There comes a moment when even the greatest magician has no more rabbits left to pull out of the hat. Daniel Roseberry‘s Schiaparelli haute couture is increasingly turning into drag – exquisitely engineered drag, granted – but it no longer has the same effect. Dressing a woman as a latex octopus in 2026 feels more gimmicky than groundbreaking. Putting her in yet another hyper-cinched jacket or a skin-tight, body-moulded bustier (really, how many more McQueen echoes can we take?) feels equally tired. Then comes a pink explosion of hand-applied feathers, perhaps meant to evoke a sea urchin. I just can’t shake the feeling that Schiaparelli deserves to aspire to something more profound than this.
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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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Honesty is chic. Marc Jacobs proves it again and again, riffing on his fashion and cultural heroes – Yves Saint Laurent, Bob Fosse, Junya Watanabe, Miuccia Prada – and, of course, on himself. Because at this point, he is THE blueprint. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.
There’s been a lot of chatter and speculation about who will eventually take over Giorgio Armani. As if Leo Dell’Orco, the late master’s longtime right-hand man, weren’t already doing a brilliant job. His menswear is sumptuously sublime – like the perfect vitello tonnato, a plate of artichoke hearts, and an espresso martini – and it breathes pure Armani DNA. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.
For resort 2027, Magda Butrym reframes sensual power through big-time femininity and soft intimacy. Not a character to be imagined, but a woman already living. In a moment when notions of strength are being redefined, Magda proposes an alternative vision of female empowerment: one rooted not in performance or conquest, but in self-possession, intimacy, and the rituals of everyday life.
The collection draws inspiration from the elusive photographic oeuvre of Teresa Tyszkiewicz, the Polish artist who, throughout her practice, created erotically charged self-portraits depicting a self-aware woman at the height of her power. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tyszkiewicz used photography – alongside her experimental film work – as a tool for self-analysis and the construction of a private mythology. Immersed in domestic surroundings and fully embracing her feminine instincts, free from shame or concern for external judgment, Tyszkiewicz embodied a formidable presence that resonates deeply with Magda’s vision of designing for women. The female experience so poignantly evoked by Tyszkiewicz became a powerful source of inspiration for the resort 2027 collection – and its elegantly fetishistic undercurrents.
The lookbook presents an array of feminine codes in which contradictions are celebrated as markers of real attitude. The resort 2027 woman envisioned by Magda can be both regal and nonchalant, pristine and distressed, covered and exposed. A white ruched dress emanates sexual confidence, while tailored jackets with dropped waists and exaggerated shoulders evoke a masculine stance. Signature hourglass silhouettes, which make a woman appear impeccably dressed with effortless ease, meet flapper-inspired shapes that recall the spirit of the Roaring Twenties. Bustiers are hyper-exaggerated, challenging conventional notions of proportion, while plays on transparency render sensuality suggestive and unspoken rather than explicit. A floral apron-housecoat layered over a lace-trimmed slip dress serves as an ode to a woman at work – dressed functionally and pragmatically, yet fully attentive to and embracing of her feminine nature.
This is an ode to the idea of domestic chic – and to the growing insistence that the ever-evolving codes of femininity, emotional complexity, and the beauty of homemaking are not antithetical to power, but central to it.
CREDITS: Creative Director Magda Butrym / Photographer Mark Kean / Video Tatiana + Karol / Stylist Jacob K / Talents Apolline, Alaina Rae / Casting Director Julia Lange / Make Up Artist Lucy J. Bridge / Hair Stylist Tom Wright / Nails Marzena Kanclerska / Stylist Assistant Ioana Ivan / Set Design Anna Szczęsny / Art Coordinator Edward Kanarecki
Design & Culture by Ed 