Dolphin Subsidiaries Special Projects, 42West and The Digital Dept. Bring Star Power and Creator Buzz to New York Fashion Week
Dolphin highlights how its agencies leveraged New York Fashion Week to stage celebrity events and immersive creator experiences for multiple brands.
Rhea-AI Summary
Dolphin (DLPN) reported extensive involvement by subsidiaries Special Projects, 42West and The Digital Dept. across New York Fashion Week 2026, supporting luxury brands, designers and creators through events, PR and influencer activations.
Special Projects partnered on events for Moncler, CHANEL and Rag & Bone, contributing to store openings, fragrance launches and menswear showcases attended by numerous celebrities. 42West managed Christian Siriano’s SS27 show and supported clients at major NYFW appearances and parties. The Digital Dept. activated its influencer roster at multiple brand events and wrapped the week with its two-day, invite-only BRANDEdit Café Society experience in New York’s Flatiron district, hosting more than 150 fashion, beauty and lifestyle creators with brand partners including Comfrt, Zenni Optical, Shokz, FRE Wines and others.
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Key Figures
- Creator attendance
- More than 150 creators
- BRANDEdit Café Society activation
- Activation duration
- Two days
- September 15-16, 2026
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
From Moncler and CHANEL parties to a two-day BRANDEdit creator experience, the agencies delivered standout NYFW moments across the city
NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 16, 2026 / Special Projects, 42West and The Digital Dept., subsidiaries of Dolphin (Nasdaq:DLPN), delivered a wide-ranging presence at New York Fashion Week (NYFW), spanning star-studded brand activations, client red-carpet moments, influencer takeovers and an immersive creator experience throughout the week.
Special Projects, the leading talent booking, creative content and special event agency, went party hopping from uptown to downtown in partnership with Moncler, CHANEL and Rag & Bone. Moncler celebrated the opening of its new Fifth Avenue flagship, drawing guests including François Arnaud, Future, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Sam Nivola, Julia Robertos, Adrien Brody, Spike Lee, Jordan Clarkson, Questlove and Cher, among others. CHANEL launched its new Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu fragrance at New York institution Balthazar, where "Sterling Point" stars Ella Rubin and Keen Ruffalo and "SNL" cast members Sarah Sherman and Marcello Hernandez partied alongside the band Balu Brigada. Special Projects closed out its run with a menswear event for Rag & Bone at the brand's Tribeca store, and drawing Gus Kenworthy, Kawhi Leonard, Egor Demn, Jamie Mizrahi, Sally Singer and Bryce Alakai, who grooved to DJ Bea Hardy and caught a live performance from Matt Hitt.
42West, one of the entertainment industry's leading full-service public-relations firms, kept its clients front and center throughout the week. The agency handled Christian Siriano's SS27 fashion show, and 42West clients turned out across NYFW's biggest moments: Rachel Zoe hosted an event at What Goes Around Comes Around, where she was announced as the vintage retailer's Style Director for the coming year; Karen Elson hosted a dinner for Lela Rose; Coco Rocha joined Julia Roberts and others at the Moncler dinner; Alexa Chung walked in the Tory Burch show; and Scout Willis attended the Vanity Fair Style Party.
The Digital Dept. (TDD), Dolphin's influencer marketing and talent management subsidiary, saw its roster show up in force throughout NYFW. TDD creators Audree Kate Lopez, Kelly Ann Shuman, Chloee Huseman, Leanne Barlow, Ashley Donielle, Kristin Taenzer, Chastity Nolan and Stephanie Nardella attended the LTK Awards in New York, with Huseman also named to the 2026 LTK Creator List. Elsewhere across the week, Susan Yara hosted a NYFW kickoff party for her brand PLAYA and its new dry shampoo launch; Queen Olu made stops at The Stoop by Calzedonia x Beauty of Joseon, the Milk Makeup NYFW event, the Westman Atelier NYFW Pop-Up with ShopMy, the Runway 7 fashion show and Medik8's Sephora launch; and Chloe Lukasiak attended BCBG Presents A Parisian Morning, The Stoop by Calzedonia x Beauty of Joseon, CLDR's NYFW Kickoff Event and the Westman Atelier NYFW Pop-Up with ShopMy.
