158. Hot off the Runway – WGSN Unpacks the Fashion Weeks

for so long fashion has always been about more and new. And you can only be seen in it once, and once it's been seen, it's done, right? And I think that focus shift into creating pieces that have to be seen over and over again, that have to be appreciated and told they start fading, that sort of longevity, that sort of focus, I think that I mean through has been really great. That is Kim Caputo, Senior Catwalk Strategist at WGSN. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Create Tomorrow podcast. I'm your host, Cassandra Nalphaly, head of Consumer Forecasting at WGSN. Every two weeks I will take you on a journey to examine how trends are translated into aesthetics and product design. In this episode, we'll hear from WGSN's very own experts, Sarah Magioni, head of women's wear at WGSN, Kim Caputo, Senior Catwalk Strategist at WGSN, and Anna Kareya, Accessory Strategist at WGSN. In this special catwalk's episode, which we're producing outside of the normal traditional podcast calendar to accommodate the momentum of fashion month, we discussed the highs and lows of the season, how the collections reflected the wider trends that we predicted would hit for 2026, and the ongoing tension in fashion between the clothes and the spectacle of the show. So Sarah, I'm gonna come to you for a, hello. - Hi Cassandra, how are you? Hello everyone, I head up the Women's Wear team, I'm head of Women's Wear, but as a true WGSN, I kind of work across, we collaborate a lot with other articles as well, kind of, we collaborate a lot in general, that's where the magic happens, right? - I am catwalk senior strategist, so my role during catwalks, it's quite a fun, but rather stressful role during catwalk season, it's all go go go for life, always. And my job is just to analyze the catwalks, look for the emerging trends, the category shifts, on the key aesthetics, and how our clients could then apply that to their business. - Hi everyone, I am an accessories and food wear strategist at WGSN. We cover trade shows, we cover retail, we cover catwalks, everything, and it's just accessories and food where always add that drop of newness, the extra. - Well welcome, I wanna start off this conversation with the obvious, so I wanna ask each of you what you thought of the season, it was a very interesting season, I think, there's lots of newness, lot of new designers at the Helms, so Anna will start with you, what was your kind of key takeaway from the season? - We see like a lot of creativity flourish, kind of like in contrast to our everyday, you know, like life's, but then again, also that turning to, you know, like darkness, but in a very like beautiful and romantic way, I feel this time we saw like a better evolution and we will also get to see so many designers that changed last season now, being in their probably like second or third runway show, right, where they will feel more solidified. I feel like Milan has been the most like surprising for me, has been so great. I mean Paris started very strongly with yours, so we'll continue to see what happens. - I mean, saying in Kim what to take. - Prada was one of the stand-offs for me, particularly in how they presented their show. I think it was a new way of doing it. There was 60 looks, technically 60 looks, but in actual fact there were only 15, and there were 15 looks and they were layered, so we saw them that 15 looks four times, right? So the first time the models came out, we saw them and they out to wear, and these really great out to wear presentation, right? And then you saw the same group of models come up again with that first layer removed, so then we saw network light out to wear layers. And I think when we got into that second part of the show, everybody was sort of realizing what something feels familiar. I've seen your face before, why I've seen you again. And then we went into the third iteration, right? And then all of a sudden it was like, you sort of got what was happening, you know, that it was this layering of pieces. And I think it was a really great way to show off the pieces, right? And how people would actually wear the pieces. Not as much as how people would be seen in the pieces, but how the every day person will be wearing it, right? How will we, in our real lives, where this Prada look? And I thought that was a really great aspect of the Prada show because it really reinforced that the pieces that we're seeing on the runway are meant to be worn. They're not just meant to be seen there, they have every day usability, right? And Christian Dior was so great this season. I mean, Jonathan has really been hitting it out the park with Christian Dior in the last few seasons, but this one that's so romantic, so whimsical, really. I just so beautiful, so intricate. And again, intricate, but very wearable. - And Sarah, what about you? But for me, what I'd say, I also really enjoyed this kind of like new glam that's coming up a bit, you know, San Laurent, Tom Ford. I think San Laurent in general, I'm just loving the campaigns, you know, the color, color combinations. It's just amazing. Is that glam, but it's not