TOP 2026 FASHION TRENDS

Colour becomes the first representative of this new phase. While Pantone selected a relatively muted shade for 2026, the September runways pointed in a different direction. For Spring/Summer 2026, colour no longer functions as an accent or a seasonal device within looks, but rather as the return of an identity-driven language that echoes trends emerging in the 1980s and later revisited in the 2010s.

In a period marked by creative transitions, several houses use chromatic intensity to signal change, clarity and a certain optimistic intent. At Loewe, the arrival of new designers translates into a direct, almost primary palette: reds, yellows, saturated greens, vivid oranges and expansive blues. The new Celine under Michael Rider also anticipated this chromatic shift, presenting a masterfully composed palette that has already succeeded both on the streets and across publications. Its embrace of Klein and cobalt blues, yellows, intense reds and leaf greens has already captivated the wardrobes of thousands of clients.

At Jil Sander, colour appears in a more refined form, applied to precise silhouettes, often within a two-tone palette, and paired with more sporty materials such as technical cotton, poplin and lightweight leather. Intense hues, particularly red and blue, are presented in a way that reinforces the brand’s conceptual minimalism, now elevated through the creative vision of Simone Bellotti.

It seems that comfort dressing, or the normcore aesthetic that emerged after 2020, has not disappeared but rather transformed. The sportswear sector is forecast to grow to €400 billion by 2030, with an annual increase of 6% through the end of the decade, according to McKinsey & Co. This influence is increasingly evident across brands and trends. The more colourful approach to sport dressing began last year in menswear collections, led by Saint Laurent, Maison Margiela and Gucci. By 2026, however, it is Miu Miu, Loewe, Celine, Jil Sander and Saint Laurent itself that translate this athletic language most powerfully into the women’s wardrobe.

Fashion is currently navigating a period of transition, still searching for balance: between heightened elegance and a central pillar rooted in comfort and a more casual sensibility. Multifunctionality is on the rise, with garments designed to move easily between the office, daily routines and more formal settings.

Jil Sander once again acts as a counterbalance, approaching the trend through material and line rather than overt sports references. Its fitted, shortened silhouettes evoke hybrids between tennis, dance and gymwear. The collection is conceived not as something static, but as a body in motion.

At Miu Miu, this reading translates into lightweight layers and pieces that appear ready to run, yet remain firmly within a sophisticated register. There are references to sports uniforms and preppy codes, pure Miu Miu style, with polos and garments that recall training routines, now repositioned within a look that flirts with youthfulness and couture. In parallel, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have pushed Loewe’s sporty mood toward the sensorial: the sensual imagery of sweat, seawater, wet skin, the friction of a towel, and fabrics that recall surf culture, such as rubber and neoprene. Draping that mimics towels, pareo skirts and tones that seem eternally lit by the sun complete this vision.

What Miuccia Prada set in motion with her first collection in 1988, a modern uniform built from more technical fabrics and an elevated sensibility, has now taken centre stage in shaping brand priorities for 2026.

While the modern uniform, also explored by Jil Sander in the 1970s, was once synonymous with authority or rigidity, in 2026 it is redefined as a flexible yet recognisable language. Military, corporate and tailoring codes are reinterpreted to become tools of aesthetic stability and individual expression. At Prada, this reflection is articulated through colour and clarity. The most utilitarian uniform is refined: workwear jumpsuits, cargos, belts and oversized pockets are combined with functionalist accessories. The uniform becomes a loose yet repeatable system, a solid base upon which personal variations can be introduced.

At Miu Miu, Miuccia relaxes this idea through a more feminine and youthful lens. The uniform is fragmented and deconstructed through altered proportions and academic references. There is a constant irony, an irreverent social commentary that Miuccia has always pursued fearlessly within the Miu Miu project. The result is a deliberate inconsistency, as if the garments were always on the verge of escaping their original function. A decontextualisation of what is foundational, whether an apron or a military jacket.

In the new Celine, Michael Rider proposes a more urban, bourgeois uniform. Undeniably Parisian. Silhouettes with structured shoulders, cinched waists and the consistency of the cosmopolitan uniform convey a contemporary, colour-filled optimism. Taken together, the uniform of 2026 offers formulas designed to last an entire day, shift with context and accept that coherence today is also a form of freedom and authenticity.