PFW Fall 2026: Trend Snapshot

Reporting from London and Melbourne, Aoife Byrne (Between Friends) and Kayla Marci (Haute Garbage) are longtime friends and collaborators with almost 20 years of combined experience dissecting and analyzing runway trends. For more catwalk content, catch up on our Fall 2026 predictions and the hottest trends from New York, London and Milan.

Hello, beautiful readers! We’ve reached the final destination of fashion month, which means it’s the last edition of the BF x HG FW26 collab series. I’ve so missed working with my gal Aoife. She has such an effortless, beautiful way of writing and bringing stories to life, and it’s been a real treat to join forces once again. I’m sure there will be many more joint articles to come as we navigate our Substack journies together.

It’s just me covering themes from Paris this week, as Aoife is currently soaking up the sun on her honeymoon in Thailand. Chuck your email below, and we can all live vicariously through her.

And if you haven’t yet joined my camp…

I’m always down to collab with talented folk, so if you’d love to work on something together, my DMs are open.

Now grab a coffee or a martini, depending on your timezone, and buckle up for the hottest themes from Paris Fashion Week!

Outerwear in Paris was voluminous and space-occupying, and in an age where fashion is encouraging us to shrink ourselves, the irony likely wasn’t lost on anyone. Oversized, sculpturesque shapes appeared at Louis Vuitton, inspired by traditional kepeneks through structured wing-like shoulders. Balenciaga gave a sort of jack-in-the-box twist to the basic wool camel coat, peeling the collar back so the model’s head sprang up, revealing a sliver of shocking pink knitwear. Peplums continued to adorn waistlines, with faux fur-trim at Stella McCartney, while Jonathan Anderson updated Dior’s signature Bar jacket with playful flounces.

Structure and proportion were played with across categories. We saw lampshade bodices at Nanushka, spherical hemlines and geometric necklines in Victoria Beckham’s dresses and angular skirts at Courrèges. Dramatic shapes influenced accessories, blurring the lines between sculpture and wearability. Lanvin showed architectural hats that resembled nuns’ habits. Models at Loewe could have floated away on inflatable scarves. And of course, a moment for the season’s most click-baity shoes - Dior’s lily pads and Schiaparelli’s literal kitten heels.

Against a backdrop of global yearning for peace and love, designers revisited the 1970s, giving collections a thrifted, worn-in appeal. Chemena Kamali continued to fine-tune her vision of the modern bohemian Chloé Girl with checked prairie skirts, romantic blouses and flowing capes. A more rodeo edge was felt at Polo Ralph Lauren through suede, fringing and silver western belts. Earthy color palettes were punctuated by unexpected pops of burgundy, mustard, and dark greens, while psychedelic and snake prints added to the sense of nostalgia. For accessories, fur stoles, round mini sunglasses and oversized aviators completed the era-appropriate time warp.

Leather, lace and fur were key components in Paris collections that oozed sensuality, hot on the heels of the Milano seductress. Saint Laurent celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Le Smoking tuxedo, with Anthony Vaccarello sending 14 models down the runway in the iconic suit, juxtaposed with more overtly provocative styling, including lingerie slip dresses and decadent furs. Haider Ackermann’s Tom Ford referenced American Psycho through transparent raincoats over button-downs, suits and ties, styled with skinny belts and lace stockings. Even the more subdued looks retained a cheeky wink to the overarching mood of sex and power with hip cut-outs or skin-tight silhouettes.

Miu Miu went in a different direction, offering a softer, more pared-back interpretation of intimacy. The collection featured babydoll shilhouettes, delicate bows, peek-a-boo bras, sheer drop-waist dresses and appliqués. Challenging ideals of sexiness, sky-high stilettos were swapped for bubble-sole sequin trainers, and looks were finished with fur-trapper hats, adding instead the kind of weird-girl energy the brand is known and loved for.

A recurring narrative across the cities, millennial optimism continues to be sought after, leading designers to roll out some of the generation’s greatest hits. Slim silhouettes were ubiquitous, making the skinny jean comeback undeniable, a never-say-die millennial’s wet dream (hard can’t relate). Long boots to tuck in streamlined shapes were pushed by Hermès with all-leather looks, while Acne Studios embraced generational cringe with leggings and 🎵boots with the fur🎵. Meanwhile, Alaïa presented bodycon dresses in mini and midi lengths, and Celine and Isabel Marant lobbied to make ankle boots “cool again”.

Now, I don’t want to be that girl who writes “florals for fall? groundbreaking,” but yes, florals for fall. Designers looked to nature for set design with Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu and Dior all showing in green spaces. In addition to the water lily shoes, the latter brand crafted frills and flounces resembling petals and decorated gowns with sculptural blooms. At Chanel, Matthieu Blazy harnessed texture to evoke flora, with dresses crafted out of 3D flowers and bead-like petals.

Dark base florals at Givenchy evoked a more dramatic mood, with embroidered poppies and petals bleeding into multi-colored fringe. At Dries Van Noten, the physical and digital realms collided, pairing realistic florals with pixelated versions made with a silk thread - another reminder for everyone to go outside and touch grass, perhaps?

Fun fact - as a baby gymnast, I chose the Hans Zimmer Pirates of the Caribbean score for my floor routine music, so I felt a strong sense of nostalgia seeing such swashbuckling looks paraded. As previously discussed, vampyric themes were notable in New York and London, making it a strong season for ruffs. However, in Paris, these elements leaned more Treasure Island than Transylvania. Frills peaked out of long Military-style coats at Ann Demeulemeester, alongside shipwreck-esque blouses, worn leather and buckled boots. Dries Van Noten leaned into the fantasy with a bronze jacquard coat, while all that was missing from Chloé’s Musketeer boots and billowing blouse was a sword.

Thanks for joining readers! Be sure to like, subscribe and vote on the theme you’re most vibing with. I can only figure out how to show five options in the poll below, but if you’re really a die-hard Millennial It Girl fan, let me know in the comments!