What Spring Fashion 2026 Is Actually Telling Us About Runways and Red Carpets

I’ve been living inside the Spring Fashion 2026 collections for the last month—bookmarking shows at 3 a.m., zooming in on Getty photos until my eyes hurt, and texting friends screenshots with way too many exclamation points. Here’s the honest, no-filter version of what’s coming, straight from the trenches.

The Skirts are Trying to Fly Away (And I’m Here For It)

The single loudest message on the runways? Hips are having a moment. Like, a full-on architectural moment. Junya Watanabe sent out skirts that looked like upside-down tulips. Khaite’s versions had so much volume you could hide a small dog in there. Dior went full 18th-century pannier but made it modern and somehow wearable.

Then the celebrities grabbed them before the shows even ended. Sarah Paulson wore Balenciaga’s emerald exploded-balloon skirt to a premiere in Rio and suddenly my group chat was only speaking in caps lock. Naomi Watts floated into the Academy Museum Gala looking like a very chic ghost who’d raided a feather factory. Point is: these aren’t “editorial only” pieces anymore. They’re already on bodies that have stylists on speed dial, which means they’ll be on yours by March.

Primary Colors are Back and They Brought Confidence

Remember when we all agreed that dressing like a box of Crayolas was a personality trait? Yeah, that’s happening again. Versace did head-to-toe red-yellow-blue like it was 1989. Prada layered primary knits until they looked like Mondrian paintings that could walk. Even Chanel—CHANEL—went full Lego palette under Matthieu Blazy.

Michelle Obama put the final nail in the “is this really happening?” coffin when she wore the opening look from Blazy’s debut collection. Bright, graphic, and zero apology. Ayo Edebiri followed it up in the same collection’s blue chiffon and the internet collectively lost its mind. Moral of the story: if Michelle is wearing kindergarten colors, the rest of us have permission.

Animal Print Grew Up and Got Expensive

Leopard isn’t new, but the way it’s being done right now feels different. Less “Real Housewife on vacation,” more “quietly dangerous.” Khaite’s zebra is so crisp it hurts. Alaïa’s tiger coat is the kind of thing you’d sell a kidney for. Stella McCartney made a cheetah bomber that Cate Blanchett wore to the Bambi Awards and suddenly sustainable fashion looked cooler than vintage archive.

Daytime Sequins are Now Just… Clothes

I kept waiting for someone to tell me the sequin-jacket-over-jeans thing was a joke. Nobody did. Tory Burch, Staud, Rabanne—they all said “yes, wear this to brunch.” Jennifer Lawrence tested the theory in Dior sequins at the Rome Film Festival and looked like she’d just rolled out of bed dripping in diamonds. Verdict: approved.

Dropped Waists and Draping That Actually Flatters

The 1920s called and wants its silhouette back, but better. Chanel, Chloé, Rick Owens, The Row—everyone’s elongating the torso and letting fabric fall wherever it wants. Greta Lee has basically become the poster child, wearing Dior’s draped, dropped-waist sheer dress to two different premieres like it’s the only thing in her suitcase. Same girl, same dress energy, zero boredom.

Trenches Became Dresses, Capes Became Life

Burberry did a cropped trench cape that I would commit minor crimes for. Ferragamo turned the classic trench into a mini dress that somehow still works when it’s pouring rain. Michelle Yeoh wore a custom Balenciaga trench-cape hybrid outside the Paris Opera and made every coat I own feel deeply inadequate.

The One Color You’ll See Everywhere (Whether You Like It Or Not)

Pantone already declared “Cloud Dancer” (a fancy way of saying bright white) as 2026’s color of the year, and the runways agreed violently. Head-to-toe white, white boots, white bags, white sunglasses. It’s giving rich Mediterranean summer, cult member, and bridal party all at once. Stock up now before every influencer on earth beats you to it.

The Real Takeaway

Spring Fashion 2026 isn’t trying to be quiet or minimalist or “timeless.” It’s loud, playful, a little ridiculous, and honestly? We need that right now. After years of sweating in matching sets and calling blazers dresses, fashion finally remembered it’s allowed to be fun.
My personal shopping list so far: one stupidly voluminous skirt I’ll definitely trip in, something red and unapologetic, and a trench that thinks it’s a cape. What about you? Tell me in the comments before we both spend too much money justifying it as “investment joy.”