After the models took their final lap at Sandy Liang’s spring 2026 show during New York Fashion Week, one attendee was quick to offer a standing ovation: 3-year-old Aaliyah, who leapt off her mother’s lap, clapping her tiny hands together.

Although she was probably the youngest front row guest, this wasn’t Aaliyah’s first runway. The toddler began attending Liang’s show last year when her mother, Jade Vallario, W ’s senior accessories and jewelry editor, couldn’t find childcare. So she decided to bring Aaliyah along and hoped that everyone would be fine with her last-minute plus-one—after all, she didn’t even need her own seat. “I’ve just been showing up and putting her on my lap, so I hope it’s okay,” she says. “They were cool with it.”

While some designers might balk at the idea of

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