Carla Rockmore sat front row at the Diane von Furstenberg SS27 runway show and also attended the Libertine SS27 show, the Argent Leadership x Style Talking Circle at Gloria Steinem's home, the Jamie Haller Spring 2027 presentation, the Daily Front Row Fashion Media Awards and the Tanner Fletcher presentation, in addition to hosting a panel for Glossy. Charlotte Groeneveld attended Khaite, FFORME, Magda Butrym, Altuzarra and KALLMEYER NEW YORK, and hosted a party at Mr. Chow with Le Tanneur celebrating the handbag she designed in collaboration with the brand. Madison Rae recorded a live episode of her podcast, Progress Girls, in partnership with Simkhai, and Wendy Nguyen partnered with Walmart on its Fashion Week pop-up.
Additional TDD creators made their mark across the week: Stephanie Nardella at NYLON Nights and Shopbop's NYFW event; Leanne Barlow at Shopbop's NYFW event; Erika Dwyer across Ann Taylor's NYFW pop-up, the Maje x Who What Wear event, Carolina Herrera's pop-up, BCBG Presents a Parisian Morning and the Marie Claire x ASICS live podcast event; Monica Awe-Etuk at the NYFW Talbots Café; Wilglory at the Estée Lauder 'Glimmer' launch; Katie Duke at the Tibi show; and Kristin Taenzer across the Princess Polly fall showroom, the DRMTLGY event, the Vivrelle x Renggli event, the Amazon x Pinterest event and the LTK event.
The Digital Dept. capped the week with its signature BRANDEdit Café Society experience, running September 15-16 at a private venue in New York's Flatiron district. The two-day, invite-only activation welcomed more than 150 fashion, beauty and lifestyle creators through curated, appointment-based time slots, transforming the venue into a stylish neighborhood streetscape of sidewalk cafés, bakeries, newsstands and open-air markets. Title sponsor Comfrt offered creators custom-embroidered sweatshirts as a Fashion Week keepsake, alongside brand activations from Zenni Optical, Shokz (celebrating the launch of OpenDots 2 in a new pink colorway), FRE Wines, Miss Mouth's, Nippies and Clean & Clear, plus gifting from Beauty of Joseon, Playa Beauty, OSEA Malibu and more.
"New York Fashion Week is exactly where Special Projects, 42West and The Digital Dept. are built to operate," said Bill O'Dowd, CEO of Dolphin. "Whether it's curating a room of A-list celebrities for clients like Moncler and CHANEL, producing Christian Siriano's runway show, or giving more than 150 creators a reason to talk about a brand for two straight days, this is what Dolphin was built to do best: turn cultural moments into measurable impact for our partners."
About Dolphin
Dolphin (NASDAQ:DLPN) is where cultural creation meets marketing execution. Founded in 1996 by Bill O'Dowd, Dolphin operates as both a venture studio developing and investing in breakthrough content, products, and experiences and a marketing consortium, featuring leading agencies across every communications discipline.
At its core, the venture studio creates, produces, finances, markets, and promotes new businesses and cultural ideas - ranging from acclaimed film, television, and digital content to consumer goods, live events and partnerships that define entertainment and lifestyle. Surrounding this entrepreneurial engine, Dolphin's marketing prowess brings together best-in-class firms including 42West, The Door, Shore Fire Media, Elle Communications, Special Projects and The Digital Dept. Together, this collective delivers unmatched cross-marketing expertise and relationships across every vertical of pop culture - from film, television, music, influencers, sports, hospitality, and fashion to consumer brands and purpose-driven initiatives. Dolphin marketing has been the recipient of many accolades, including #1 Agency of the Year on the Observer PR Power List in 2025, The PR Net 100, and the PR News Elite 120.
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Investor Contact:
James Carbonara
HAYDEN IR
(646)-755-7412
james@haydenir.com
SOURCE: Dolphin Entertainment
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