Author: ella-mcclauley

By Ella McCauley

Mugler’s new designer Miguel Castro Freitas made his debut during Paris Fashion Week last season with the first collection of an ongoing trilogy titled Glorified Cliches. This AW26 collection Commander marks the second chapter, delving further into themes of domination, control, and the reappropriation of power. Here, Freitas draws clear references to Thierry Mugler’s iconic military-inflected power dressing of the 1980s, while simultaneously interrogating what power signifies within our contemporary cultural landscape. 

The offering brings together a dense amalgamation of references: ‘80s corporate power dressing, military uniform codes, 17^th century aristocratic courtwear, Art Deco geometry and colour, ‘40s glamour, and the cliches of authority itself. Bold geometric constructions, diagonal zips cutting across the body, and expanses of patent leather reinvigorated the house’s signature wide shoulders and dramatic, hip-sculpting hourglass silhouettes–an unmistakable echo of Mugler’s AW86/87 Les Militaires. Freitas shows little hesitation when it comes to colour, weaving bold yellows, magenta, blues and purples through the more restrained palette of beige corporate tailoring and black leather. Art Deco motifs collide with classic pinstripe trousers: a fully monochrome royal-blue ensemble, from gloves to handbag,  is followed by a cyan leather button-down paired with a striking gold skirt. Elsewhere a metallic pink sleeveless dress punctuated with obtrusive cargo pockets gives way to a sleek, all-black leather jumpsuit. Plus, a handful of fur silhouettes for good measure. Despite the density of references, the collection ultimately reads as surprisingly cohesive, with exaggerated shoulders, cinched waists and office-inspired accessories anchoring each look firmly within the Mugler universe. 

Freitas uses the show as an opportunity to question the fetishisation of power’s visual language–the familiar associations tied to sharp tailoring, commanding silhouettes and stiletto heels. By amplifying these codes through heightened proportion and moments of playfulness, he reflects on how ideas of female power have evolved, allowing the collection’s underlying ethos of reclaiming freedom as a form of power to emerge. The venue choice also carries historical weight (hosted at Musée de l’Histoire de l’Immigration), acknowledging the complex legacy of immigration within France’s imperial past. Freitas described it as “the ideal environment to explore themes of domination, control, and reappropriated power”. Historically, Mugler’s fashion has often carried an undercurrent of political commentary, and it is reassuring to see the house’s new creative director honour that legacy, not only through visual homage, but through a continued engagement with the social questions that shape the present.

By Ella McCauley

The Fall 2026 Alaïa show at Paris Fashion Week was certainly an emotional one. Pieter Mulier, the house’s designer for the past five years , received an all-around standing ovation for his final collection at Alaïa. He also paid a beautiful (and rare at fashion week) tribute to his team’s contribution to the house’s creative renewal, presenting a portrait of each atelier member.

Known for his experimental silhouettes and architectural constructions, this collection was a refreshing surprise—one of sophisticated simplicity—from the Belgian designer. Mulier was the first person to succeed Azzedine Alaïa and has consistently allowed the DNA of the brand to shine through his work, while also gently modernising it through striking sculptural collections and a suite of successful accessories. This collection however was beautifully stripped back, focusing on clothes “for real people, not for an image.”

The collection comprised ’90s-reminiscent body con dresses, soft cascading ruffled jackets and dresses cut high along the sides, impeccably tailored double-breasted coats of all lengths, fabrics, and fits, and voluminous ruffle skirts contrasting with body hugging bodices. Each garment read as luxury, through the fit, fabric, and the quiet evolution of the repeating silhouettes. Mulier has found formulas that work and proved this through success across many textures and cuts. Every look felt fluid and alive, while also being something one could easily imagine out on the street.

The final two looks were a beautiful summary of the whole collection and a celebration of the Alaïa woman. Swishy yet sharp ruffles layered over trousers, and cutting sharply from the hem of double breasted coats. The first jacket (Look 49) was wool and a perfect classic fit. The tailoring of the final slim fit jacket was breathtaking, each angle revealing the leather hugging the body in a sculpted hourglass silhouette, unmoving as the skirt bounced with each step.

This collection showed us what the designer has developed over the past few years, leaving both a strong legacy, and a clean slate for the next designer to build upon. It felt like a kind of cleanse, a distilled portfolio of the discernment Mulier has developed in his time at the house. It goes without saying that everyone is excited to see what he does next.

By Ella McCauley

On 23 February, Di Petsa unveiled her Autumn/Winter 2026 collection, Medusa’s Lover. The Greek designer, known for mining her heritage through mythological archetypes and statuesque white drapery, returned to Medusa as the season’s foundation, where eroticism, power, and transformation collide. Her background in performance art remained evident in the meticulousness of her world-building. The runway was staged among ancient Grecian sculptures, imagined as Medusa’s petrified lovers, set against the gothic interior of the Apollo’s Muse Room at Bacchanalia in Mayfair. The setting felt immersive, suspended somewhere between ritual and spectacle.

For Petsa, Medusa emerged not as monster but as maternal force, a conduit through which female rage is channelled into autonomy and strength. Snakeskin prints, strategic cut-outs, and panels of high-shine fabric set against liquid drapery proposed a hybrid body: part woman, part serpent. The collection oscillated between armour-like leather silhouettes and fluid, body-contouring gowns. Fabric sculpted seductive, sculptural lines across the torso and hips, asserting a female-centred eroticism that felt deliberate and self-possessed rather than ornamental.

Accessories sharpened the myth for a contemporary lens. Layered chains, snake tattoos, and patent spiked shoes grounded the narrative in confrontation and resolve, ensuring even the softest drapes felt edged with danger. Look 35 crystallised this tension: wet, sheer drapery fading from blush pink into black clung to the body, while sharp-nailed footwear and a coiled serpent tattoo amplified a sense of unrestrained, formidable rage. The gradient suggested transition—beauty on the brink of eruption—reinforcing Medusa not as victim, but as agent of her own mythology.

The collection also highlighted Petsa’s ability to merge conceptual depth with increasing accessibility. After receiving British Fashion Council NEWGEN support in 2022 and staging her first independent show last September, she began navigating a more commercial cadence, introducing graphic text and tourist-style T-shirts that nodded to the sandy, sun-drenched world of SS26. In AW26, this approach evolved without diluting the narrative. A draped long-sleeve top punctured with skin-shedding cut-outs (Look 25) literalised transformation in wearable form. A T-shirt detailed with eyelets tracing the hip bones and depicting Poseidon’s trident (Look 29) fused ancient symbolism with contemporary irreverence. A cropped inverted V-hem denim jacket with distressed panel lines recalling moulting snakeskin (Look 11) translated the house codes into a sharper, everyday proposition. Together, these pieces demonstrated how bespoke sensuality and commercial instinct can coexist seamlessly.

The closing look distilled the collection’s thesis. Petsa’s signature white draping—first developed during her MA at Central Saint Martins—was reimagined in black, wet-look fabric that clung and shifted with the body. The surface mimicked snakeskin in the moment before shedding, fabric suspended mid-metamorphosis, underscoring her enduring fascination with change as empowerment. Set against black leather and sharpened metal spikes, the drapery retained its sensuality while projecting force. A studded leather veil, a subtle nod to her forthcoming bridal offering, reinforced this tension, subverting passive femininity in favour of command.

With Medusa’s Lover, Petsa consolidated the draped language she is known for, proving its continued relevance within a collection that balanced seduction and strength in near-equal measure.