After a month of catwalks, the question remains the same: what future truly awaits fashion? Because the system seems unable to emerge from the stand-by mode that has characterised recent seasons. Yet, within this whirlwind, some signs have emerged from the Autumn/Winter 2026/2027 collections. Clues that tell us where we are heading, starting from the urgent need to understand whether fashion still has something to say and is seeking a way through
by Domenico Casoria
When we talk about pieces, let’s be clear, we’re not just talking about clothes or entire outfits. But also about individual accessories that carry with them a different, alternative conceptual approach. And so, for example, whilst fierce winds of war are blowing outside, Dior decides to start afresh with nature. And with that concept of perfection that has always been intrinsic to the brand. For the latest collection, Jonathan Anderson has, in fact, created shoes and bags that encapsulate a sense of rebirth and a certain idea of positivity.
Which, if you think about it, is a progressive message. Anderson sent small treasure chests full of stories to tell down the catwalk, means of escaping a dark present. On a stroll through the Tuileries Gardens. Flowers thus appear on the shoes, which also serve to outline the body in certain dresses, on ruffled skirts that evoke the shape of a calla lily. “The spectacle of everyday life”, as the designer puts it.
Fashion seeks a way forward
A certain focus on nature (and on how the body is constantly reshaped in relation to the vastness of the outside world) was also evident at Prada and its sister brand Miu Miu. Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada have, in fact, worked on the concept of layering, sending just 15 models down the catwalk dressed in four looks. A change with every lap. But here too, it was the details that stood out. On the socks (worn strictly with heels, as Miuccia dictates) were decorative little flowers. A statement, one might say. Tending to one’s inner gardens. Whilst on the one hand, there was a search for positivity, on the other, the tone was decidedly less rosy. How? In exaggerated volumes, or in silhouettes serving as protection, shelter, or a den.
Volumes as protection
Yes, because alongside a general awakening of consciousness, there are those who prefer to reflect the times we are living through. Perhaps unwittingly, let’s be clear. But hiding the body, isolating it, enclosing it in a protective shell is tantamount to playing defensively. At Louis Vuitton, for example, Nicolas Ghesquière focused more on the upper part of the garments than the lower. The shoulders of the coats thus take on the appearance of armour, places to take refuge in to escape reality. There are also those who, whilst exaggerating the shapes, have managed to convey less rigid ideas. For their second collection at Loewe, McCollough and Hernandez have found the perfect balance between form and substance. Playfulness yet roots.
On the catwalk, for example, a leather coat that recreates the effect of knots. Everything we have seen this month, however, has an underlying theme. A return to the essence of luxury, to craftsmanship understood as a system of rules that are difficult to break. For her debut at Fendi, Maria Grazia Chiuri instead drew on her personal vocabulary to reinterpret the brand’s codes. How? By breathing new life into leather with a lace-like effect. The feeling, after a month of catwalks, remains the same: fashion is seeking a way forward rather than an answer. Between those who invoke nature as an antidote and those who build armour to navigate the present, there remains a shared urgency: to return to a system that has substance, not just surface.
Photos: Dior, Prada, Fendi and Loewe
Read also:
- How a bag tells the story of prêt-à-couture and captures a season
- Vuitton and Murakami: the brand new level of a textbook collaboration
- Between cracks and rebirths: men’s fashion seeks a new centre of gravity