ARE CELEBRITIES ON THE RUNWAY FASHION’S LATEST CURRENCY?

words by ANOUK WOUDT

If we had to choose one defining feature of this past Fall/ Winter 2026 season, it would be the runway’s strikingly suspicious resemblance to a red carpet guest list. From Fakemink to Billy Idol, many shows were chock-full of familiar faces. Of course, this intertwining of fashion and celebrity is nothing new, but this year felt particularly intense. As this phenomenon escalates, it begins to seem it’s less about the clothes and more about who is wearing them. 

image via @gucci

If we are talking celebrities on the runway, we, of course, need to mention Demna’s all-star Gucci show. It might be easier to talk about who wasn’t a celebrity on that runway. The cast included – among many others – Nettspend, Fakemink, Gabriette, Alex Consani, Emily Ratajkowski, Vivian Wilson, and the list just goes on and on. Closing with the iconic Kate Moss, the show had barely gotten a chance to properly end before it started trending all over social media. 

This follows the typical Demna formula of  “simply pushing the limits.” Since his days at Balenciaga, he has consistently catered his fashion to maximise virality, and even with his first Gucci “show”, in the form of the short film The Tiger, his casting choices made it obvious that he has no intention of abandoning this strategy. Featuring beloved names like Demi Moore, Keke Palmer, and, once again, the Internet’s favourite, Alex Consani, he turned his Gucci debut into a piece of literal entertainment. 

images courtesy of GUCCI

But Demna’s not alone. Miu Miu has also been integrating celebrities into its shows for years, notably with Gillian Anderson and Chloë Sevigny this past season. However, this trend has accelerated across the industry, reaching brands you would never expect to cater to this phenomenon. This FW26 season, Billy Idol walked for Ann Demeulemeester, Marilyn Manson opened for Enfants Riches Déprimés, Irina Shayk appeared twice at Junya Watanabe, and even looksmaxxing streamer Clavicular walked for NYFW’s Elena Velez show. Ironically, even Matières Fécales' social critique The One Percent hosted a roster of familiar faces, with fashion icon Michelle Lamy, prosthetician Alexis Stone, and biohacking tech bro Bryan Johnson all featured.

images courtesy of MIU MIU

images courtesy of (from left to right): ANN DEMEULEMEESTER, ENFANTS RICHES DÉPRIMÉS, JUNYA WATANABE, ELENA VELEZ, MATIÈRES FÉCALES

All of this celebrity overload feels like it’s pointing to a broader symptom of our times – in our heavily mediated world, everything boils down to what or who can keep us entertained long enough to care. As our attention span shrinks, fashion is increasingly forced to compete in the attention economy, which basically outlines a reality where constant information overload turns human attention into a scarce commodity to be monetised. The focus is no longer on just the clothing itself, but rather on how to make a brand trend on Instagram. Naturally, celebrities — especially social media darlings — are the easiest way to get to the top of your FYP. 

Designing clothing used to be primarily a form of artistic expression. Now it feels increasingly like another cog in the media machine, playing by social media’s rules and sidelining creativity for the chance at a viral moment. But it’s not a new phenomenon. Over the past few years, we’ve seen gimmicks trending upwards, like with Coperni’s FW23 robo-dogs, which completely overshadowed the actual collection’s pieces. This intense celebrity imposition is just a step deeper into the gimmick, enveloping fashion in pop culture in an attempt to breach the information overload.

image via pinterest

It’s a somewhat tragic reflection of our times, but alas, unsurprising. In a culture that hypervalues entertainment, our brains have been hardwired to constantly seek dopamine, and this is just the fashion world trying to keep up. 

After all, it worked. The Gucci show was one of the most talked-about moments of the entire Fall/Winter 26 season, and let’s be honest, it was definitely not just because of the clothes. If we want a shift in fashion, we’d be asking for a shift in how our entire mediated society operates: so good luck with that.