Mis en avant
JEAN PAUL GAULTIER HAUTE COUTURE FW26/27
Excitement about Duran Lantink's couture debut has been brewing since the announcement that he would be taking the reins of Jean Paul Gaultier. Ever the rule-breaker, his first foray into such a rule-bound world was an exciting prospect. Over his first two collections, he's bent the JPG archive into a distorted new shape.
The question hanging over this debut wasn't whether Lantink could speak the language of couture but whether he could preserve his irreverence once confronted with its rigid grammar. His answer was to drag Versailles through a body shop. Inspired by 18th-century court dress, particularly the exaggerated silhouettes associated with Marie Antoinette and the Ancien Régime, historical dress is considered through its oddity.
Rigid, tubular gowns had their sculptural frames forcing the body into unfamiliar proportions. Tulle erupted from necklines, hips and backsides like insulation bursting through cracked plaster, while suspended crinolines hovered around the body instead of disappearing beneath it.
Tailoring was equally disrupted: sharply cut jackets sprouted pyramid-like collars, and parkas were elevated through extravagant volumes. There was a new iteration of the male torso bodysuit Lantink sent down the runway in the last showing under his own label. Still on the body of model Leon Dame, this time the human shape is made squiggly.
Deadstock fabrics from the Gaultier archive were reworked into silhouettes that referenced historical couture while 3D-printed structural elements created exoskeletal frameworks beneath garments, replacing traditional boning with something closer to industrial design.
It was unmistakably Jean Paul Gaultier in spirit: irreverent, body-conscious and allergic to nostalgia. But rather than mining the house's greatest hits (the cone bra, Breton stripes or tattoo prints), Lantink distilled Gaultier's deeper ethos of provocation.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
FENDI COUTURE FW26/27
After unveiling her first Fendi collection as creative director of the Italian house back in February, Maria Grazia Chiuri chose Rome, the designer’s beloved hometown, to stage her debut couture show, held at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art.
Similarities between the two collections can be easily spotted, from a more black-and-white-centred choice of colour to a purposeful fluidity present in all the garments, even when crafted from heavier textiles. In case you skipped a chapter in fashion history, it is worth noting that Chiuri started her designing career at Fendi in the late eighties, before working at Valentino and Dior. Anything done now hints at a full-circle trajectory.
Since her comeback, Chiuri has been aiming to combine shared signature codes crafted by both Karl Lagerfeld and the Fendi sisters, her predecessors, while also paving her own vision for the label.
For couture, this approach further proves itself to be a continuation. Throughout the collection, Chiuri shone a light on the meanings of “desire” today, which, for her, signifies creating clothing that moves with the body and embraces its emotions, intentions, and the complexity of being alive. Rather than constraint, freedom; instead of sturdy or architectural, typical couture silhouettes, lighter and flowy forms.
A picture of Austrian fashion designer, businesswoman, and life partner of the painter Gustav Klimt, Emilie Louise Flöge, wearing a striped, black-and-white tunic, inspired a few of the collection’s looks, including the chiffon deep V-neck opening act. Karl Lagerfeld, Chiuri later explained, used to reference The Vienna Secession, a 1987 Austrian art movement of which Klimt was an important part, in his Fendi collections, which puts Flöge’s portrait in a special place on this season’s mood board.
Deep necklines, boudoir-style robes, shorts, and lace dresses, caftans and kimonos were key collection pieces, as were the sheer, clean-lined maxi dresses, intricately embroidered loose tops, mid-length dresses and long cloaks, and the fringed detailing, present in various of the looks.
The use of fur – a Fendi speciality – shone through striped and mélange coats, often done via the ‘Echo of Love’ programme, which recycles vintage fur and turns it into fresh items. To keep Fendi’s couture craft thriving, the maison’s different ateliers, from leather goods to fur, lighter and heavier materials, worked collaboratively in creative synergy to put the collection together.
Words by Ketlyn Araujo
CHANEL HAUTE COUTURE FW26/27
Matthieu Blazy doesn’t design for short attention spans. Our collective image of couture is often one of grandeur and spectacle. For my generation, couture is synonymous with John Galliano’s Dior in the 2000s – its theatricality pushed to the absolute extreme. That isn’t what Blazy is doing.
