Spirited. Chanel AW26 Couture

Chanel Haute Couture AW26 by Matthieu Blazy, couture dress, Paris Fashion Week

July 8, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

This haute couture season makes me think of John Currin’s paintings. “They connect with a quality once sought-after by painters and latterly much neglected: spirit. A sick spirit, undoubtedly, but a spirit nonetheless,” writes Rosanna McLaughlin. Like Currin’s work, the best couture accepts contradiction. It can be exquisite and ridiculous, sincere and artificial, disciplined yet irrational. It acknowledges that fashion, at its highest level, is not about solving problems or delivering moral lessons. It’s about expressing something deeply human through surfaces that are anything but shallow. The embroidery, the silhouette, the impossible construction – these become evidence of desire made tangible. Perhaps that is what couture is uniquely capable of preserving today: spirit. Sometimes elegant, sometimes unsettling, occasionally excessive, but unmistakably alive.

This is exactly what Matthieu Blazy achieved with his sophomore couture collection for Chanel. It immediately made me think of the American painter’s work and his indulgence in fantasy. Blazy was interested in fairy tales, too, but also in modern ones – the stories women tell themselves today. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Supernova. Standing Ground AW26 Couture

July 7, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Sometimes you’ve got to be patient for a supernova to hit. Michael Stewart of Standing Ground saved the haute couture season with an awe-inspiring collection – and a breathtaking study in craftsmanship. Quiet yet full of confidence and conviction – qualities many contemporary creative directors working in couture seem to lack – this runway moment by the Irish designer is a testament to the level of perfection the highest discipline of fashion demands. (Even though some insist on “making it modern” by pretending couture isn’t about… couture. Silly.)

Stewart is obsessive about cutting, dressmaking, and hand embroidery, and he’s fully invested in the process – not just creatively, but technically. And it shows. In his exquisite draping of jersey and velvet. In the signature beading technique he has developed and integrated in multiple ways to create both structure and surface embellishment. And in tailoring so fluid and body-enhancing it looks almost otherworldly.

The women of Standing Ground could be aliens, or Celtic goddesses. For the finale, Stewart presented a full white wedding dress made entirely from Carrickmacross lace, crafted in Ireland and worn barefoot by Kristen McMenamy. By choosing this particular lace, he celebrated Ireland’s heritage of craftsmanship and brought it onto the Paris stage where, in his view, it has always belonged. The women of County Monaghan – the handful of specialists who still preserve the technique – spent 4,000 hours creating this masterpiece.

Here is the leader of couture’s new guard.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Need For Advanced Chic. Dior AW26 Couture

July 6, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

After the euphoric haute couture season we had last time around, I had a feeling in my bones this one would be much more subdued. Turns out, I was right. The first day of couture left me wondering: what’s the point of all this? And, more importantly, does it still feel relevant? Jonathan Anderson‘s sophomore couture collection for Dior didn’t really answer either question. Which is a shame, especially considering how extraordinary his debut was just six months ago. Then again, maybe he simply didn’t have enough time to perfect it.

The biggest issue is that the collection feels unresolved. Anderson’s fascination with vintage garments is evident – everything is tweedy and blanket-y, the jewellery evokes more Paul Bert Serpette than Victoire de Castellane, and the hats look exactly like the sort of treasures you’d hope to discover in the most glamorous attic imaginable. But none of it seems meaningfully connected to the supposed Lynda Benglis narrative. The tropical glass-house venue doesn’t help either.

It’s as if Anderson wants to embrace full Galliano-esque fantasy – think the blue dress with the oversized fan bustier or the dramatically pleated red cape finished with a bow – but something keeps pulling him back to earth. Unfortunately, that tension doesn’t quite work in the collection’s favour. The metallic foil dresses end up looking closer to Ferrero Rocher wrappers than opulent eveningwear inspired by Benglis’ molten sculptures, and I’m fairly certain that wasn’t the goal.

At this point, I’d rather see a concise story from Jonathan than another gathering of fascinating characters. And imagine this collection on mature women instead of impossibly young models. The entire dynamic would shift. Suddenly it would feel more convincing, more lived-in, more chic. Because for all its ambition, this lineup was missing that elusive quality couture needs above all else: the confidence – and sophistication – that only advanced chicness can deliver.

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Not Your Man Yet. Givenchy SS27

July 2, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Sarah Burton‘s menswear debut for Givenchy proves that, in the end, it’s all about how clothes are photographed. Through Juergen Teller’s lens, Don McCullin, Don Letts, and Danny Fox make the collection feel believable and genuinely cool. But the moment you switch to the studio-shot lookbook starring professional (and very young) models, you’re left with a collection that lacks a clear narrative. Yes, the lavishly embroidered MA-1 jackets are stunning. The hourglass-tailored suits are beautiful too. But then come the tracksuits, rugby shirts, florals, and sneakers, which make the overall picture feel scattered rather than cohesive. It’s not as if Givenchy menswear lacks a legacy – we’ve had Ozwald Boateng and, of course, Riccardo Tisci, who turned the line into a genuine commercial force. But after years of neglect and falling into irrelevance, Burton’s debut doesn’t quite give men a compelling reason to drop everything and return to the brand. Hopefully time will heal that wound.

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Patina. Magliano SS27

June 29, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

There’s a sense of distressed, dirty chic about Magliano. In a way, patina was Luca Magliano’s guiding obsession for spring-summer 2027 – “the patina of an old picture, of memory.” The garments carry a distinct 1970s flavor; they feel as if they’ve absorbed cigarette smoke and spilled liquor, as if they were worn all night in some old-school club you might still stumble upon on the outskirts of Rome or Milan (or in any of those smaller Italian towns where time moves differently).

The Milan-based designer – now showing in Paris – approaches classic menswear through a queer lens, filtered with irony and just the right amount of distance. A cheetah-print top paired with matching jeans, an ill-fitting four-button suit jacket that feels lifted from another era, a thrifted foulard worn like a sarong, an aged suit collapsing slightly at the shoulders – all of it carries nostalgia with a flicker of something sharper, almost rageful beneath the surface. Wink, wink.

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