Brassy restaurateur Keith McNally's inimitable French brasserie Balthazar was always divorced from the fashion happenings that buzzed around it in New York's SoHo district like so many small plates toted by its high-speed waitstaff. But as New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2026 dawns, Balthazar is dipping a toe into fashion with Ami Paris, the 15-year-old label founded by Alexandre Mattiussi.

It's French on (New York) French, as Balthazar and Ami make it an authentic affair. Or at least, as authentic as a Parisian street scene can feel in New York.

From February 11 to March 11, Balthazar will plate up Ami-branded eats atop paper placemats that guests can sketch on while supping on hors d’œuvres and oysters. There's also suitably French merch, including printed coffee cups and holders designed to cradle croissants and baguettes (of course!).

Can't make a sit-down meal? Stop by Ami's store on the Western side of SoHo for a sampling of treats from the Balthazar bakery served from a cart parked right out front, charrette à pâtisseries-style.

Courtesy of Ami

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Clothing? No, not quite. But one step at a time.

This team-up is a marked shift for Balthazar, an establishment so indifferent to anything that isn't related to eating or drinking that it doesn't even sell merch in an era where every eatery, bookstore, and vintage shop is keen to sling logo'd gear. But perhaps it's better to taste-test fashion after 30 years of mostly staying out of the game (although Balthazar always be a favorite of the fashionable folks flocking to town for NYFW).

It's a start. Ami is gently, Frenchly, nudging Balthazar closer to the fashion scene that's always loved it so well.

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