The corseted silhouette so often associated with this kind of glamour is nowhere to be found. Instead, throughout his tenure, Blazy has established a different form as his signature. Returning to the maison's founding principles, he favours ease over constraint: below-the-knee skirts, softly tailored jackets, and generously proportioned tops form the collection's recurring vocabulary. They are clothes designed to move with the body rather than sculpt it into an idealised shape.
The spectacle lies in Blazy's witty approach to materiality. Tweed becomes something altogether unexpected, transformed into fluffy clouds, delicate rose petals, or prickly hay. Familiar fabrics are made to appear almost impossible, demonstrating the technical virtuosity of the atelier and the savoir faire it established over the course of its 116-year-old history. For Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2026/27, vines and flowers escape three-dimensionally from translucent sets, blossom in black in a butter yellow jacket and skirt. Perhaps most impressively, and most memorably, embroidered birds on a dress wrap their wings around the collar.
Inspired by fairy tales, the collection is filled with subtle acts of fantasy rather than obvious costume. Tweed jackets are woven to resemble bundles of hay, while tiny dwarfs hide among sculpted leaves on the heels of shoes, rewarding anyone willing to look closely. Footwear was a particular highlight, balancing technical ingenuity with wit.
Ever in conversation with Gabrielle Chanel, the collection also pays tribute to the founder of the house. Both the show's invitation and a leather-bound book carried by one of the models referenced a fairy tale volume that Chanel kept in her apartment on Rue de Cambon. Rather than treating the archive as something to be faithfully reproduced, Blazy uses it as a point of departure.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
DIOR HAUTE COUTURE FW26/27
“I’m always begging the question of ‘What is form?’,” says American painter and sculptor Lynda Benglis in a video posted on Maison Dior’s Instagram page ahead of Jonathan Anderson’s sophomore Haute Couture show for the house. In the same clip, Anderson, an experimentalist of form himself, points to Benglis’ practice as one that challenges his viewpoint on how he sees form within his own work. Combined, Benglis’ and Anderson's creative languages laid the foundation of Dior’s Fall/Winter 2026/27 couture collection.
The lineup, as full of intricacies as it normally is whenever Anderson stages a show, directly referenced Benglis’ art, sometimes more literally, other times more subtly. At Dior, the artist’s widely recognised techniques of pouring, knotting, pleating, and moulding were turned into hand-pleated, knotted, draped, and wrapped garments, juxtaposing architectural shapes with liquid, fluid forms.
Anderson’s encyclopaedic mood board further explored Benglis’ deep connection with Ahmedabad, in the Indian state of Gujarat, where she created her bird-inspired 1970s ‘Peacock’ series. Those elements became flower-shaped appliqués, as well as beaded and floral embellishments. Nods to one of Benglis’ fan-shaped, pleated creations could be spotted beyond the black fan show invite and were later materialised on two pastel dresses, in blue and pink, featuring a tulle iteration of the fan placed on their front and back, respectively.
Traditional Indian craft was praised in multiple other ways, starting with the incorporation of chintz, the hand-painted or block-printed textiles, which became popular in European décor. In the collection, chintz-like fabrics decorated mini handbags, four of which were developed along with Benglis.
Gemstone jewellery pieces were made in collaboration with artisans from Jaipur, while the broader collection's colour scheme and use of flower shapes as silhouettes and detailing evoked not only the Ahmedabad scenery but also the landscape of Santa Fe, New Mexico, another of Benglis’ treasured addresses.
Various pieces came with a seasonal blanket, towel, or poncho feel, perfectly wrapped around the body, as cosy as they were elegant and yet still modern, thanks to a couture-type frayed, deconstructed materiality. Fringes and tassels, swirls and beads added to the richness of it all. Pleated metallics took the spotlight – another of Benglis’ motifs, seen everywhere from headpieces to footwear, handbags and sculptural dresses. The shoe game, by the way, was dreamy and dotted with embroidery.
With Anderson, what the eye can easily see is only a taster, like his natural complexity in detail becomes infinite in every new Dior collection. Despite the above-mentioned smorgasbord of sources, there was still room for a whimsical, Anderson-esque armadillo handbag, iridescent effects on dresses, jackets, or T-shirts, and a glistening, fringed bar jacket crafted in a shade of green that you can only truly find in nature.
