality. They were quietly reinterpreting pieces with longevity. “Safe,” yes, but safe in the way a great coat is safe. In the way a broken-in leather bag is safe. In the way something you’ve owned for years becomes part of your identity.
The watches reflected the same instinct.
Jeager LeCoultre Reverso
Instead of novelty dials and "look-at-me" flex pieces, the wrists of editors, stylists, and insiders leaned into the classics: Cartier, Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet — and, refreshingly, even Timex. Watches that don’t need to explain themselves. Watches that look even better when paired with the kind of clothes you actually want to wear for the next decade, not just the next post.
Photographer Dan Bassini - Photo taken by Meninsoho
Photographer Dan Bassini sharpens our view of it all. Based in New York and working across digital and analog formats, his images capture the small, telling details that make Fashion Week feel like an important document of the moment.
If Fashion Week is a crystal ball, Fall/Winter 2026 didn’t predict a new silhouette or a new “it” color — it predicted a mood. The city was cold, the world felt loud, and the clothes leaned into pieces designed to outlast the moment. The watches did the same. Not status symbols so much as steady companions: the kind you wear when you’re moving fast, staying out late, and trying to feel grounded in a place that never stops. In a season defined by comfort, memory, and longevity, the most stylish watches weren’t the rarest or the loudest.
They were the ones that already belonged.
Alioune
Audemars Piguet "Cobra" watch from the 1980s or 1990s in 18-karat white gold.
Brenda Weischer
Rolex Datejust 36 with a silver dial, fluted white gold bezel, and a Jubilee bracelet.
Chaday Emmanuel
Tissot PR 100 T-Classic watch, likely model T150.410.22.011.00, a Swiss quartz timepiece with a stainless steel case and a gold PVD coating.
David Walker
Rolex GMT-Master II, likely reference 126715CHNR or 126711CHNR, featuring an 18kt Everose gold case and a black dial with a black and brown ceramic bezel.
Edoardo Lasala
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classique.
Erik Maza
Omega Seamaster from the 1950s/60s.
Ethan Gaskill
Rolex Submariner, likely reference 114060 or 124060.
Ian Bradley
Casio A158WEA-9 digital watch, featuring a stainless steel bracelet and a vintage-inspired design.
James Frazier
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver in khaki green.
Josh Mehling
Timex Essex Avenue Women's Two-Tone Expansion Watch, Ref. T2M828.
Julian Decanali
Rolex Datejust purple dial Ref. 16030.
Lilly Sisto
Vintage yellow gold Rolex Day-Date, Ref. 1803 or 18038, on a brown leather strap worn with a Cartier "Juste un Clou" nail bracelet.
Lucas Conrod
Cartier Tank Française in steel.
Maria Martin
Cartier Santos in steel.
Maria Mendez
Cartier Baignoire Gold Bangle.
Mason Hall
Citizen Automatic circa 1970s.
Matt Weinberger
Rolex Datejust 16234, featuring a black dial and a stainless steel Jubilee bracelet.
Michael Atmore
Bremont America’s Cup Regatta AC-R/SS.
Olympia Gayot
Cartier Must de Cartier Tank “Slate Dial.”
Philip Leeming
1960s Omega Seamaster De Ville automatic wristwatch in 34mm gold or gold fill.
Willa Bennett
Rolex Air-King Ref. 14000 featuring a 34mm stainless steel case and an Oyster bracelet.
Yao King
Patek Philippe Calatrava Reference 5227R, a luxurious rose gold dress watch with an ivory-lacquered dial.
