Welcome back to Fashion Bulletin, a weekly column where Coveteur's senior fashion editor, Ella O’Keeffe, recaps all the buzzy industry news you from the week.
It’s been quite the week for the year 2016. One cannot simply log on to Instagram without being visually assaulted by hundreds of throwback photos of people wearing thick black chokers with the Valencia filter. The people have decided that 2016 is “so back” this week, considering 2026 marks a decade since one of the weirdest years in modern history. Personally, I was at Paul's Baby Grand and Socialista until the wee hours of the morning, hoping to land a job in fashion, with balayage hair and a dream. You will not see evidence of this on Instagram. It was an intense time for fashion back then, and even though plenty of trends are being teased to come back this year, I personally don’t feel ready to be kicking about in mesh panelled leggings and Adidas Stan Smith’s à la Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid during that era. Maybe it’s just me!
It does, however make an interesting commentary about this generation’s deep and unrelenting obsession with nostalgia and our need to make everything a throwback. 2016 was the year Snapchat really went bonkers, Trump got elected, and monumental moments took place in fashion (Maria Grazia Chiuri’s “We Should All Be Feminists” T-shirt should become an artifact of the time). Honestly, not much has changed. Is it generationally specific that we are cycling through the same themes we were faced with a decade ago? Not entirely. Although, traditionally, trend recycling had closer to a 20-year lifespan than a mere decade. Here’s my take: 2016 was a wild year and while it’s fun to reminisce about what we were wearing and how we were acting, with a slight underscoring of reconstituted themes, this doesn’t herald the resurgence of every 2016 fashion trend. I don’t see many of these silhouettes being seriously recycled for another two-ish years. So, prepare for those mesh leggings in 2028!
Balenciaga’s Fall 26 Campaign References The Archives
Balenciaga
Balenciaga
Balenciaga released its Fall 26 campaign this week, featuring a series of silhouettes that made reference to some of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s most iconic silhouettes from 1955 onwards. The campaign also features a surprise collaboration with Manolo Blahnik and the NBA, both of which are photographed together. Pierpaolo Piccioli’s vision for Balenciaga is still in adjustment—the master couturier is blending Cristóbal Balenciaga’s vision with his own, and layering it with the legacy Demna left behind. I think he’s doing an exceptional job so far and can’t wait to see what he does for his debut couture show.
The CFDA Releases The Preliminary NYFW Schedule
It’s about to be a big few months in fashion, with the start of men’s week today and and Pitti Uomo underway, followed by couture, and then New York, London, Milan and Paris fFashion Week. The CFDA released the NYFW schedule on Wednesday, running from February 11 through 16, and it features over 60 runway shows and presentations. Notably, Rachel Scott’s first official runway show at Proenza Schouler will open the week, which goes on to feature a series of new and known names like Lii, Khaite, Tory Burch, Carolina Herrera, Calvin Klein Collection, Kallmeyer and more. I can’t wait!
JW Anderson Taps Kylie Minogue And Tim Blanks For Fall 26
JW Anderson
JW Anderson
When Jonathan Anderson settled into his monumental post at Dior, many were worried that JW Anderson would fall to the wayside with the design task ahead of him at the French house. His most recent campaign for the eponymous brand proved quite the opposite. In a series of images lensed by Heikki Kaski, Anderson places emphasis on community, craft, and the dynamic of people and things with a cast featuring Kylie Minogue, Tim Blanks, Mona Tougaard and her boyfriend Marc Kalman, and more. The JW Anderson offering is, as reported when his appointment at Dior was made public, shifting towards something more curated and object focused, and this is one of the first examples we’ve seen of this truly working. Anderson’s grip and influence on the fashion community at-large is not loosening any time soon.
Bottega Veneta Teams Up With Juergen Teller For Spring 26
Bottega Veneta
Louise Trotter’s debut Bottega Veneta collection has officially been captured for the Italian house’s Spring 26 campaign, shot by Juergen Teller. In a series of his signature lo-fi, in-situ images, models are shot against varying backdrops in Venice, including the Giardini Napoleonici, Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù, the Lido, and the Angolo Fiorito flower shop. I love the way the images capture a sense of diversity, which feels inherent to Trotter’s collection and the varying circumstances in which her clothes can practically be worn. Her eye for luxury is obviously astute, and I’m looking forward to witnessing her continued vision for the Fall 26 ready-to-wear season ahead.