Words by Ketlyn Araujo
BOLORIA SS27
Olivier Theyskens' debut show for Boloria, the Belgian designer’s newest creative direction fashion project, was filled with a touch of dreamlike fantasy. But not the conventional type. Theyskens, known for his penchant for a dark yet romantic aesthetic, brought the vision to the luxury brand backed by the Tomorrowland group that he has been working on for the past two years.
Opulent, big, dark-shaded ballgowns opened the catwalk, according to the designer, as an allegory of dreams and surrealism, a representation of vastness and space. The black and midnight blue dresses were followed by more classic, mostly slouchy, tailored pieces, embodying the transition from dream to reality, from waking up to rushing to start the day.
The latter was mastered through a sense of draped undone-ness, especially seen in the menswear looks, which resembled a rushed morning when you jump out of bed, bedding included, put on a shirt, roll up your trousers and try to find a coat that will do the trick. The styling naturally played a key role here, with the tips of ties untucked, trouser hemlines tucked into socks, turned cuffs, and underwear thoughtfully peeking out.
Using the archetype of characters who are about to leave their houses, Theyskens also wanted to create a feeling of unknown time and space: their dressing manner, a clever mix between formal and laid-back, was as current as it was timeless, surpassing decades and enduring in taste.
Womenswear was highlighted using purposefully messy-looking tailoring techniques, too, but stood out beyond that with short- and long-sleeved fluid slip dresses cut on the bias, and a few textured skirt suits paired with turtleneck tops or matching button-downs.
Colours were mostly neutral, including black and white, grey and silver, navy, and all sorts of beige, brown, sand, and caramel variations. A pair of striped pale blue trousers resembled pyjama pants, and a salmon knitted vest was one of the few brighter pieces spotted.
On a side note, ‘Boloria’ is a name inspired by the biological group of brush-footed butterflies that share the same nomenclature. Metaphorically, a butterfly is seen as a signifier of transformation and freedom. Theyskens knows we need both.
Words by Ketlyn Araujo
JACQUEMUS SS27
In the colourful and romantic world of Jacquemus, summer never ends, and clothing becomes a reflection of this state of mind rather than of passing trends. For Spring/Summer 2027, the pieces speak about the ease and lightness of the season, the carefree spirit of holidays, and the intensity of the South of France's sunny days.
Titled Le Bonheur, the collection was unveiled at the Pietra Lighthouse in Corsica, a setting that perfectly echoed the warmth, freedom, and simplicity that define the collection.
Lightweight fabrics with fluid movement, loose silhouettes, transparencies, cut-outs, feathers, and soft volumes encompassed a wardrobe that felt effortless and weightless. Rounded shapes on skirts and trousers introduced volume, creating a contrast with the lightness of the other looks.
Cocoon dresses, balloon skirts, and bubble-hem silhouettes gave the offering playfulness, while the garments seemed to float around the body as they walked down the runway. Crop tops, tunic dresses, and airy garments reinforced the relaxed mood of the collection.
The body is not highlighted; instead, it is lost in the loose proportions of the silhouettes. There is no emphasis on the curves as the focus is on the freedom of movement and the natural way the garments relate to the body.
The colour palette was rooted in white and beige, with accents of vivid shades like turquoise, yellow, orange, red, baby blue, and pink. Stripes and polka dots introduced a graphic element, while the rest of the collection remained restrained.
For Jacquemus, holiday dressing is fun and comfortable. Effortless elegance is the mood. It is not about over-styling; instead, it is about letting the body breathe and move freely. Structured tailoring provided moments of sharpness within an otherwise relaxed wardrobe.
Crochet knitwear brings texture to the collection, while sheer fabrics reinforce its sense of freshness and lightness, capturing the carefree spirit that has become synonymous with the Jacquemus universe.
Words by Carolina Benjumea
LGN LOUIS GABRIEL NOUCHI SS27
Fashion is a snake hungry to consume itself. With a community that tends to isolate within itself, it’s easy to create in a derivative way. Louis Gabriel Nouchi always makes a point to contradict this tendency. Often finding inspiration in books or movies, the designer tailors his design language to the narrative worlds of others. This season, he found his muse in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. Spring/Summer 2027 borrowed the mood of the series rather than its imagery, building a wardrobe where familiar garments felt slightly out of place.
