For the past few seasons, fashion has been unusually interested in real life. We dressed for the office, made boat shoes cool again, and somehow turned looking corporate into an aspiration. Chanel even staged its Pre-Fall 2026 show in a New York subway station. It doesn't get much more grounded than the morning commute.
But lately, fashion seems ready to be anywhere but here. Across the runways, it was less city street, more enchanted forest. Less 2026, more 1626. Think Narnia meets Alice in Wonderland, with a touch of Wuthering Heights, naturally. Apparently, no fictional universe was off limits.
Has fashion officially had enough of reality?
Chanel FW26 // Spotlight Launchmetrics
Chanel FW26 // Spotlight LaunchmetricsAt Chanel's Pre-Fall 2026 show, Matthieu Blazy showcased the collection in a New York subway station, reflecting the reality of the modern woman. For the Fall/Winter ‘26 show, on the other hand, he did quite the opposite. Frothy pink lace, feathers, tiny flowers, and intricately embroidered accessories looked plucked from a fairytale, somewhere between a fairy garden and a candy shop.
Christian Dior FW26 // Spotlight Launchmetrics
Christian Dior FW26 // Spotlight LaunchmetricsAt Christian Dior’s Fall/Winter 2026 couture show, Jonathan Anderson wandered even further into fantasy. A pale pink satin gown came down the runway with enormous floral-covered fan wings, while a mossy green dress was scattered with tiny white blooms and finished with an oversized flower at the hip. It was less traditional eveningwear, more enchanted garden brought to life.
Nicklas Skovgaard SS27 // Spotlight Launchmetrics
Khaite FW26 // Spotlight LaunchmetricsThe escape from reality wasn't reserved for the season's more fantastical gowns. Some designers simply looked backwards instead. At Nicklas Skovgaard Spring/Summer 2027 show, old-fashioned checks and exaggerated ladylike proportions recalled another decade, while Khaite’s Fall/Winter 2026 braided military jackets seemed to reach even further into the past. Elsewhere, fantasy found its way into more familiar clothes. At Amiri Spring/Summer 2027 Menswear, an otherwise classic cardigan was embroidered with trees and birds, while at Christian Dior Fall 2026 Couture, delicate flowers appeared to grow across the waist of a white tailored jacket. Even everyday pieces were getting a little enchanted.
Christian Dior FW26 Couture // Spotlight Launchmetrics
Amiri SS27 // Spotlight LaunchmetricsAfter seasons spent finding novelty in the familiar, perhaps it's no coincidence that fashion is suddenly looking elsewhere. Reality, after all, hasn't exactly been offering much of an escape lately. Against a backdrop of war, economic uncertainty and a changing climate, clothes that transport us to another time, place or world suddenly feel particularly appealing.
Where exactly fashion is headed is harder to say. Some designers went backwards several centuries, others seemed to disappear into fairytales altogether. But perhaps that's exactly the point. For Fall 2026, the destination matters considerably less than the escape.
Anywhere, it seems, but here.
