The Season Ahead: S/S 26 Runway Highlights
Across New York, London, Milan, and Paris, the Spring 2026 collections revealed a renewed sense of clarity and craft. Designers leaned into structure and sensuality, balancing nostalgia with an appetite for what’s next. From Bottega Veneta’s tactile reinvention of luxury to Celine’s polished preppy revival and Sportmax’s architectural ease, this season underscored the momentum shaping modern design—where movement, material, and meaning converge in motion.
Celine
Celine’s Spring 2026 collection marked a new era under creative director Michael Rider, who reimagined the house’s sleek Parisian codes through an American-preppy lens. The lineup balanced polish and ease—think sharp tailoring softened by fluid layers, crisp shirting offset by sculptural accessories, and flashes of cobalt and tomato red punctuating a neutral base. Rider’s debut celebrated longevity and lived-in luxury, positioning Celine for a future where refinement meets relaxed confidence.
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Sportmax
Under creative director Grazia Malagoli, Sportmax’s Spring 2026 collection explored the intersection of structure and sensuality, where precision tailoring met ethereal transparency. Layers of sheer organza, sculpted trenches, and fluid trousers created a sense of ease in motion—garments designed to move with, rather than against, the body. Malagoli’s vision captured the essence of modern femininity: poised, architectural, and perpetually in flux.
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Altuzarra
Under creative director Joseph Altuzarra, Altuzarra’s Spring 2026 collection delights in familiar silhouettes twisted into something uncanny: balloon waistlines, leather jackets with hula-hoop inspired structuring, and three-dimensional florals that bloom on billowing dresses. The collection explores the idea of a “fleeting image, caught in the periphery” — suggesting garments that feel recognizable at first glance, but reveal subtle dissonance on closer inspection.
Jacquemus
Under creative director Simon Porte Jacquemus, the Spring 2026 collection took the audience on a semi-autobiographical voyage: beginning with a linen-soft palette suggestive of countryside calm, then blossoming into bonbon hues, playful stripes, and embroidery that nodded to couture while staying rooted in the label’s youthful ease.The runway felt like a celebration of voice and texture — minimal in structure but expansive in story, where each look teased transformation and personal memory.
Fendi
With Silvia Venturini Fendi at the creative helm, Fendi’s Spring 2026 runway emerged as a bold chapter of craft and color, blending heritage savoir-faire with modern enthusiasm. A kaleidoscopic palette of deep reds, bright turquoise and bubblegum pinks was paired with softened florals and sporty zippered skirts, evoking a duality of relaxed ease and refined workmanship. Through this collection, Venturini Fendi affirmed that elegance can be joyful and casualness can carry seniority — a forward-looking vision firmly grounded in the house’s DNA.
Area
Under new creative director Nicholas Aburn, Area’s Spring 2026 collection re-writes the label’s downtown glamour story with a layered, nuanced take on New York attitude. Aburn introduced crystals, bold textures and everyday tailoring in equal measure — weaving in a sense of the city’s grit and optimism. The runway became a poetic meditation on possibility, movement and reinvention, signalling a fresh chapter for the brand.
Bottega Veneta
With British designer Louise Trotter at the creative helm for her debut, Bottega Veneta’s Spring 2026 collection re-embraced craft with renewed energy. Trotter celebrated the house’s signature Intrecciato weave and paired it with unexpected materials — fringe, leather, taffeta — creating an interplay between luxury heritage and expressive fantasy. The result: a bold departure from quiet understatement into a richer, more tactile language of design.
Chanel
As the legendary house ushers in its next era under incoming creative director Matthieu Blazy, the Spring 2026 collection stood as both reflection and preview. While Blazy’s full vision is still forthcoming, the runway honored classic codes — tweed, muted tones, refined tailoring — yet hinted at movement and modernity, turning tradition into something quietly dynamic. The collection embodies a house in transition: poised between heritage and what comes next.
Carolina Herrera
Creative director Wes Gordon reimagined Carolina Herrera’s signature elegance for Spring 2026, staging a grand spectacle in Madrid and doubling the runway’s scale. The collection brimmed with bold florals, vibrant color and architectural silhouettes — a vivid canvas of joy and glamour. With an expansive runway and a fresh location, Gordon signaled that the house’s next chapter is unabashed, vivid and outward-looking.
Images Credit: vogue.com