As usual, tailoring provided the collection's foundation. Nouchi introduced what he called the "broken suit", separating pinstriped trousers from checked jackets and pairing formal pieces with garments that disrupted their expected context. The designer’s system challenged tailoring as a signal of certainty. A suit became a flexible system rather than a fixed uniform. A mismatched suit, a shortened proportion or an unexpected fabric combination shifted the meaning of otherwise familiar clothes.
Proportion played an equally important role. Strong shoulders and generous lapels established structure, while cropped trenches and short shorts (or, at times, no pants at all) reduced the formality of the silhouette. Nouchi continues to explore masculinity by exposing the body. Shirts were left open, knitwear cut with deep necklines.
The expanded womenswear offering followed the same logic. Dresses, tailoring and sheer layers shared the same proportions and construction principles, both empowering and exposing the body.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
POST ARCHIVE FACTION SS27
Post Archive Faction’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection was built around tension. Two bodies in constant negotiation – pulling, resisting, yielding – became the framework for clothes that never seemed entirely fixed. The mood was reflected by the two fighters in the middle of the runway, who spent the entire show in a tug of war.
The brand’s creative director, Dongjoon Lim, proposed pieces in motion, reshaped by the body wearing them. The idea played out through construction. Coloured shirts multiplied their own cuffs, short sleeves exposed their linings, and bombers unfolded through successive layers. Leather jackets split their collars apart before reconnecting them elsewhere.
Garments utilised transformation to dictate movement. Straps extended from collared shirts, wrapped around the waist or trailed from technical outerwear, subtly altering the silhouette with each step. Trousers twisted at the knee in washed pinks and pale yellows, while featherweight nylon coats inflated with air before settling back against the body. Even transparent shoes reinforced the sense that the clothes were designed to disappear into movement rather than dominate it.
The strongest looks balanced technical experimentation with familiar tailoring. Linen and silk softened the collection's sharper ideas, while classic outerwear was reconsidered through construction instead of reinvention. Nothing felt needlessly complicated; every intervention had a purpose. The result was a thoughtful exercise in evolution, where the most interesting moments came from subtle shifts in construction and layering.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
CELINE SS27
Paris hadn’t had a cold breeze in weeks. Michael Rider’s debut menswear show for Celine catalysed it. In the air, a literal and figurative breath of fresh air. The designer’s language of uncomplicated, lived-in French poise continues to expand.
For his first official outing in the menswear space, the American designer captured what makes his tenure at the maison so refreshing: lack of pretension. There’s a tantalising ease with which Rider designs- not overcomplicated, yet not necessarily accessible either. It projects an enviable ease. Both the pieces he creates and the styling that accompanies them suggest a wardrobe of a life well cultivated – collected, borrowed, thrown together, made personal.
Colour remains one of Rider's strongest tools. Unexpected combinations feel instinctive. A bright red knit sweater tucked in a deep purple cummerbund. A bright blue shirt with a pale-yellow tie. A khaki parka covered a mint shirt and was topped with a pink satin scarf, tied around the neck. The use of pattern seemed to evolve from a similarly idiosyncratic space. A pair of bedazzled blue tiger-print jeans is adorned with crystals and mirrors. The Celine man doesn't take himself too seriously, thank god!
Rider’s design pedigree showed in Nicolas Ghesquière’s reference – both the designer’s admitted design crush and first employer in Paris. Traces of that appreciation emerge in the slightly off proportions and gentle oddness introduced into otherwise restrained silhouettes. The clothes remain close to the body, but pop subtly at the shoulder or jut out at the collar.
Accessories are displaced with intention. Gloves hang from the lapel of a camel jacket rather than covering hands, becoming accessories to the accessories themselves. These subtle acts of styling inject personality without feeling forced, suggesting garments that have been lived in rather than meticulously assembled.
At its centre is a palpable sense of joy. These are not clothes designed for a single season or a single moment, but garments destined for lifelong partnership.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
CAMIEL FORTGENS SS27
During Spring/Summer 2026, Amsterdam-born label Camiel Fortgens, established by its namesake Dutch fashion designer, explored the Americana aesthetic with a retro feel. For SS27, the brand then turned its focus to the Parisian lifestyle, using its daily archetypes as a source of inspiration.
Not by accident, the collection presentation began on the terrace of a classic French café and bistro in Paris and progressed with the models, all of whom wore clothes that blended into the cosmopolitan scenery, as they integrated into the public space among invitees and passers-by.
