vbra venezia 2026 | the new creative voice

Albane Durand-Viel.

When creative director Francesca Murri titled her Fiorucci Autumn/Winter 2026 collection ‘Memorie’ and showed it at London Fashion Week in February, she was explicit that the goal was not to resurface archival designs but to craft a modern, credible interpretation of the house’s iconic symbols. The angel imagery, the graphic lips, the collegiate references: these are not props borrowed from the archive and dusted off for the occasion. The new Pre-Autumn 2026 collection, shot by Albane Durand-Viel, extends that thinking into something that feels even more emotionally direct.

The collection is built around repetition as a form of desire. Described by the Italian label as a celebration of imagination, curiosity and self-expression – it explores the objects, motifs and memories that become personal obsessions over time. Cupid angels multiply across jacquards, patches, embroideries and prints, appearing again and again with a compulsiveness that feels more like a fixation.

Lips recur as graphics, accessories and hardware; archival toy illustrations scatter across tailoring, denim and knitwear. Varsity stripes and collegiate references echo through the collection like a uniform worn until it stops feeling like a uniform and starts feeling like a self. The idea is that the things we return to obsessively are the things that have actually shaped us, and that Fiorucci’s visual language operates the same way.

Albane Durand-Viel.

Albane Durand-Viel.

In womenswear, delicate lace, crêpe de chine and mesh soften structured silhouettes, while velour and tailored wool add weight and contrast. Sheer angel-print dresses sit beside oversized denim jackets covered in embroidered patches, while polka-dot separates and collegiate knits bring a playful rhythm to the wardrobe. Relaxed tailoring is interrupted by cartoon graphics and jewel-like lip hardware, creating combinations that feel instinctive rather than overly styled. Romantic mesh sits against leather and denim. Sporty jersey appears alongside pieces that have no business being in the same wardrobe and work perfectly because of it.

The accessories follow the same logic, transforming recurring symbols into objects you attach yourself to rather than simply buy. Angel motifs appear on bags and jewellery, while lip-shaped details become charms, closures and embellishments that carry the collection’s playful obsession with repetition into everyday wear.

Albane Durand-Viel.

The Fiorucci Pre-Autumn 2026 collection is now available online. Discover more here.

photography. courtesy of Albane Durand-Viel
words. Gennaro Costanzo

Justin Leveritt/Hermès.

After presenting the first part of its Autumn/Winter 2026 womenswear collection in Paris, Hermès transported the story to Los Angeles, where Artistic Director Nadège Vanhée unveiled what she described as the collection’s “second chapter.” Staged in a hilltop pavilion in Bel Air that took a full month to build, as the California sun disappeared behind the horizon, the presentation felt like a continuation of an ongoing conversation about movement, femininity and freedom.

The setting, a structure framed by classical columns and grand scale, announced the show’s title in large letters: ‘Silhouettes on the Horizon.’ Washed in neon-lit pale yellow designed to dissolve into the golden-hour light of the surrounding hills, it was less a venue than a proposition: that what happens when the light changes, when the lines between fiction and reality soften, is exactly where Hermès wants to be right now. The front-row spectators formed a star-studded, multi-generational crowd that embodied the evening’s blend of Hollywood classicism and modern subculture. Miley Cyrus, Keke Palmer and Natasha Lyonne sat among the guests under the neon-lit pavilion.

Max Farago/Hermès.

Max Farago/Hermès.

Vanhée has been artistic director of women’s ready-to-wear at Hermès since 2014, and the Los Angeles presentation marked the third instalment of a travelling format she launched in New York in 2024 and continued in Shanghai in 2025. Unlike the resort collections most major houses deploy for their mid-season road shows, these are proper expansions of the main narrative, each city offering a new chapter rather than a change of subject. In Shanghai, there was a new frisson of eclecticism and play; in New York, she drew on the pace and energy of a city where she once worked, before Hermès, as design director at The Row. Los Angeles, she has said, is a place where you create yourself. The collection reflected that.

At the heart of the Bel Air presentation was an exploration of the dress through the Carré, Hermès’ signature silk scarf reimagined as fluid, body-conscious silhouettes that balanced movement and structure. The dress is not a category traditionally associated with Hermès, a house whose identity has long been anchored in leather and its extraordinary silk heritage, and Vanhée has been open about that being precisely why she wanted to centre it. The house’s savoir-faire is being extended into flou, the French dressmaking term for the kind of fluid, body-grazing construction that requires a completely different discipline from tailoring or leatherwork, and the results suggest she has found her footing there.

