S/S'26 Highlights I
Paris: both personally and professionally.
It feels like it has been an eternity since my last article, and I must say I missed it dearly.
Here's a personal little update on what has happened while I was gone:
I left Milan, indefinitely
I had (what feels like 100) weddings back home
I moved to Paris
I was late to the airport and almost missed my flight
My luggage didn't make it
I arrived in Paris with a backpack full of cowboy boots yet not an outfit to change
I was in an aesthetic crisis
And finally, today, 6 Oct, I've been blessed with my luggage.
Now, here's an update on what happened this fashion week, and what I think about it.
In Milan, Demna's unofficial debut collection marked a success. His approach was to dissect Gucci and extract a handful of caricatures, which seemed to have worked wonders on all fashion victims. And yet, while all of this was happening, around the corner, Milan was drowning in protests, which got me thinking: how comfortable does one feel passing by Milan's Duomo, among protests and aggression, to reach a show in Brera? It all sounds so Hunger Games–esque.
It was no surprise that Prada once again killed it. Mixing military/utility wear with particular pop colors & delicate details such as micro shorts & bustier tops, is a power that only the OG duo of Milan (Miuccia & Raf) possesses. But Louise Trotter's debut at Bottega definitely stole the show. For being one of the very few women in such a high position in fashion, she took her role seriously. The collection was, safe to say, spectacular & flowing. From the braided bags to THE BRAIDED FULL LOOKS, she put together wearable designs, leveling them up with insane details… and among the fabrics? Recycled fiberglass.
And on that note, Louise wasn't the only one with particular fabric choices. Stella McCartney used Fevvers, a plant-based, vegan alternative to feathers, in sculptural dresses and coats, and PURE.TECH, a performance fabric that absorbs and neutralizes air pollutants. While this is no less than exceptional, there are still a few names to be mentioned: Jonathan Anderson, Glenn Martens (count him twice), Pierpaolo Piccioli, and for the grand finale, Matthieu Blazy.
Let's start with Glenn, as he was present both in Milan and Paris, for Diesel & Margiela. While the current state of the world doesn't allow us to fully focus on fashion and its sprinkles and sparkles, a heavy name such as Glenn's deserves our full attention. Here are my reasons why:
At Diesel, he blurred the lines between those who get to be part of this exclusive world and those who don't by placing an egg hunt in Milan, where inside each egg there was a look from the latest collection. Mind you, in all this Pokémon-like game there were prizes included, such as accessories or tickets to the new show. Diesel blurred the line between theatre and protest, reminding us that fashion’s real power lies not in exclusivity, but in participation.
And for Margiela?! Where do I even begin? Glenn Martens has outdone himself, of course together with his team of masterminds. Bringing homage to Martin's SS'89 playground show, Martens brought a kids’ orchestra that played purposely imperfect renditions. It underscored Martens’ idea that beauty lies partly in imperfection, echoing Margiela’s history of challenging pristine glamour.
As for the clothes, Glenn Martens opened with understated, wearable pieces such as trench coats, denim, and leather, styled in deceptively simple ways like coats worn bare against the skin, yet enriched with the unmistakable codes of the house. As the show unfolded, he gradually built intensity with ghostly slip dresses, translucent lace, distorted tailoring, and asymmetrical hems that blurred the line between fragility and rebellion. Signature Margiela elements anchored the chaos, from reworked sneakers and white ties to the haunting mouthpiece accessory that kept lips half-open, evoking the brand’s enduring fascination with anonymity. It underscored Martens’ idea that beauty lies partly in imperfection, echoing Margiela’s long-standing defiance of pristine glamour.
And because I don't want to overwhelm you with all this fashion info, we'll talk about Jonathan, Piccioli, and Blazy later this week.