The above-mentioned intention centred around Fortgens' individual and business's evolving ethos: a reinterpretation of day-to-day, ready-to-wear garments designed with a sense of handwork as “perfectly imperfect,” unpolished pieces.
Following that, SS27 intentionally exposed usually hidden details related to garment construction and sewing. The white handmade stitching on the waist of denim trousers, for example, was chaotic and purposefully contrasted with the darker fabric. Textured linings merged onto button-downs and escaped through the edges of materials. Hemlines were raw and undone, and patterns and prints adorned the inside of long t-shirts, worn completely flipped.
With an innate sense of utilitarianism and practicality, this time mostly drawn from outdoor apparel and borrowed from rural and farming attire, trousers in linen and overall looser forms become comfortable enough for the everyday closet.
Faded and washed colours, green, pink, and burgundy hues in particular, rule throughout the collection, aiming to highlight the idea of treasured items that change, adapt, and stand the test of time, a common theme across a range of men’s labels this season.
Looking up, the fringed, straight-haired wigs mostly caught the eye, but a double take showed that the footwear in the show was also worth praise. From slim, bowling-style lace-up trainers in burgundy and bright green to the leather-like slide flip-flops with cork soles, Fortgens made summer shoe shopping – as well as dressing – an easy, enjoyable task.
Words by Ketlyn Araujo
AGNÈS B. SS27
Agnès B.’s Men’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection was not showcased via a traditional catwalk show format but through an intimate presentation held at the Parisian brand's headquarters.
The more laid-back, homely setup, which included branded, candy-coloured surfboards as part of the decoration, matched the tone of the lineup: a mixture of seasonal staples, ultralight tailoring and joyful, eye-catching summer tees and shirts.
For lovers of colour, plenty of short- and long-sleeved shirts featured micro patterns and printed beach landscapes, while tie-dye-style tees leaned into a more casual proposal. Speaking of sand and salt, a few jewellery pieces also captured the summery spirit, from pendant rock necklaces to seashell lapel brooches. A dungaree in pale orange and a navy, short-sleeved button-up jumpsuit conveyed a practical feel.
There was also space for more minimal styles, with day-to-day black T-shirts and textured tank tops mixed with dark floral trousers. A couple of black leather and silk bombers were spotted, as were classic tailored Bermuda shorts, fitted trousers, and linen suits. Detailing was on point, hence the subtle fireman clasp on a jacket with its collar popped, the use of neck scarves and the light layers placed over button-downs.
Besides suiting, matching shorts-and-jacket sets offered comfort when dressing, while a robe-style jacket worn with ecru shorts was paired with a colour-coordinating shirt underneath. Headwear options were plentiful, ranging from fedoras and bucket hats to all-time favourites like baseball caps.
Leaning into the lightness of typical summer materials, linens and cottons were naturally key collection fabrics. The use of stripes, a label signature element since its first menswear store opening back in the 1980s, was this time implemented on polo-style, short- and long-sleeved shirts and T-shirts, as well as on a couple of suits, including a pink variation that would do wonders for the gaze if seen walking down a Parisian street.
Words by Ketlyn Araujo
YOHJI YAMAMOTO SS27
Yohji Yamamoto absorbed the heat hanging over Paris, his idiosyncratic layers reconsidered, lighter. Long coats were punctured with oversized eyelets that functioned as ornament just as they did ventilation, while boots and high-top shoes opened into mesh panels that allowed air to circulate. The familiar density of a Yohji silhouette gave way to something noticeably more porous.
The collection revolved around the shoulder. Sleeves expanded, collapsed and shifted shape from one look to the next, borrowing from historical dress. Soft forms, deflated structures and sharp, armour-like peaks altered the body's proportions, drawing attention upward while allowing the rest of the silhouette to fall with ease. Yamamoto treated tailoring as something capable of movement before structure, allowing volume to migrate across the garment instead of remaining fixed.
A recurring combination of loose coats, shirts or vests, and elongated shorts established the rhythm of the show. The interruption of the trouser line felt significant. Where Yamamoto often builds verticality through uninterrupted length, the exposed leg introduces intervals within the silhouette.
