THE CFDA FASHION AWARDS 2026: NEW YORK, 2 NOVEMBER
On 2 November, the CFDA Fashion Awards 2026 will take place in New York at the American Museum of Natural History: here's what you need to know before the evening.
Opening
MIKIO SAKABE AND THE "FANCY" THAT ISN'T FANCY
Mikio Sakabe stages "Cheers!" at Laforet Museum Harajuku, turning Japanese "fancy" subculture and mall aesthetics into a precise argument against professionalism.
FRESH PURPLE IS THE NEW "NORMAL"
On 16 October W Korea, a fashion monthly published under licence by Doosan Magazine, ran a piece by Jin Jung-ah headlined "This autumn, choose the purple knit instead of the brown one", under the standfirst "purple, which has become the new normal".
PARIS FASHION WEEK SPRING/SUMMER 2027: THE FINAL REPORT
Our review of Paris Fashion Week spring/summer 2027: sheer fabrics and a practical wardrobe, but colour stayed anchored to black. The numbers from 63 shows and 3,189 looks.
ANTHONY VACCARELLO AND A DECADE THAT NEEDS NO EXPLAINING
After ten years at the helm of Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello leaves the house without an official explanation. His departure comes with the brand back in growth, a final Trocadéro show behind him and a decade that changed the scale, image and weight of the maison.
The Rest
PICCIOLI MAKES BALENCIAGA FEEL NECESSARY AGAIN.
Pierpaolo Piccioli took over the creative direction of Balenciaga in July 2025, and this marks his fifth collection for the house. Here, however, the language finally feels entirely his own. Piccioli chooses subtraction over accumulation, lightness without diminishing presence. While much of the season leans into ornament, he moves in the opposite direction: stripping away the excess, allowing the silhouettes to breathe, and delivering one of the clearest, most precise and distinctly counter-current statements of the season.
SAINT LAURENT, TEN YEARS IN GOLD AND BLACK FINALE
Anthony Vaccarello gave no interviews this season. In their place came a note, handed out with black calla lilies. "I've had this collection in mind for a long time, and finally felt that this was the right moment to bring it to light.
ACNE STUDIOS' DENIM, THIRTY YEARS ON
In Paris, in its thirtieth year, Jonny Johansson questioned why his own house keeps showing in the city at all. "I think about us sometimes when we go here [Paris]. I'm like, 'are we going here like a ship trying to bleed out creativity?'", the designer said after the show, comparing Acne Studios' presence in Paris to the Vasa, the Swedish warship that sank in 1628.
DRIES VAN NOTEN SS27: WHEN THE PRINT BECOMES A POSTER
The house was founded in Antwerp in 1986 by Dries Van Noten, one of the Antwerp Six, and for close to forty years its signature was cloth sourced far away and prints people collected.
MAISON MARGIELA SS27: THE FOUNDER'S VOCABULARY
Glenn Martens arrived at Maison Margiela in January 2025, after John Galliano's ten years, and with this fourth collection he brings the house back to Paris after the season it staged in Shanghai.
MATIÈRES FÉCALES SS27 - A FINISHED CUT, AN UNFINISHED EDGE
Near the top of the show there is a pale tailored look: structured pointed shoulder, cinched waist, skirt cut to match. The jacket's peplum stops in a fray, and the skirt is left the same way at the bottom.