I love a woman in a necktie. I love being a woman in a necktie. Since the early 20th century, women (Katharine Hepburn comes to mind) have been wearing neckties out of defiance for the status quo and gendered dressing. In 2025, ties made a resurgence on and off the runway—the most memorable example within the past year, was Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2025 collection, which consisted almost entirely of suits with neckties.
This collection launched neckties into the centrer of the cultural zeitgeist, and the evidence suggests that the trend will continue throughout summer and into fall. This season at the Spring 2026 menswear shows in Paris and Milan, ties were present throughout countless collections. At Willy Chavarria, striped ties were tucked into the waistlines of pants; at Junya Watanabe, they were layered together and slung around the neck. At Louis Vuitton, the ties were woven from metallic threads and tucked behind jackets and wool pullovers, while at Saint Laurent, Vaccarello’s tie fixation saw him twist and tuck each tonal tie into the top second or third button hole as an optical illusion of a very tiny, neat tie.
Willy Chavaria Spring 2026 Menswear
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Junya Watanabe Spring 2026 Menswear
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Over at Celine, where Michael Rider made his debut earlier this week, ties were slashed at the bellybutton, creating a blunt edge instead of a traditional, triangular taper. At Schiaparelli Fall 2026 haute couture, Daniel Roseberry softened his neckties, switching traditional structured shapes for silky, long pussy bows that accompanied clean suiting. And then there was Demna, whose final couture collection for Balenciaga featured a series of black neckties paired with crisp white cotton business shirts, layered underneath wool pullovers, trench coats, black suit jackets and silk bombers.
Saint Laurent Spring 2026 Menswear
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Saint Laurent Spring 2026 Menswear
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Right now, fashion brands are rethinking the way collections are presented as a response to growing dissonance around overly gendered clothing. At mensweek, women’s looks are just as likely to be spotted down the runway as men’s, and trend reports continue to lean into what the men’s shows are saying about overarching themes, especially in the middle of summer.
The approach to ties in the womenswear department hasn’t been so different, and with a wave of ‘80s power-dressing present on the runways in past seasons, it makes sense that 2025 is the year of the tie. In a political climate where women’s rights are continuously being infringed upon, a “borrowed from the boys” attitude is a crucial part of rebellion through dress. Elsewhere, ties have historically been reappropriated in the punk scene—a similar sentiment of rebellion woven through punk’s origins of civil disobedience and dissatisfaction with governmental institutions in the 1970s.
Louis Vuitton Spring 2026 Menswear
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Celine Spring 2026 Menswear
Celine
When the girlboss peaked circa 2016-2018, so did a wave of business casual. This timeframe also coincides with the last Trump presidency, which almost immediately began to roll back women’s rights when he entered office in early 2017. During this moment in history, women were determined to solidify themselves as not only part of the workforce, but a dominant player in it. Entrepreneurs like Glossier’s Emily Weiss, Man Repeller’s Leandra Medine, Nasty Gal’s Sophia Amoruso were the CEOs of the moment, while Phoebe Philo sat in the driver’s seat at Celine, marking one of the most important tenures in history. While ties were not on the docket, many of the adjacent ideas, were. Think: oversized blazers, suit pants, court shoes, briefcase bags, and silhouettes that commanded androgyny and, subsequently, respect. Whether stylistic or otherwise, there was an overarching sentiment that pointed to the fact that women weren’t just wearing suits to the office because they looked chic, but because they have always been linked to an inherent sense of power. In those moments, what could have been more important to reclaim?
With Philo’s design sensibilities steering the trend cycle, oversized blazers and buttoned-up, fashion-forward businesswear became some of the most covetable silhouettes in the market. Now, almost a decade later, we’re seeing a renewed emphasis on contemporary power dressing. The way fashion is interpreting pushback from feminine silhouettes has shifted. These ideas are more playful than rigid. They flirt with androgyny without the seriousness that can often get wound up within it. Today, the ties we’re seeing nod to an era of defiance and joy.