Surface decoration arrived gradually. Grayscale prints dissolved into deep red devoré florals before giving way to delicate lace shirts, clusters of buttons and loose crimson threads that hung from garments like unfinished stitches. Towards the end, beige cotton with frayed edges and shimmering knits woven with silver and copper threads softened the collection further.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
DRIES VAN NOTEN SS27
“These nymphs, I do not want to let them go—/ their clear, carnation-tinted afterglow/ still shimmering in air, the warp of sleep. / Was it a dream I fell for?” Inspired by Stéphane Mallarmé's L'Après-midi d'un faune, Julian Klausner staged the most romantic show of the season. Embracing the atmosphere of the poem, where reality is suspended to favour fantasy, Klausner’s collection did something similar. In the Tennis Club of Paris, in the city’s 16th arrondissement, amidst a heatwave, the designer suspended the sweat dripping from guests’ foreheads.
Dries Van Noten Spring/Summer 2027 unfolded with lightness. Organza shirts hovered over the body, silk cargo trousers moved with effortless fluidity, tailoring dissolved into sheer layers, and embroidery shimmered across garments.
Klausner understands that the house has always excelled at creating mood. Prints, decoration and rich colour have never functioned as isolated signatures. This season, fabric carried that responsibility. Transparency became a way of constructing silhouettes rather than exposing them. Layers shifted with every step, giving garments a sense of motion, every look designed to respond to light, air and movement.
Klausner trusts texture to carry the narrative. Silk scarves are suspended on bodies as tops, its back showing the flowing corners. A pair of embroidered shorts juxtaposed adorned opacity with translucent movement. Transparent layers transform with changing light.
The colour story reinforced that feeling. Washed lilacs, dusty ochres, pale greens and softened neutrals flowed through the collection without dramatic interruption. The wardrobe unfolded gradually, like changing daylight across the course of an afternoon, just as the poem Klausner was inspired by does. As the collection progressed, the soft pastels transitioned into dark navy and warm purple. “Farewell, sweet pair. / I’m entering the darkness you now are.”
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
WILLY CHAVARRIA SS27
For Spring/Summer 2027, Willy Chavarria introduced Comunión, a collection presented at the modernist Espace Niemeyer in Paris, the headquarters of the French Communist Party. For this season, the designer's Chicano references became more personal, delivering a message of unity and community during dark times.
Shirts are central to the collection: oversized button-downs, loosely tucked into trousers, layered under jackets, or transformed into shirt dresses, becoming a versatile staple in everyday life. A sheer shirt dress covered in red floral motifs was one of the standout looks, creating a sense of delicacy and romanticism.
As always, Chavarria's femininity is tough, represented through broad shoulders, oversized tailoring, and relaxed silhouettes. A kind of femininity that feels very much ingrained in the Latino approach to feminine ideals.
Colour-blocking combinations, ranging from soft pastels to earthy classics, something common in Chavarria's work, give the looks a playful and unexpected energy. Floral motifs, a signature of the designer's visual language, appear throughout the menswear and womenswear looks. Rather than denoting femininity or delicacy, they become symbols of confidence and self-expression.
Jackets, loose pleated trousers, knitwear, wide-leg tailoring, midi dresses, pencil skirts, and cropped shorts create an everyday wardrobe that feels creative yet practical, designed for ease of movement. The toughness of leather gives the collection a sensual and bold approach. Double-breasted suits appear throughout the collection in a variety of hues, reinforcing the designer's signature approach to oversized tailoring while balancing structure with fluidity.
Words by Carolina Benjumea
SOSHIOTSUKI SS27
In a recent interview during Paris Fashion Week, Soshi Otsuki said that, growing up, he did not have a chance to experience a European summer holiday. That is one of the reasons why, for SOSHIOTSUKI’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection, the Japanese designer and founder of his namesake label opted to imagine what that would feel like.
His inspiration was rooted in memory and nostalgia, drawn from personal perception and from what he had seen in film, photography, and the lives of others, the latter known and perceived mostly through imagination.
Otsuki’s muse is not, however, your average tourist. Instead, he envisioned a traditional, business-attire-wearing, strict father who goes on holiday and, slowly, relaxes and loosens up. The clothes reflected this idea, softly tailored by applying a technique that goes beyond fabric choice and is also mastered via precise pattern cutting and material construction.
