Cupido references Balenciaga’s recent performance line launch, which paired a soft volume bomber with a maxi bubble skirt — feminine influences applied to an athletic shape. “We expect to see more of this, including soft volumes, peplums for bottoms, and balloon shapes in wide-leg pants, with romantic influences permeating athletic or sporty aesthetics.”
New feminine silhouettes in performance fabrics are expected to surge on social media, according to Heuritech data, including deep plunge tops (+47%), ringer tees (+38%), and blouson windbreakers (+10%) in delicate hues like cream (+9%) and powder pink (+4%) or printed with dainty polka dots (+35%). The sleeves are balloon inspired (set to grow +5%), and the Nylon fabric is airy with an elasticated drawstring waist that allows for an adjustable silhouette.
Munday calls it “technical romanticism”, blending utilitarian themes with softer, more romantic notes. “This includes utility jackets and coats, layered tops, organza, knits, jersey, and crease-effect fabrics,” she says. The Cecilie Bahnsen x The North Face collaboration, featuring cinched waterproofs in the brand’s signature floral print, which sold out in three weeks after its latest drop in October, is a “clear reference point for the trend”.
The trend already showed up during the menswear season, with tailoring blended with ski at Ralph Lauren, and utilitarian cargos paired with tailored Bar jackets at Dior.
Another direction speaks to the Winter Olympics and cultural pride, incorporating cultural influences and techniques — such as beading and print — into sportswear, WGSN’s Cupido adds. “We may see this strongly from sportswear brands, whose designers already have a heritage focus, as a natural evolution of the category,” she says. There’s certainly an appetite for the fusion of performance and culture. Ralph Lauren’s artist in residency collaboration with Indigenous-led brand Tópa, including lots of traditional motifs on workwear and canvas, has seen majority sellouts across 71% of styles, EDITED says.
Brown is the new brown and fun color combos
Womenswear trends are moving slower than previous seasons, as the micro-trend cycle continues to slow. So brown, a familiar shade throughout previous trend prediction stories, remains an important color for FW26.
“Dark brown hues have been massive for the past year and have taken over black in terms of growth,” says Tordhag. But in FW26, we can expect warmer and brighter browns, closer to dark beige. Heuritech predicts online visibility of several brown shades to grow, including dune beige (+4%), hemp brown (+6%), cinnamon (+8%), oak brown (+12%), camel (+11%), and chestnut (+17%).
Brown will continue its dominance for FW26, this time in lighter shades of chestnut, hemp brown and cinnamon.Photo: Getty Images
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