HAUTE COUTURE WEEK SPRING/SUMMER 2026: DAY 3
VIKTOR & ROLF
review by VERONICA TLAPANCO SZABÓ
all images courtesy of VIKTOR & ROLF
Viktor & Rolf have always been enchanters of volume, directing and tilting clothing in ways that feel unimaginable and undaunted like during their haute couture 23 show. Models' faces were held taut by braids, while their shoulders housed honeycomb like spheres, spilling symmetrically outwards in an ombré that contrasted sharply against severe black silhouettes.
“We go back to black so often because it’s the best colour for silhouettes,” the designers explain, and here, their choice serves as a dramatic backdrop for the collection’s strongest accent: pink! A favourite hue of the duo for years (mine too). The collection as a whole reads as both bug-like and full of childlike wonder, with colour deployed in an almost aposematic fashion. The kite shape dominates each look, stacked sticks and colourful accoutrements evoke a playful Mikado spirit, with extra bows or trimmings accumulating from look to look, building anticipation for the grand finale.
A grand “kite” that housed one model elevated, a tribute to Kate Bush’s iconic The Kick Inside album cover. Bush’s music has inspired Viktor & Rolf from the very beginning, shaping them into architectural magicians and sending their creations soaring to wuthering heights!
VALENTINO
review by MARIA MOTA
all images courtesy of VALENTINO
Walking into the venue, there was an immediate sense of disorientation. Where do we look? Where does the show begin? We are handed newspapers, and as we glance at the front image, it clicks: we are standing in front of Kaiserpanoramas. The Kaiserpanorama, a circular optical machine from the late 1800s with small ocular holes, invited viewers to peer inside and watch moving images. Each person saw alone, yet together, creating a public ritual founded on the isolation of the gaze. It offered glimpses of distant cities, landscapes, monuments, and scenes from unreachable lives. Alessandro Michele doesn’t reference it out of nostalgia, but as a way to question how we look today. And it worked. Completely. I was pulled into another world. Michele transported us somewhere deeply intentional.
In an era of media overexposure and the constant fight to “get a peek,” Specula Mundi offered the opposite: slowness, stillness, proximity, and concentration. It teaches you to stay still, to focus, and to assume a position built on attention — and what more could you ask for when presenting haute couture? Like every Valentino show under Michele, it was immersive, but this one felt especially intimate. A true peek inside. You could see the garments, the techniques, the draping, the embroidery, and the way fabric moved as models passed slowly. Editors, industry veterans, clients, and celebrities experienced it equally. No better seats, no privileged angle. Looking across the space, all I could see were faces, expressions, nods, smiles, and gasps. You were aware of others beside you, yet alone with what you were seeing, like a modern peepshow, each of us observing from our own blind spot. I could hear people whispering about how much it felt like a social experiment.
The collection itself was boundless, almost mythical. Bold colours clashed beautifully. Oversized bows punctuated many looks. Dropped waists softened couture perfection into something relaxed yet incredibly elegant, while others cinched sharply at the waist before exploding into volume at the sleeves or hems. Big, confident silhouettes filled the room.
There was an undercurrent of eroticism. Skin revealed through splits, cuts, and low necklines. Feathered headpieces recalled showgirls and performers, while open feathered robes, embroidered body pieces, and feathered accessories moved with the models. Headpieces and strong shoulders stood out. High open necks rose around the face like Elizabethan standing ruffs, tall, dramatic, and framing the head. Each look commanded the room. Movement was slow and deliberate, yet full of personality and power. The show felt both theoretical and performative, slightly circus-like, as if the room itself had become a stage. Lights and a pulsing techno soundtrack heightened the anticipation, and every guest seemed to hold their breath for the next look to appear.
It was archaic and deeply contemporary at once. Specula Mundi existed both in the past and the future, a meditation on seeing, attention, and fashion as experience rather than content. In a world that demands speed, Alessandro Michele asked us to pause and observe, and in doing so reminded us why couture truly matters.
ROBERT WUN
review by MAREK BARTEK
all images courtesy of ROBERT WUN
Robert Wun’s latest couture collection, titled Valor, approached fashion as an act of endurance. Presented at the Lido in Paris, the show was structured in three chapters tracing the emotional phases of creation — from early imagination to confrontation with reality, and finally resolve.
The opening section focused on origin. Working in strict black and white, Wun delivered sculptural silhouettes built from memory and reminiscent of his previous work: fitted bodices, rounded shoulder constructions, and flared skirts translated sketchbook thinking into a couture vision. The emphasis was on contour and balance with embroidery and beadwork used to reinforce structure.
The middle passage shifted toward tension and exposure. Jewellery-inspired bodices, crystal-covered masks, and sharply engineered corsetry examined how value and image are constructed around the body. Colour appeared more forcefully here, cutting through otherwise restrained bases and heightening contrast.
The closing sequence leaned into protection and perseverance. Metallic surfaces, armour references, and anatomical illusions reframed couture as emotional defence as much as decoration. Storm imagery in the background underscored the mood, but the focus remained on workmanship — dense embellishment, engineered shapes, and material weight.
Wun offers a testimony: to create couture is to labour, embrace pressure, and remain determined to keep creating at the highest level.