Collars were purposefully flipped out, and the buttons on shirts and shorts were consciously undone. Belts and lapels, wired to form an “S” shape, freeze the moment when clothes come off, and stiffness and rigidity are left behind for complete freedom. Otsuki aimed to translate this almost awkward, vulnerable feeling, only possible once any idea of business-centred perfection is left behind.
Woven threads of wool and linens formed new colourways in a palette marked by grey and beige, blues, clay, and pale green, while cottons were washed and garment-dyed to create a marked-by-time, worn, aired, and sun-bleached effect.
On the mood board for the collection was also the work of Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, who often depicted melted objects in his paintings. The concept was introduced into SOSHIOTSUKI’s lineup by the use of structured, internal reinforcements inside the garments, which, from a distance, looked soft and able to collapse.
Trompe-l'œil ties on shirts, as well as shorts that seemed to have swim trunks or underwear peeking out, served as prime examples of Otsuki’s impressive garment construction skills, one of the traits that granted him an LVMH Prize for Young Designers in 2025.
MAGLIANO SS27
“Browsing through an album is like caressing an immaterial patina that relegates even something from just yesterday to the realm of memory,” read Magliano’s Spring/Summer 2027 press release, its opening line teasing Luca Magliano’s starting point for the collection. Before Magliano’s lookbook release, the Bolognese designer requested treasured family photos from his team members, inspiring enough to fuel the lineup of twenty-one looks in total.
Magliano then realised an image-based coincidence. “Photographs from the 2000s and those from the 1970s behave in the same relentless way: impossible to tell whether what is deteriorating is the medium itself, the eye of the beholder, or the very atmosphere surrounding things that-no-longer-are,” continue the show notes.
In terms of garment construction and retro references, purple and brown floral prints were clearly influenced by the ‘70s aesthetic, as was the height of the waist of multiple tailored trousers and the shape of oversized blazer jackets.
Along with knitwear, tailoring is, of course, a Magliano speciality and one of the reasons why the designer and the label received an LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Prize in 2023. Rooted in both Italian and queer cultures and often presented with a touch of irony and disruption, Magliano masters the art of defying gender norms through design.
SS27 included two brand collaborations, one with the heritage Italian sportswear label Diadora and another with the Austrian-founded, Italian-based eyewear label Carrera. Vintage tracksuits, crepe running sets, and everyday sunglasses, respectively, materialised in both collabs.
A few items incorporated built-in styling tricks, as if mimicking layering and shirt collars. Rolled-up jackets, shirt sleeves, and trouser hemlines portrayed a common way of coping with the heat, while scarves and handkerchiefs were transformed from simple seasonal accessories to central pieces, from bras to tops and skirts.
Besides the seventies flower motifs, prints included sheer tartan, a knitted top with a cherry pattern, and a cheetah shirt tucked into matching denim trousers, a perfect, Y2K-influenced cherry on top.
Words by Ketlyn Araujo
SACAI SS27
A modern, co-created spin on the ultimate preppy, classic tailored pieces from heritage New York City label Brooks Brothers. A mood board – and soundtrack – thought out and influenced by 1980s British musical collective Soul II Soul, resulting in clothing prints designed in collaboration with its founder, Jazzie B, and his footballer son Mahlon Romeo.
A contemporary take on some of men’s favourite summer shoes, conceived along with German footwear giant Birkenstock, where sandals and mules with maxi buckles were paired with mustard yellow and bright red socks. Only Chitose Abe can blend it all, remix it, and make it effortlessly work at Sacai.
For her Spring/Summer 2027 collection, much more centred on menswear, although with a few women’s looks in sight, Abe made garment tradition, musical history, and streetwear culture clash with grace. With the self-explanatory title The New Classics, the Japanese designer brought a subverted focus on wardrobe staples and, as she masterfully does, experimented with colour, fabric splicing, detailing, and proportion.
Examples of the latter are easy to spot, from tassels adorning traditional white-and-blue button-downs to striped silk neck accessories that sit on the body as a hybrid between a tie and a scarf. Fireman clasps were added to short-sleeved shirts and double-breasted jackets, as well as to trenches and longer coats.
Utilitarianism was organically included in the lineup, where trousers with Sacai’s signature loose fit featured generous waist pockets. Speaking of pockets galore, the detail smartly added to the show's practical preppiness. Double denim in dark wash also graced the catwalk with a sort of rosette-inspired striped pocket square/brooch, also seen on summer shirts and leather jackets.