necessarily, it's interesting. It's in your face, but also not really. It's kind of like wearable. So I'm loving all of that, all of the kind of imagery. Maybe a bit of an obvious one, but I just can't help it is Bote Gavetta. I think what Louis Strotters during is amazing. It's just that sweet spot, right? Between wearability, but also those proportions that refresh things is that kind of know how, is that sort of like quality. It's just, I think it's phenomenal. It's just doing a fantastic job. Someone that I think is underrated is Maximilian Davies at Sabatori Ferragamo. I think is just doing also a phenomenal job. And again, I don't think he gets talked about as much as, you know, we don't hear about him as much as we should because I think he's an amazing talent. And I think he's one of those new designers that have taken on a heritage house and really respecting the codes, but making it fresh and interesting. So I think he did really well this season as well. And then just like maybe some smaller names, you know, we have Bartz Akul, Turkish French designer, Julie Kegels, we have Zankov, Maria McManus, Ashlyn in New York, Dio Tima, institution, Calcutta, Radar, it's just like, it's smaller names, I would say. But I think it's, they are definitely names that we have been tracking. And so it's really good to see some of those guys I actually on the runway. Back in 2026, we forecasted that the year would be all about this idea of redirection, right? Old ideas being challenged, tensions growing at both a global and local level as more people recognize the need for urgent change in the way we treat societies, arrange our industries, work with in our environment. I'm curious, how do you think that idea played out now that we're in 2026 with that forecast being from two and a half years ago? - So I think for me, what I would say, what, whereas in the past few seasons, you know, it was much more about the gram, you know, the hype and the, and I'm not saying it's not there, but I think that kind of shock factor for the sake of it is perhaps not there as much. And I think this is refreshing. And then the other thing that I think is interesting for me is that there seems to be more focus on the behind the scenes, the inner workings, the sort of like the craft, but also like, you know, there's been like across the press, just maybe a little bit more exposure around, yeah, the behind the scene, the process, you know, the actual process. And I think that's probably, again, it's moving away from that hype only, shock factor and doing it for the gram to lie, actually, let's pause. And, you know, we have so much stuff out there, let's just, you know, do we need to create another thing just for the hype? So I think that is reflective of like, again, this is the catwalks, but it's reflective of what we are seeing a little bit in fashion across the board. - I think it's awesome, similar to like what we're saying in consumer, like the idea that consumers want trust, they want insight, they want, you know, information in an era where everything is sort of a-i-slop, they want human, human becomes the luxury. And I think what you're describing is a confirmation for me at least as a consumer of work, as they're seeing that in terms of product. - Absolutely. And I feel that the catwalks this time around have reflected that more than in the past. I don't know if you guys agree, I don't know if Kim and Anna if you agree I want to. I think there's a great example of this in the product in the product show, right? Where they had these sort of disperse edges sort of faded look, where the focus wasn't on new and polished. It was on something being lived in, the sort of clothes we wear every day, right? We, for so long fashion has always been about more and new and you can only be seen in it once and once it's been seen, it's done, right? And I think that that that focus shift into creating pieces that have to be seen over and over again, that have to be appreciated until they start fading. That that that sort of longevity. That that that that's that sort of focus. I think that I mean through has been really great. And I want to come to you. New York had a noticeably slimmed down season. There has been a lot of things that have been said about that. Whether New York is still relevant or not as our resident New Yorker on this call. Do you think New York Fashion Week still has a part to play? Was there exciting moments? Do you think that anything sort of stood out for you there? Kaite I feel like it's always one of my favorites is once again that sweet spot. Tori Verge always surprises me. I always you always feel like you know her. But then her catwalks, especially her accessories and her foodware are just like out of this world. I love her. I do love now. There's a much more focus in actually inviting people that work in the industry rather than inviting just influencers. Or that the influencers we have the bigger space. Cause I feel like that also became just a spectacle of who has more followers or who's at what show and what row. Right. Instead of like really getting what's happening at the show, the clothes, the accessories, what are like the