The ballet was the animating reference throughout. Jewel-toned satin dresses arrived in rouge tango, vert impérial and jaune flave, their palette somewhere between old Hollywood and a vintage Cadillac convertible, their construction informed by the ballet slipper, fine piping tracing the body’s line while grosgrain ribbons fastened and unfastened at the bust. Cache-coeur knits wrapped and supported the form with the practical warmth of a dancer’s wrap top, integrated directly into dresses rather than worn over them. Smocked knit jumpsuits with flared legs and glittering embroidery offered an elevated take on warm-up attire, the kind of thing that reads simultaneously as rehearsal and performance.

Max Farago/Hermès.

Max Farago/Hermès.

Vanhée repeatedly returned to the image of a dancer off-duty. That image held through the more overtly Californian moments: sensual foulard dresses in luminous silk velvet worn under biker jackets and paired with leather coats, the dancer suddenly on the Pacific Coast Highway, movement going wherever it wants to go.

The Soleil de Soie Tattoo carré, one of the house’s iconic scarf designs, was reimagined in three dimensions: smocked, gathered and draped as though lifted from its centre and allowed to fall into cascading folds. The evening looks that closed the show drew on different territory entirely, draped embroidered gowns glittering against black satin and deep velvet, the California light now gone and the sky above Bel Air doing what it does best.

The accessories department naturally matched the garments’ perpetual motion, delivering an array of covetable leather engineering. The runway prioritised buttery yellow leather top-handle bags, micro-clutches carried in-hand like dance accessories, and minimal shoulder bags with highly flexible straps that moved fluidly alongside the models’ gait. Classic multi-tone Birkin models and modified, stud-lined variations shared the stage with sleek evening envelopes that added a modern crunch to the velvet and satin gowns.

Max Farago/Hermès.

Max Farago/Hermès.

What made the collection particularly compelling was that tension between softness and strength, between flowy dresses and leather coats. Rather than presenting femininity as something fragile, Vanhée continues to frame it as something dynamic and self-assured.

Discover the Autumn/Winter 2026 collection here. 

photography. courtesy of Justin Leveritt, Max Farago
words. Gennaro Costanzo

Christian Louboutin.

Jaden Smith is officially moving the Christian Louboutin man into a 17th-century French château, and the housewarming party is a full-on clash of generations. The new Autumn/Winter 2026 men’s campaign offers the clearest insight yet into the creative direction of the newly appointed Men’s Creative Director.

Conceived by Smith himself, the visual narrative presents a cast of characters living under one roof, each expressing their individuality through clothing, accessories and attitude. Shot at what the Maison describes as its symbolic home in the French countryside outside Paris, the château becomes a backdrop where heritage and modernity collide. Antique interiors, geometric gardens, worn textures and dramatic architecture are paired with contemporary styling, creating imagery that balances aristocratic splendour with youthful energy. Rather than striving for perfection, the campaign embraces irregularity, highlighting personal expression as a defining element of modern luxury.

Christian Louboutin.

Christian Louboutin.

“The campaign represents the Christian Louboutin man through the lens of different generations living together within the same universe,” Smith explains. “The château we chose is the Maison’s home, where these generations of working men come together: a place where heritage and individuality coexist naturally.”

The campaign arrives just months after Smith unveiled his first full menswear collection for the house. Presented in Paris earlier this year, the Autumn/Winter 2026 collection marked a decisive shift for the category, blending classic Louboutin craftsmanship with references drawn from streetwear, performance footwear, 1990s hip-hop and outdoor culture. 

Several of the season’s standout designs feature prominently throughout the imagery. The Trapman line returns with the new Molten Trapman boot, distinguished by a glossy dripping paint effect that creates a striking contrast between matte and reflective surfaces. Elsewhere, the Maison’s sartorial heritage is revisited through updated versions of the Corteo evening shoe and the Moustachou line, while more experimental designs such as the Gravitamoon overshoe and Neo Bloon boot underline Smith’s interest in sculptural silhouettes and protective forms. 

Christian Louboutin.

Christian Louboutin.

Sneakers like the BSKTBL 1 Retro continue Christian Louboutin’s longstanding relationship with sneaker culture, while the SK VI and Tactical Skate introduce a more relaxed, streetwear-influenced approach. Accessories complete the vision, with multifunctional bags, industrial-inspired belts and a new eyewear design reflecting Smith’s personal aesthetic. To celebrate the launch, Smith will join a series of exclusive international events throughout June across New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Paris and London.

The Christian Louboutin Autumn/Winter 2026 collection is now available globally. Discover more here.

photography. courtesy of Christian Louboutin
words. Gennaro Costanzo