Archival and album images from Soul II Soul were transformed into a grainy, grey collage pattern, used to craft a tailored suit and matching shorts set, as well as a clasped button-down. Printed t-shirts equally paid homage to the group, with Abe wearing one of them to take her bow after the finale. Jazzie B and Mahlon Romeo were sitting front row to witness Abe’s magic, along with musician and Louis Vuitton menswear creative director Pharrell Williams, a Sacai supporter from the very start.
Words by Ketlyn Araujo
EGONLAB SS27
After a day spent running across Paris from one show to the next in sweltering 40-degree heat, EGONLAB delivered exactly what the audience needed: a welcome jolt of energy. For Spring/Summer 2027, Florentin Glémarec and Kévin Nompeix presented a wardrobe that embraces uncertainty, proposing clothing that celebrates transformation. The collection centred on fluid silhouettes that shift effortlessly, finding beauty in evolution and the spaces between.
That sense of transition ran through every look. Trompe-l'œil details blurred the boundaries between garments: shirts appeared to seamlessly merge with the ties layered over them through printed illusions, while trousers and jeans were visually fused with boots — a playful yet impeccably executed detail that felt refreshingly original. Tailoring, meanwhile, was infused with a distinctly sensual edge. Blazers were tucked into shorts to create sharply defined waists, while striped ties echoed the oversized cuffs of the shirts beneath, reinforcing the collection's precise visual rhythm.
The designers also offered their take on Coquette Core, balancing softness with strength. Satin and lace micro shorts were paired with structured bomber jackets and sturdy pirate boots, creating a compelling tension between delicacy and utility. Lustrous fabrics reappeared in a fluid slip dress — particularly appealing in the Parisian heat — as well as in a coordinated shirt, shorts, and tie ensemble that epitomised the collection's playful elegance.
Elsewhere, René Magritte's iconic painting The Lovers inspired sculptural pleats cascading across a workwear jacket, its substantial silhouette contrasted by delicate sandals created in collaboration with Port Menorca. Frame-shaped necklaces further underscored the dialogue between fantasy and functionality that defined the collection.
Rather than reflecting a world on the brink of collapse, EGONLAB chose to offer a more optimistic response to contemporary reality — one where individuality and tenderness become forceful acts of defiance.
And then came the finale. After the designers took their bow alongside the models, members of the EGONLAB team sprinted onto the runway armed with plastic water guns, gleefully spritzing the audience. Equal parts refreshing and irreverent, it was the perfect ending to a show that refused to take itself too seriously. A sense of humour in fashion? Far too underrated.
Words by Martin Onufrowicz
KIKO KOSTADINOV SS27
For Spring/Summer 2027, Kiko Kostadinov was inspired by artist Agostino Bonalumi. Monochromatic paintings juxtaposed geometric shapes under stretched-out canvases. While the reference was taken literally in rare moments, as in a brown top with glued boning that resembled one of Bonalumi’s pieces, his sculptural minimalism was used as a North Star.
The artist’s forms are conducive to a movement that began last season – the paring down of his vocabulary, boiling his idiosyncratic language to its essential forms – the evolution here is deliberately gradual. Rather than introducing a new silhouette outright, Kostadinov allows ideas to migrate from one garment to another, becoming increasingly abstract as the collection unfolds.
A lozenge-like geometric form first protrudes from the chest of T-shirts, appearing almost as an anatomical intervention. As the collection progresses, it hardens into rigid, stringless necklaces on the centre of the chest before reappearing once more as the structure of belts. A single motif is allowed to evolve across categories, shifting function while retaining its sculptural presence.
Elsewhere, familiar garments are disrupted through measured interventions. Shirt linings emerge beyond their edges, exposing construction that would typically remain concealed, its form flowing as models walk by.
Tailoring becomes the primary site of experimentation. Jackets are not dismantled but gently recalibrated: lapels are abbreviated until they become little more than extensions of the collar, while proportions are adjusted to create new silhouettes without abandoning traditional dressmaking logic. Funnel-neck wool coats and technical fabric jackets reinforce this controlled architectural quality.
The same economy extends to accessories. Bags are reduced to singular pieces of leather folded onto themselves, their construction as restrained as the garments they accompany.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
