Oh, to be seduced! For Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2026, Haider Ackermann sets a dark, mysterious scene. The show opened with three models, all in different versions of patent leather ensembles. The move to have the trio open the show was a wonderful omen. There’s glamour in that. Immediately, it conjures images of an industry gone by. The allusions continued in the way models moved – slowly, exchanging glances with one another and the audience.
But back to the clothes, they were still the highlight of the beautifully staged show. The three looks that opened the collection were sumptuous. Variations of a similar silhouette were explored subtly. First, a warm green trench coat with a popped collar, secondly, a deep mauve jacket and skirt set, and lastly, a black hooded set. But, besides the play with silhouette, their most interesting feature was by far their materiality. Laser-cut glossy leather splits open precisely at every millimetre, revealing the skin underneath when stretched. Later, the same technique arrives in printed trench coats.
Sheer trousers betrayed the outline of hands resting inside pockets—as well as leather thongs. For how tenderly Ackermann seduced us throughout the collection, at moments, he lost his patience. Sexuality became raw in barely-there lingerie dresses for women and translucent micro shorts for men.
The set, completely dark and with a midnight blue floor, was meant to emulate a midnight swim – we’d guess a skinny dip. But the mood was much more dangerous than a summer memory. It was a mysterious club in an unknown city, it was a moonless night. The David Bowie soundtrack was interjected by a deafening beat that smelled like poppers.
If last season’s palette starkly interjected Ackermann’s atypical colour palette in suiting, here it was blended seamlessly. Deep blue satin sets prowled the runway as a couple, while green trousers in a sickly-sweet hue walked alone.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
