Season Preview Spring-Summer 26: Designing to cool down The - Spring-Summer 26 - Première Vision Paris
Spring-Summer 2026 is a season defined by the concept of Re-fresh. This term, in its literal sense, stands as a response to climate challenges, while figuratively referring to the act of updating.
Rooted in a spirit of resetting, this theme influences not only the aesthetic direction of the products but also drives the industry’s commitments.
Image credit : Projet “Le plus dur reste à venir”, 2022 / Performances : 1. La tempête avant le calme, 25/11/2019 / 2. Io non sono il tuo mare, 6/10/2012 / 3. Échec, 2/05/2018 / 4. Multiprise, 16/10/2018 ©Emilie Franceschin
Designing to cool down
Now more than ever, climate change stands as a central challenge for the fashion industry, encompassing several key areas of focus.
Climate change impacts not just the supply of raw materials such as cotton, it also affects consumer behavior. And as consumer habits and needs evolve, collection planning becomes ever more complex.
In addition, more intense and frequent heat waves at garment production centers are putting the issue of social responsibility for workers firmly back on the agenda, calling for fresh attention to be paid to their working conditions.
Relying on technology
Given these challenges, it is critical to rethink not just our industrial methods and equipment, but also our clothing, its uses and functions.
Summer 26 draws on biotechnologies and innovation to alleviate intense heat, focusing on the search for textiles with cooling properties. American chemical researchers recently developed a chalk-based fabric coating with cooling properties. Another project, Melwear, created by young designer Maca Barrera, explores using bacteria-derived melanin to impregnate fabrics to provide UV protection. These are just a few examples of the many research projects seeking solutions tailored to changing climates.
Invigorate with coldness, soften with freshness
In turn, the season’s imagery conjures up a summery chill. The fantasies typically evoking warm-weather get-aways now migrate toward icy, Nordic horizons – silent, uninhabited lands that fulfill a craving for oxygen, a search for calm.
The season explores the visual vistas of the North – its coastlines, landscapes, and functional design.
Beyond the search for calm, well-being is also emerging as a sociological priority, comprising many facets of physical and mental health. More and more, younger generations are investing in wellness-related products, with a particular focus on health, sleep, nutrition and mindfulness. In this fast-growing market, more and more consumers favor products with scientifically proven benefits. Clinical effectiveness is now becoming a key buying criterion, alongside materials and ingredients of natural origin.
The move towards well-being and science-backed solutions is shaping aesthetic developments that blend functionality, comfort, minimalism and performance.
Energetic lightness
In this context, textiles embrace a dynamic lightness. Breathability and flexibility are developed without bulk, to ensure freedom of movement. Cottons are extra-fine with crisp finishes and feature hybrid weights in-between shirting and pant fabrics. Floaty voiles are perfectly translucent, yet subtly opaque, while protective finishings are impalpable with matte coatings or discreet resins.
For Spring-Summer 26, leathers feature an airy wardrobe with a functional and urban spirit and inspire the creation of structured and loose-fitting silhouettes. Lightweight lamb leathers sport crisp textures, while handles take their inspiration from starched poplins or fine, compact, pressed polyamide fabrics.
Freshly washed
The desire for freshness at the heart of the SS26 season sees a shift to soft, lightweight hides, with matte and bleached finishes and delicate chalky surfaces reminiscent of raw, unglazed porcelain. Suede lamb leathers are ultra-fine, with a slightly dry handle. They feature sponge-dye finishes with a dampening, cloud-like effect.
Slightly crinkled with a deceptively neglected look carry over into textiles as well, where a cottony garment-wash spirit is brought to woolen, silky, and technical fabrics. These treatments feature irregular bleaching effects, faded hues in greenish, turquoise, or purplish tones, or washes with marbled effects.
In accessories and components, the season’s quest for lightness is reflected in bleached colorways or white bases infused with soft, cool tones, enhanced by gradient, blotting, or stamped effects. On textile accessories, architectural transparencies and layering techniques define pieces made of tulle, gauze, or organza, adding a structured yet airy dimension.
Metal Sensations
Evoking a sense of cold, metal inspires color palettes, finishes, and treatments, resulting in shifting or matte metallic vibrations. Textiles – from silks to technical fabrics – are coated with silver, iron, platinum, or lead-like reflections. For Spring-Summer 26, metallic leathers transition between silver and gold reflections, while consistently maintaining cool hues with subtle colorations. Accessories and components explore cold anodizations, showcasing a variety of bleached aluminum shades and brushed stainless steel.
Climatic Naturals
A functional, fresh and sustainable elegance is conveyed through compositions focused on the natural properties of plant and animal fibers. A climate-conscious tailoring in fine wool suitings, either pure or blended with linen and hemp features light and floaty weights for summery protection.
