A couple standing in a pool with a froth of water.
A 27,000-square-foot immersive installation by Czech artist Klára Hosnedlová, the inaugural Chanel Commission at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum in Berlin. Photography: courtesy of Klára Hosnedlová and Chanel.

April 10, 2026

Words: Lisa Di Venuta

Fashion Forward: Design Inspiration Straight From The Runway

Textural tapestries, pixelated pastels, androgynous tailoring, and star-studded collaborations have been appearing on and off the runways of late.

Explore Material Innovation From Top Brands

Chanel

  • A couple standing in a pool with a froth of water.
    A 27,000-square-foot immersive installation by Czech artist Klára Hosnedlová, the inaugural Chanel Commission at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum in Berlin. Photography courtesy of Klára Hosnedlová and Chanel.
  • A group of people standing around a large sculpture.
    Photography courtesy of Klára Hosnedlová and Chanel.
  • Two people standing on a sidewalk with their arms outstretched.
    Photography courtesy of Klára Hosnedlová and Chanel.
  • A large fish head is mounted on the wall.
    Photography courtesy of Klára Hosnedlová and Chanel.
  • A woman laying on the ground in a room.
    Photography courtesy of Klára Hosnedlová and Chanel.

At Hamburger Bahnhof museum in Berlin last fall, Klára Hosnedlová’s embrace filled the former train station’s central hall with 30-foot-high flax-and-hemp tapestries, concrete slabs, and cast-glass sculptures recalling Eastern Europe’s communist-era friezes for the French house’s global arts initiative.

Fendi

  • A large room with a large amount of colorful tiles.
    Photography by Fendi.
  • A model walks the runway at the louis vu show.
  • A woman in a yellow dress walks down a runway.
  • A model walks the runway at the maison maison maison maison mais.
  • A model walks down the runway at the celine fall / winter 2018s.

Making his runway-design debut, Marc Newson’s pixelated set complemented organza, jacquard, leather, and openwork furs for the women’s and men’s Spring/Summer 2026 presentation at Palazzo Fendi in Milan.

Louis Vuitton

  • A house with a lawn and a patio.
    Photography by Louis Vuitton.
  • A bedroom with a bed and a mirror.
  • A man in a white shirt and a suitcase.
  • A man in a hat and orange jacket walking on a green lawn.
  • A room with a couch, bookshel, and a book shelf.

Anchoring men’s Fall/Winter 2026 in Paris, Pharrell Williams and Tokyo firm Not A Hotel conceived Drophaus, a prefabricated glass pavilion outfitted with Williams’s site-specific furnishings and Pierre Paulin’s Tapis-Siège sofa.

Viktor&Rolf

  • A woman in a dress standing on a stage.
    Photography by Viktor&Rolf.
  • A couple of people on a stage with a large screen.
  • A woman in a red dress.
  • A woman in a black dress and green cape.
  • A woman in a white dress and a black cape.
  • A woman in a black dress and pink fan.
  • A woman in a black dress and yellow scarf.

In Paris, the women’s SS26 Diamond Kite collection’s monastic black gowns were reconfigured with neon tulle panniers and capes, its live-built finale ensemble nodding to Kate Bush’s 1978 “Wuthering Heights” album cover.

Valentino

  • A woman with a red wig is standing in a white room.
    Photography by Valentino.
  • A woman in a black feather hat and dress.
  • A woman in a white dress and feather hat.
  • A room with a lot of tables and stools.

In a tribute to founder Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani, who passed away in January at 93, models vamped Mata Hari–inspired capes and ostrich-plumed headdresses in a reconstructed 19th-century viewing machine at the Tennis Club de Paris for Alessandro Michele’s men’s and women’s SS26 haute couture edit.

Acne Studios

  • A long row of benches.
    Photography by Acne Studios.
  • A picture of a woman ' s eye with a hole in the middle.
  • A painting of a hand holding a piece of paper.
  • A model walks down the runway wearing a mustard colored jacket a.
  • A picture of a woman with a flower in her hair.

For men’s and women’s SS26, Jonny Johansson turned the 13th-century Collège des Bernardins in Paris into a wood-paneled cigar salon lined with Pacifico Silano’s collages, spotlighting queer culture through a gender-neutral approach and tough-tender materials like leather, lace, and denim.

Diesel

  • A large pile of toys and other items in a room.
    Photography by Diesel.
  • A woman in a green coat and skirt walking through a pile of toys.
  • A woman walking down a runway with lots of toys.
  • A model walks the runway at the marc marc marc marc marc marc ma.
  • A model walks down the runway of a fashion show.

Based on a post-party walk of shame, Glenn Martens’s men’s and women’s FW26 collection piled roughly 50,000 repurposed archival props, inflatables, and branded objects across the runway at Superstudio Maxi in Milan.

read more