If one sentiment could be used to sum up the spring 2026 couture season, it would likely be an emphasis on craft—a growing buzzword in the high-fashion community that continues to take on a life of its own. Treasured artisanal skills were again brought to the forefront and body-defying silhouettes across the collections offered their own interpretations as to why we should continue to appreciate couture today.
Jonathan Anderson embraced this mission wholeheartedly during his emotional couture debut at Dior. He first and foremost paid homage to his hero and predecessor John Galliano, basing the set and much of the collection on a cyclamen that the former Dior creative director brought during a studio visit. Flora and fauna permeated throughout, including a cyclamen ceiling, bouquet earrings, a grass-like fringed bag, and leafy parasols. Still, the primary focus was craft, which Anderson and his atelier applied to untraditional couture materials like knits and accessories made from meteorites and fossils.
Other designers traveled down the road of old-school provocateurs, like Alessandro Michele at Valentino, who presented his feather-plumed showgirls through the lens of a couture peep show. The format took inspiration from the kaiserpanorama, a Victorian-era form of stereoscopic entertainment where voyeurs peered onto the performance through miniature windows. The antique setup proved to be very relevant to how we consume fashion today, albeit the iPhone is thankfully more portable than a circular paneled room.
On the other hand, some people, such as Matthieu Blazy for his couture debut at Chanel, shirked the responsibility of designing for the digital screen entirely and instead questioned just how light-handed an atelier’s artistry could really be (this despite the vibrant wow-factor that his bubblegum mushroom forest set offered). Delightfully, the result was a blink-and-you ll-miss-it masterclass that delivered hand-stitched silk organza love letters and airy skirt suits that were ready to take flight with the help of the birds with which they were embroidered. Not to mention, Viktor Rolf quite literally took to the air, hoisting a model on a couture kite for the finale look.
Elsewhere, Schiaparelli re-explored the animal kingdom through a cheekily named “Isabella Blowfish” ensemble and scorpion-tailed bustiers—a similar motif to the near life-sized faux lion’s head once placed on Kylie Jenner’s shoulder, garnering even further viral fame. In a way, by drawing from the craftsmanship found in the natural world, this season’s collections redefined the notion of “going back to basics,” though there were certainly no basic garments here.
Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Air Sign Supremacy
Organic Matters
Aquatic Abstractions
The Crown Jewels
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