details. Right. That they're behind the scenes. Right. That we're talking so much about the thing that is missing for me from fashion shows right now is actually the consumer. Like the people that are actually buying your products. You don't see a lot of that. A couple of years ago they had sort of like lottery's and ways that they could engage like loyal fans. You could win you know, ask, you know, access or something like that. But in a world where loyalty is so fickle and Gen Z or notoriously not loyal. How do you win their loyalty? I think is through kind of offering experiences like that. So it's interesting you say that. I want to move on to the semi-consentennial. I say this word probably three times a day if not more at W.J.S. Now it's America's 250th birthday. It's looming. It's coming in July. Obviously the idea of that is that there's probably far more you know, Americana vibes, patriotism vibes emerging within some of the collections. Anna as our resident in New York or Kim potentially as someone who covers the catwalks. If you want to weigh in here, what did you make of this theme? Like was it really apparent across the season? And in any case like how did it show up? For me, what have what have been picking up is not so much an overall feeling of Americana. Right. So it's the sort of greater American patriotism coming through in the collections. I think what's been really interesting is some of the heritage New York brands have been celebrating their own heritage. So they've been celebrating their heritage and how that plays into the sort of our idea of classic American design. So we sort of coached. They leaned into their sort of Vosity workwear vintage vibe. Michael Corsford is 45th anniversary. Did his New York shift. Calvin Klein leaned into his archival minimalism. So there was that that that that real. Well, with the the the priority brands, there was a real leaning into their own heritage and celebrating that heritage as part of American design heritage more than an overall celebration of I think the anniversary. I had noticed in the past, I would say a couple of years, is that actually street style. I find street style there really interesting. And the reason I'm saying is because I know that like, you know, New York of the 80s and the 90s, you know, that it's always been famous for that. But then I feel that there was a time where it was very much about that sort of very contemporary New York look, you know, cool, but very New York, very tailored, very sleek and not necessarily the most exciting from an inspiration point of view. But I have to say in the past couple of years, every time I've been to New York, like I would literally be like, shall I just stop that person and ask to take a photo because it's like, even randomly, if I'm not working, right. I just like going for breakfast and I'm like, wow, and it was so many wild moments. And of course, I'm there when it's fashion week and when it's, you know, trade shows, et cetera. But I mean, talking about areas that I maybe, you know, not necessarily the central areas and they're not necessarily all models there in New York for for fashion week or fashion editors. I'm talking more about like younger generation, like possibly students, but I have to say there's something like very captivating the way. Yeah, it's just that cool, but like not overly, you know, over the talk just done right. And I've noticed that and I've been going to New York for many years now, but I've noticed that really increasing in the past couple of years, I'd say. I'm just finding it really, really interesting from a straight standpoint of you. I think it's that end end again that we were talking about like that. The two things can be true at the same time. New York is known as sort of streamlined classic wardrobes of all black, Harlan, beset, obviously becoming a huge influence at the moment on the streets, but then also sort of interesting maximum is at the same time. So I think that that bifurcation of trends is really interesting to explore. Okay. I want to ask about the idea of romance on the catwalks because that's sort of been everywhere this season. I know in our conversations, Kim, you had mentioned, Ula Johnson in New York or Damien London, Blue Marine in Milan, Dior and Paris, it really goes on and on. So I'm curious how has this notion of femininity and romanticism really evolved the season and perhaps what's driving this trend? Yeah, you're right. The romance we've seen so many romance trends coming on the catwalks the season. And what's really interesting is that it's not really one distinct romance direction, right? There isn't a romance aesthetic for the season. We've seen different directions taken. So we have the sort of dark romance direction. Like we saw that blue marine. We saw it at Pauline Dejan Court in London as well. Whether it's like layered chairs, black lace, moody florals, moody prints coming through. And then from our own focus for the season, our floor romance and Renaissance of Real with floor romance, we're seeing a sort of an imperfect romance, a sort of unpollishedness, some distressed edges but with lace, a sort of faded feel. And we saw