Paris Fashion Week Recap: The Trends to Love (and Leave) With Links
PC: Go Runway
Words by: Jonne Scholten
Often, when I’m at fashion week or attending a show, I’m reminded of my love for drama. That’s what drew me in, initially. All around you, there’s theatre, backstage chaos, street style in front of the venue, the runway, and even the front row, and all become part of the stage.
The shows are where we’re told what’s in and what’s out. Where trends like bleached brows and kitten heels are proposed to the masses with the kind of confidence only fashion can muster.
This season, Spring/Summer 2026 felt like a careful exhale. It wasn’t about reinvention but about recontextualization. For me, it touched deeply on memory: vintage slips, inherited rings, the kind of coat passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter.
Here’s what I loved, what I’d wear, and what I’m leaving in the front row.
Colorblocking
Among all the chromatic chaos—cobalt blues, buttercup yellows, the kind of hues you’d find in a David Hockney pool—monochrome felt almost subversive. Single-hue looks don’t shout; they declare. They hold both surrender and control. Like saying: Today, I am only this. And I. Love. That.
I’d wear: A vermilion coat over a white tee and vintage denim.
Shop similar: Alice + Olivia Wide Leg Pants, Hermès Special Order Verso Clemence Birkin 40, and Christian Louboutin Suede Pumps via The RealReal.
Tiny Bags (Still?)
I don’t trust a bag that can’t carry a book. Yes, tiny bags photograph beautifully and pop in a flat lay. But what are they actually for? Do they hold a notebook? A little make-up bag? A woman’s lifeline? I think micro bags are a betrayal.
Because my life does not—and will never—fit into a palm-sized pouch. I need a bag that understands the need for a film camera, multiple lipsticks, a cigarette case I don’t use but love having, and my dog-eared copy of Just Kids by Patti Smith.
I’d rather carry: A slouchy hobo bag. Something that looks like it’s been somewhere.
Shop vintage: Michael Kors Leather Hobo bag, Clare V. Suede Bucket Bag, Balenciaga Leather Midday Giant 21, Diane von Furstenberg Leather Hobo via The RealReal.
Tailoring But With a Twist
This season, tailoring loosened its static grip. Blazers were shrugged on like robes, trousers slouched at the hip. This wasn’t the power suit of boardrooms past—it was the opposite.
Wearing a suit didn’t feel performative. It radiated soft authority. Less genderless than boundaryless. Like stealing your man’s clothes and wearing them better.
I’d wear: Pinstripe trousers with a nearly see-through tee. No makeup, just skin. Hair tied back, intentionally indifferent.
Shop similar: Ann Demeulemeester Vintage 1990’s Jacket, Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Vintage Wide Leg Pants from The RealReal.
Cirques Chic
There’s been a swell of circus-adjacent imagery online—lace-up corsets, penguin tailcoats, oversized bows, epaulettes, and dramatically placed gold buttons. Traditionally, it’s been sharp, performative, meant to stand out. But this season, something shifted. It softened. Theatrical elements became introspective—performance as identity, not spectacle. The aesthetic no longer feels like a ringmaster screaming for attention, but a meditation on performance itself: Who are we when the audience leaves?
I’d wear: A structured velvet tailcoat over a simple white slip. Boots polished, eyes smudged, and one vintage brooch pinned too high.
Shop similar: Yohji Yamamoto Vintage 1989 Jacket, Gucci Horsebit Accent Leather Riding Boots, and a Costarellos Lace Pattern Long Dress.
Grandmother’s Jewelry
Of all the trends this season, this one felt the most permanent: necks layered with heirloom jewelry, fingers adorned with tarnished rings. I believe it was first reintroduced last season by Chloé, but I’m so glad it still holds space on the runway.
There’s something undeniably intimate about inherited jewelry—real gold earrings, heavy necklaces, and rings that carry not only weight, but history. Worn by your grandmother, gifted to your mother, and now yours. Decades tucked into a locket’s clasp.
This season celebrated that sentiment: brooches pinned over bare chests, stacked rings and necklaces worn like a cherry on top. And I stand by this!!! This is fashion at its finest, rooted in quality, timelessness, and lineage. Generations of love, passed down.
I’d wear: Bvlgari Vintage 20K Aquamarine & Tourmaline Doppio Ring, Tiffany & Co. 18K Large Double Link Pendant Necklace, Tiffany & Co. Vintage 14K George Schuler Fluted Earrings.
Lingerie as Outerwear
What draws me to the lingerie-as-outerwear styling is the friction it offers. As every woman knows, lingerie and delicate nightwear aren’t worn for seduction; they’re worn for self-certainty. And that’s exactly why this trend feels so right. It’s about romanticizing your own styling. Lingerie adds a quiet sensuality through contrast, like a pink lace bralette beneath a structured, vintage trench.
What I love most is its versatility: it works just as well under oversized coats as it does paired with utilitarian boots.
I’d wear: A semi-sheer vintage black Valentino slip under a Studded Accent Céline coat, Calfskin Riding boots.
Shop similar: Galliano slip and Prada trench via The RealReal.
The Verdict?
Spring/Summer 2026 wasn’t loud, it was actually rather quiet. It didn’t aim to shock the world. It felt like an invitation to reflect, to dress intimate with memory and emotional intention. Rather than introducing what’s next, this season asked: What’s worth keeping?
The quietness stood out. Maybe the next time you’re thinking of adding something new to your wardrobe, pause. Even in fashion’s highest towers, the message is shifting: less about performance, more about permanence.