that combined with the sort of onnateness of Renaissance of Real at a damn in London, but then also at Gries Van Norton in in Paris, where we had this really intricate embellishment, but it wasn't super polished. So it was placed asymmetrically. It might finish halfway down the bodice, right? We've had sort of material mix. So it looked a bit mix and match a bit unfinished, a bit faded, but it was really intricate and really beautiful, right? And then also we've seen sort of the romance trends, infiltrating tailoring the season, whether that's sort of softer silhouettes, we've seen a lot of soft peplums coming through our on Taylor jackets, but then also in styling as well, we've seen sort of romantic shirts, paired with tailoring. So you get this really great bow or ruffles peeking out from colors and cuffs. So there's been quite a few romantic directions coming through in the catwalks, and what's really great is that they're not that one distinct direction. So there's a bit of pick and choose for people to choose from. What I would say is like, why is this happening is we are seeing a kind of like a boom in the romance fiction genre. Obviously, you know, woodaring eyes, you know, and woodaring eyes, the film is as Kim just described it, you know, it's really not the perfect romance, especially if you've read the original book. And so it's kind of like it's playing out. So there is, and then we have, you know, with the romance fiction boom is, you know, it's fandom behind it, you know, it's like you have fans and therefore it grows. So it's actually across the zeitgeist, it's really picking up is that idea of like in perfect romance. And so we are seeing that a lot. And and I guess it also goes back kind of what Kim was saying to that more human centric and, you know, in perfect sort of design, that kind of, you know, we've done reports on inside on analog dating. So really going back to like dating in real life, we've done reports on the return of writing. We are seeing that playing out from a printing graphics perspective as well. We're seeing calligraphy becoming, you know, the new logo becoming the new branding, you know, more intricate branding coming through. So it's all connected. So this is what I'm saying like on the catwalks, we're getting the first taste, but this is going to continue. Yeah, that's such a good one. I want to also stay with you Sarah here because I just want to finish up on Milan. I think we have to talk about just all of what happened in Milan. We had them that Gucci, Maria Grazia's first Fendi show, Marny obviously Milan felt very loud this season. We touched on this earlier. As your hometown is Milan, I just wanted to give you the opportunity to kind of talk us through some of those big moments. I just, you know, I kind of would like to touch on the winter Olympics, right? Because they just happened and they wore Milan Cortina, which is about four hours from Milan, but anyway, it's kind of like, you know, it's Milan Cortina. But I would say there is this new energy that is just super interesting. And apart from the big names like Demna and you know, Maria Grazia, I think is also, as I was saying, like this smaller ones, the least expected that I already covered. But I think it's just a really interesting and exciting city at the moment. I would say that like Paris and Milan are my favorite. I'm really interested to see what's going on with London Fashion Week as well. I think, you know, with Laura Weher at the helm now, she's kind of like, you know, moving into a new direction. So that's definitely another one to watch. I want to come to you Anna. I have to speaking, you know, continuing on this Milan conversation. We have to talk about the fact that Mark Zuckerberg and his wife were at Prada front row. There has been some speculation around why he was there. Can you talk us through that through that and what you think it means for the next, you know, year or so. Meta has started to partner with a lot of fashion brands, especially like in the accessories I wear sector. So we already have, you know, Meta working with Rayban. Then we have a S.Y.Lor Looksotica, which, you know, with Oakley, they also released their own like Meta frames. So there are big rumors that Prada is going to collaborate with Meta with a pair of smart frames. Right now, this is something that it feels much more natural than, you know, if you are like in the industry, the last I wear trade show that I cover actually in Milan. The funny thing is that obviously we always go there for this like craftsmanship like Italian I wear craftsmishing is like, you know, famous for it. And for color, none of that. But then again, there's like this whole new area where everybody is also jumping into like smart qualities for I wear. Right. So I feel like this is just the nature of things, right, as they are evolving. And of course, I mean with him being Meta, that's why we assume or we're almost certain that's why he was there. Another billionaire walked in the runway of material fecal. And the funny thing is that the name of the collection is called the 1%. So I feel like that kind of could be ironic, could be a funny joke, whatever, you know, I don't know. Like, yes, definitely irony. But it's just at the end of the day, these people are driving the AI revolution. And they want to be part of the fashion and luxury world because they know how much, you know, financial like a shopping power is there. So it was only a matter of time. And we know, for example, like, Prada is known for being futuristic, for being interested in technology as well as craftsmanship. What I just hope is that, you know, it's a design that all like, then I'm sure it will. That it does show who Prada is as well. And it should not just like another frame. Because that's what, you know, we really want we the way I first, you know, we foresee like the future about this is that tech wearables really do become seamless. It they don't feel like a technology accessory. And we're not creating just for the sake of creating right adding to the trend cycle. So I think that's a good place to leave it. Leave everyone on their toes for next season. I do ask all my guests the same question though at the end, which is, who is somebody that you admire, who's creating a new version of tomorrow that you find deeply inspiring. So I guess we'll come to you for Sarah. Who is your pick? What I would say, I think even, even here, I'd go for that duality that we've been talking about, that coexistence. And I'd say I'm very excited about innovation, particularly, you know, the progress around materials, but also color like particularly colors or structure of color, you know, bio based colors company lights, Parksell in a, you know, Cambridge based UK based Parksell. They they just kind of do like 100% plan based glitter and and sequins, but also in the US sell sells sense. So and what's what's exciting is that these innovations are becoming scalable because that's what's exciting for us. Right. It's great to have innovation. It's great to have all these new prototype and concepts, but to really have an effect, they need to be scalable. So I would say is this coexistence right of like innovation on one side scalable color, but then also those designers and image makers and taste makers that really going back to the craft, they're really, you know, they're really exploring and really sticking to it. So I would say it's the two future is not one thing. I would say is this yeah, the coexistence is the future for me. Okay, Kim, who is your pick? It's actually three African brands where I feel are really pushing African design for it. And there are so many brands that that good fittings of the small right. But I'm going to limit myself to three brands that are showing at the big four and first is Makoza, who will show it in in Paris. And here you have the sort of vividly patented bold colors in the in the labels, netwear that feels fresh, that feels contemporary, but it has a really nostalgic. South African look to it. So that's always a great treat for me. I always look forward to the Makoza show in Paris. And then in Milan, another South African brand, but it completely different aesthetic again. And that's uniform. And they do the sort of sculptural tailoring that could have emotional tailoring where where they focus on on volume and texture and how that can be applied. To pieces that we see as familiar to create something new. And I think that's always great. And then for my final pick, I am Icego, there and I, Jerem brand. They are a 2026 semi-finance for the LV image prize. And they do really also handmade sculptural pieces. They they focus on traditional construction techniques. A lot of their their textiles are woven and repurposed and recycled to create something new. So yeah, so watch out for those three African brands in the catwalks the season. Me singing Anna last but not least. First, I have two, one, I would say J W Anderson really is giving me all the hope that I need in fashion at the moment. He's just, you know, being so wonderful about reviving a house that is so like iconic in his heritage for the Mexico City Fashion Week. My favorite designer is Francisco Cancino. I admire him very much. I feel like a lot of designers have tried to kind of like conquer that once again, your American heritage, but also not diving too much into being, you know, very true or traditional. Right. So he feels very fresh, very contemporary. All of his designs are extremely wearable. But then again, you still feel he's, you know, Mexicanity, I guess, he's designs. So extremely like elegant, the materials, the colors that he uses, all of the effects, the craftsmanship. I think it's just like so wonderful. So those are my two big, some excited to see what Mexico City Fashion Week will bring. Thank you to my guest Sarah Magioni, head of Women's Bear, Kim Caputo, senior catwalk strategist and Anna Kraya, accessory strategist. If you're a WGSN subscriber, look out for more trends at WGSN.com. If you're not a subscriber, please come and discover our services. We'll be back with our next episode soon. In the meantime, you can catch the CEO of WGSN, Carla Buzashi, next week on our other podcast, Lies of Tomorrow. I'm your host Cassandra Nappeli. Be sure to follow and subscribe to this podcast and see you next time.